Hackers/README.md

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/___/   /_//_________/ `._______)/___/    /__/ `._____)  /___/       (________/


     HACKERS is a print-and-play card game for 4 (or 3 in a pinch) players.


 How can I play?

  - Print out the cards, the cardbacks are optional, and slip them in some card
    sleeves. I recommend to slip them in in front of cards from another game
    for added rigidity.

  - Gather some friends.

  - RTFM.

  - HACK THE PLANET.


 How can I help or contribute to the project?

  - Spread the virus! Tell your friends, tell your favorite nerd news outlet,
    tell your lamer neighbor. The only "profit" I want to make from this game
    is people sharing it and playing it and having fun. If anyone has a line to
    any of the cast members, let them know too haha. Tell them to leave me a
    voicemail.

    Some things on my wishlist include:

       1. An entry for HACKERS on BoardGameGeek. Don't forget to include the
          print-and-play files!

       2. A proper backup on Internet Archive, not just an archive of the repo.

       3. Reviews on YouTube.

       4. A Tabletop Simulator port.

  - Make backups, just in case.

  - The rules borrow heavily from a game by David Short named "Cypher",
    released by AEG games. I think it's out of print but if you get a chance,
    purchase a copy from your local games store if you can to show some love to
    the OG for creating one of the most perfect, punchy card games of all time.

  - Translating the game into other languages. This seems like a huge endeavor
    and one I'm not sure even where to begin tackling it but if you or your
    crew speak a language other than English and are willing to take a run at
    it, hit me up and we can work out how to make it happen.


 Thanks

  Thanks to tomasino, dokuja, solderpunk, jns, my Joey brendo and anyone else
  special I've missed in the Gopher/Gemini/PUBNIX/Tilde world for inspiring me
  every damn day. Thanks to a-ko for letting me spam her with ideas that go
  nowhere (this one finally did). Thanks to the_gibson for giving me a home on
  hackers.town. Thanks to cDc, Phrack, l0pht, ACiD and all the other stuff that
  energized me as a youth. Thanks to David short for Cypher, it rules. Thanks
  to YTCracker for being the soundtrack while I put this thing together. Thanks
  to the cast & crew of the movie, David Bischoff for the expanded lore in the
  novelization and cr0bar for the parody that I STILL laugh about to this day.

  As always, thank you to you know who and you know who 2. <3


 NFO

  Gopher: gopher://baud.baby
  Fediverse: @cat@hackers.town
  VMB: +1 (929) 601-BAUD
  Email: lol.




                            [ T H E    M A N U A L ]

                                      V1.0


 [1] GAME TERMS

    [1.1] DECK

          A stack of cards, shuffled, face down. Tidy. If at any time there are
          no cards left in the DECK then HACK THE PLANET.

    [1.2] SNOOP SPACE

          1 card, face up beside the DECK at all times. Any time the card in
          the SNOOP space is removed, immediately replenish the SNOOP space by
          turning over the top card on the DECK & placing it in the SNOOP
          space. If there are no cards left in the DECK after replenishing the
          SNOOP space then HACK THE PLANET.

    [1.3] FILES

          The cards, face up, in front of a player. A player can store up to 3
          cards in their FILES. If at any time a player has more than 3 cards
          in their FILES the player must return cards from their FILES to the
          bottom of the DECK until they have 3 cards in their FILES.

    [1.4] HACK THE PLANET

          Endgame. The finale. Each player takes 1 more turn & the score is
          tallied. See HACK THE PLANET below for more info.


 [2] CARD ANATOMY & TERMS

                             .--------------------.
                             |  ....              |
                             | :(1) :             |
                             | :    :             |
                             |  ''''              |
                             |                    |
                             |                    |
                             | ..(2)............. |
                             | : ▒▒▒▒ [  (3)  ] : |
                             | :                : |
                             | :      (4)       : |
                             | :                : |
                             | '''''''''''''''''' |
                             '--------------------'

    [2.1] DATA VALUE

          This is how many points the card is worth when tallying up the score
          at the end of the game.

    [2.2] BAUD RATE

          Some card effects only apply to cards with specific BAUD RATEs, cards
          are grouped into 3 categories, 300 BAUD, 1200 BAUD & 2400 BAUD.

    [2.3] CARD NAME

          The name of the card, some card effects only apply to cards with
          specific names.

    [2.4] INFO BOX

          Describes the card action. There are 2 types of card actions, both
          actions are resolved immediately when triggered.

             [2.4.1] When Added to your FILES. These actions occur once when
                     a card is added to your FILES from your hand.

             [2.4.2] While in your FILES. These actions occur any time the
                     crieteria on the card instructions are met for as long
                     as the card remains in your FILES.


 [3] GETTING SET UP

    [3.1] STARTING PLAYER

          Decide on a starting player. If you're the winner from the previous
          game, you're the starting player, if it's the first game & you're
          reading this then it's you, you're the starting player.

    [3.2] PLAY SPACE SET UP

             [3.2.1] The starting player should gather 2 or 3 other players.
                     This game plays best with 4 players but works with 3
                     players in a pinch.

             [3.2.2] The starting player should gather all 20 game cards
                     together & pull out the 300 BAUD Hacker cards, then
                     choose 1 of the 4 300 BAUD Hacker cards & return it to
                     the box, that hacker is fixing the phones & is out of
                     play for the rest of the game. Canonically Cereal should
                     be fixing the phones but the starting player can choose
                     whichever of the 300 BAUD Hacker cards they please.

             [3.2.3] The starting player should then shuffle the remaining 19
                     cards & deal 3 cards to themselves, face down, then deal
                     1 card to the player on their right, face down, & deal 2
                     cards to the remaining players, face down.

             [3.2.4] The starting player should then place the remaining
                     cards in a stack, face down to create the DECK.

             [3.2.5] The starting player should then turn over the top card
                     on the DECK, place it beside the DECK face up to
                     populate the SNOOP space.


 [4] GAMEPLAY

    [4.1] OVERVIEW

          Starting with the starting player (obviously) players take turns in
          clockwise order until a player announces HACK THE PLANET. Each turn
          proceeds as below.

    [4.2] TAKING A TURN

             [4.2.1] Add a card from your hand to your FILES & resolve the
                     action described in the card's INFO BOX if the card's
                     criteria are met.

             [4.2.2] Add the card from the top of the deck or the card in
                     the SNOOP space to your hand. If you remove the card
                     from the SNOOP space, replenish the SNOOP space
                     immediately & if there are no cards left in the DECK
                     after replenishing the SNOOP space then HACK THE PLANET.

                     Some cards modify how you draw cards, draw appropriately
                     where the criteria in the card's INFO BOX are met, the
                     effect of these cards apply to drawing from the DECK
                     only & do not apply if you chose to move the card from
                     the SNOOP space to your hand.

             [4.2.3] Without revealing the cards to any other players, move 1
                     card from your hand to the hand of the player on your
                     left & move 1 card from your hand to the hand of the
                     player on your right.

             [4.2.4] From your hand, return cards to the bottom of the DECK
                     until you are left with only 1 card in your hand.


 [5] HACK THE PLANET

    [5.1] When there are no cards left in the DECK or when resolving a card
          that instructs you to HACK THE PLANET, the player who's turn it is
          should loudly announce "HACK THE PLANET", all other players should
          loudly respond "HACK THE PLANET" - there is no penalty for not
          doing this aside from having to live with being a lamer.

    [5.2] The player that announced HACK THE PLANET should complete their
          turn & play should proceed as normal.

    [5.3] When the player who announced HACK THE PLANET takes their next turn,
          the game is over & the score should be tallied. See WINNING & LOSING
          below for more info.


 [7] WINNING & LOSING

    [7.1] At the end of the game, each player adds up the DATA VALUE of the
          cards in their FILES & the player with the highest number wins. Easy.

          While in your FILES, some cards modify the DATA VALUE of themselves
          or other cards in your FILES, adjust the DATA VALUEs appropriately
          where the criteria in a card's INFO BOX is met when calculating
          your final score.

    [7.2] In the event of a draw, I'm sorry, you have to play again.



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                              [ B 4 U D W 3 R K 5 ]

                                      2022