Rules
Download the rules
The complete H4CK N1GHT™ rulebook: how a round is played, what each of the 6 Hackers does, what's in the 118 cards and the real story behind every Night attack.
- Players
- 3-6
- Ages
- 10+
- Length
- 35 min
- Cards
- 118
- Hex tiles
- 15
The round
Day. Night. Dawn.
Gather 4 Codes, keep them alive through the Night and at Dawn trade them for 1 Totem. The first player to hold 3 Totems wins. The third can only be traded while revealed.
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Phase 1
DAY
You receive as many cards as there are players. Pick one, play it face up and pass the rest to your left. The last one that reaches you is forced.
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Phase 2
NIGHT
Dusk: the reveal windows open. Then the Night card is flipped: each shield is covered by a Protection. If you don't have enough, you lose Codes.
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Phase 3
DAWN
Voluntary trade: 4 Codes → 1 Totem. UPDATE: all Protections are discarded. Codes, Totems, Chips and Infrastructure survive.
The round in pictures
Table of four. Beto is the Black Hacker and tonight he decides to reveal.
| Ana | Beto Black | Carla | Dani | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  2 Codes |
  1 Code · Firewall |
   3 Codes (one from Ana) |
1 Code (forced) |
|
Night Dusk: Beto reveals and wagers. ILOVEYOU comes up, level 2: 1 shield or lose 2 Codes.   |
Loses 2: no shield. |
Covers: the Firewall is used. |
Loses 2, keeps 1. |
Loses 1: his only one. |
Dawn Three rivals lost Codes: Beto's wager wins. Nobody reaches 4. UPDATE: the Firewall is discarded. The lost Codes return to the Day Deck. |
Empty table. |
 1 Code · +1 Totem |
1 Code |
Empty table. |
> A single Protection earned Beto a Totem. Hoarding Codes without a shield is feeding the Predator.
The 6 Hackers
Six hats, six ways to win.
Every player receives a secret Role. Revealing is a one-time decision: you gain your R Reveal Power (once) and your P Permanent Power (forever). Hidden, you are a normal player: anonymity is your power.
BLACK HACKER
> UNC1337_
The Predator
R Wager: if 2+ rivals lose Codes tonight, +1 Totem.
P Interceptor: if it and 2+ rivals lose, it takes 1 Code from the deck.
WHITE HACKER
> GU4RD14N_
The Guardian
R Conservation: of what it lost that Night, it saves 1 Code, its Totem and its XDRs.
P Immune to Catastrophes · its XDRs persist · bonus if 3+ lose nothing.
GREY HACKER
> GH05T_
The Shadow
R Zero-Day Exploit with its forced card: steals 1 Code from each rival ignoring everything, cap of 3.
P VPS: a face-down card the thief picks blindly.
RED HACKER
> TH3_HUN73R_
The Hunter
R Hunt: intercepts the Totem of the Black who just wagered. No Black? Trace: +2 Codes.
P Its Hacks go through Zero Trust (except the White's).
BLUE HACKER
> R3SP0ND3R_
The Shield
R Coordinated Response: 3 Chips, or 2 + 1 to another player.
P Covers someone else's cost with the Protections it has left.
GREEN HACKER
> N00B_1337_
The Apprentice
R COPY!: copies the Reveal Power of whoever just revealed.
P Each Day it looks at the top card of the Night Deck.
The life of a Chip
1 · BornThe Blue reveals: 3 tiles from the pool, blue side up. If one is gifted, it carries a debt.
2 · WaitsIt stays on your table round after round. It doesn't expire at Dawn as long as you don't use it.
3a · CoversIf you decide to use it against a shield, it acts like a normal Protection: it becomes used and in the UPDATE returns to the pool.
3b · FlipsWhen you trade 4 Codes you don't take from the pool: you flip a Chip and it is now your Totem. The debt ends.
The cards
118 cards, 15 tiles, zero language.
All the playable information is in icons. The rulebook is its translation.
Day Deck · 72 + 8
- CODE×34 · the fuel
PROTECTION×18 · covers 1 shield
HACK×13 · steals 1 Code
AI AGENT×7 · Pentest or Sentinel
INFRASTRUCTURE×8 · 1337 pack
Infrastructure: plugs into the GPIO
The 8 gold cards of the 1337 pack are permanent. When you install one, you plug it sideways into the GPIO pins of your Role card: that's what the connector is for. One per player.
Night Deck · 18 + 4
22 real threats, from False Alarm to Prompt Injection, with level 0 to 5 and a red or grey skull. Never reshuffled: it is the game's clock. Every card comes with the story of what really happened in the rulebook.
Tiles · 15 hexes
- TOTEMamber side · 3 = win
- CHIPblue side · permanent shield
FIRST PLAYERpasses left
1337 BADGEmarks the pack cards
Review
An advanced round.
Table of five. Moisés is a revealed White (Infrastructure on his GPIO); Juan, a revealed Black with 1 Totem on his hexagon: he already spent his Reveal Power. Irving, Dani and Neo are still hidden; Neo is the second Black.
| Moisés White | Juan Black | Irving | Dani | Neo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Codes · Sentinel · XDR · Bug Bounty |
 2 Codes · Firewall · 1 Totem |
 3 Codes · 1 under Zero Trust |
2 Codes |
1 Code |
|
Dusk Windows in order: the Blacks first, then the Red. All before the Night is flipped. |
Already revealed. Nothing to declare. |
Already revealed: he can't wager, only his Permanent remains. |
2 · Reveals as Red and names Neo: he hunts the Black's wager. |
Hidden. Says nothing. |
1 · Reveals as Black and wagers: "2+ of you lose Codes." |
Night The card is flipped: Prompt Injection, grey, level 2. Everyone loses 1 Code; nothing protects except the Sentinel or Air Gap. |
Loses nothing: the Sentinel detects the trick. |
Loses 1: the Firewall doesn't work against N22. |
Loses 1: at Night, Zero Trust is a normal Protection, and against N22 none works. |
Loses 1. |
Loses 1; his wager counts the others. |
Collection and discards Neo's wager wins, Irving intercepts it; Juan's interceptor pays (he and 2+ rivals lost). Then the UPDATE: everyone discards their Protections. |
Discards the Sentinel. Keeps his XDR (White) and his Codes. |
Discards the Firewall. +1 Code: he and 2+ rivals lost. |
 Wins the Totem intercepted from the Black. Discards his Zero Trust. |
No changes. |
Won, but lost his Totem: the Red took it in mid-air. |
Dawn Moisés trades 4 Codes for his first Totem. This is how each table ends up; the lost Codes are already back in the Day Deck. |
 1 Totem · XDR · Bug Bounty · 0 Codes |
2 Codes · 1 Totem |
2 Codes · 1 Totem |
1 Code |
Revealed, empty table |
The Reveal Power is once only. Juan, already revealed, doesn't wager: he only collects his Permanent. Neo, the other Black, does.
The Hunt intercepts in mid-air and only at the dusk the Black wagers. Irving waited for Neo; Juan could no longer be hunted.
Against Prompt Injection only the Sentinel works (or Air Gap). Firewall, Zero Trust and Chips don't count.
Complete rulebook
All of this, and the rest, in the PDF.
31 pages: setup, the three phases in detail, one page per Hacker, the 118 cards, the table of the 22 Nights with their true story, edge cases and glossary.