H.A.C.K.E.R.S: The Movie: The Game (Yet another board game, made in slightly more time.)

This week, I was tasked with making another board game. This time in a group setting, and instead of a race to the end game, the assignment was to make a territorial acquisition game. My group and I came up with H.A.C.K.E.R.S, which stands for: Having All Computer Kernels Every Real-time Second. The goal of the game is to acquire (by hacking) the largest number of computer nodes on the game board, after a set number of turns. The game plays similarly to risk, but with subtle differences in the flow of resources (bits).

Here are the game's rules:

RULEBOOK EXERPT:
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H.A.C.K.E.R.S.: Having All Computer Kernels Every Realtime Second

Players: 2-4 players

H.A.C.K.E.R.S. is all about the war for the Cloud. Control the Cloud, control the internet. Join a Faction and out hack the enemies to control the Cloud and get one step closer to world domination! 

Set-up: Each player chooses a Faction to represent in the war by choosing a colour of bead. Factions then roll to see who goes first or play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Players chose a starting node based on turn order. Each node is assigned 10 bits of power. Players then decide how many turns the game will run for. At the end of the last turn, the player with the most nodes wins.

Play: Each node runs on bits. Players accumulate bits at the beginning of each turn. Players amass bits based at a flat rate of 5 with a boost based on how many nodes they own, according to the following chart:

• ·         3 nodes = +2
• ·         6 nodes = +4
• ·         9 nodes = +5
• ·         12 nodes = +7

After capturing 12 nodes, you gain +1 for every 2 more captured nodes. The collected bits are then distributed to each node based on the players choosing. Nodes are indicated by placing the small blue beads on the node you control.

There are 3 phases per turn: Transfer, Boost and Hack. During the Transfer phase, players can transfer power to any nodes that they are connected to. When a bit is sent, it is subtracted from the current total as well, (e.g. if node A has 12 bits and sends 4, node A will have 8 bits after). Players may only transfer bits once per turn. Nodes can only hold 30 bits max. 

In the Boost phase, players may sacrifice bits to set up Firewalls. Firewalls make you harder to hack during the Hacking phase and disappear on your next turn. To indicate a Firewall has been placed, select a bead colour for “Firewalls” and place it on your node. Firewalls are powered up based on the following:

• ·         Firewall Lvl 1 (costs 5 bits): protects you from 2 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 2 (costs 7 bits): protects you from 3 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 3 (costs 9 bits): protects you from 4 bits of damage
• ·         Firewall Lvl 4 (costs 12 bits): protects you from 5 bits of damage

During the Hacking phase, players may sacrifice bits to attack other players. When sacrificing, players must leave at least 10 bits in the node to sustain their capture of it. Players may only attack once. To attack, players select any node they are connected to. Players may then attack that node with any other nodes they own that are connected to it. The defender then decides how many bits to use to defend. If the defender uses more bits than the attacker, the difference is dealt in damage to the attacker; e.g. if the attacker sends out 10 and the defender defends with 15, the attacker loses 5 bits on their node(s).

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Things I liked about how the game turned out:

Overall I am most pleased with how the game's premise ties in with the game-play. The concept of an cyberspace hacking war feels fresh and very appropriate for a territorial acquisition game. I also find the game's system to be very strategically sound and rich in the variety of plays.

Things that I would change:

Firewalls are currently useless as they result in a net loss of bits. In all scenarios, a player is better off keeping their bits and playing them in a standard offensive or defensive play. Also, the game board was printed with a lack of Yellow ink. The real version happens to be even uglier than the one shown above.