Gamedec Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Course and Goal of the Game
• Box Contents
• Game Setup
• Board
• Gamedec Cards and Skill, Reputation and Wound Tokens
  • Example
• Gamedec Pawns and Clue/Obligation Tokens
• Equipment Cards
  • Example
• Task Cards
• Credit Tokens
• Lag Tokens
• Corporate Commission Cards, Target and Threatened Corporation Markers
• Course of Play
  • Phase 1: Corporate Investigation
  • Phase 2: Gamedec Actions
    • Movement
    • Actions in the Realium
    • Actions on Sensory World Spaces
    • Actions on Corporation Spaces
    • Universal Actions
    • Drawing Task Cards
    • Exchanges
    • Playing Task Cards
    • Attacking Another Detective
    • Corporate Commission
• Investigation Points
• End of the Game
• Optional Rules
  • Longer Game
  • Task Cards Available Immediately
  • Less Randomness
  • Online Trade
  • Variable Starting Player
  • Terror
    • Setup with Terror Cards
    • Revealing Terror Cards
  • Scenarios
    • Setup with Scenarios
    • Starting a Scenario
    • Completing a Scenario
• F.A.Q.
  • F.A.Q. on Optional Rules
• Order of Actions in a Round
• Detective Actions
• Symbol Summary
• Exchanges on Board Spaces

Course and Goal of the Game

The game is for 2-6 players aged 12 and up. Playing time: about 90 minutes.

The game consists of a series of rounds. In each round the players in turn carry out the actions of their detectives: they move their characters between the Worlds and try to perform Tasks on the spaces they visit. When every gamedec has finished his turn, the hackers attack one of the virtual worlds. If the detectives do not manage to prevent it, Lag tokens appear on the board, signifying damage or overloading of the Net and hampering further play.

The goal of the game is to gain 9 Investigation Points. The moment one of the players gains the ninth point, the game immediately ends with his victory. If within 14 rounds none of the players gains the number of Investigation Points required to win, the terrorists' final attack takes place: the game ends with the defeat of all participants.

Box Contents

A. Board (1) B. Gamedec cards (10) C. Tokens for marking Skills, Wounds and Reputation (72) D. Gamedec pawns (10) and stands (10) E. Clue/Obligation tokens (140) F. Equipment cards (24) G. Task cards (100) H. Corporate Commission cards (16) I. Credit tokens (30) J. Lag markers (14) K. Target marker (1) L. Threatened Corporation marker (1) M. Starting Player marker (1) N. Scenario cards (12) O. Terror cards (10) P. Finale cards (10) Q. Six-sided dice (2) R. The rulebook you are reading (1)

Before the first game the players should carefully punch the cardboard elements out of their frames. The pawns should be put into the plastic stands.

Game Setup

1. Place the game board in a central, easily accessible place.
2. Shuffle the Task deck and place it face down on the appropriate space of the Board. Do the same with the Equipment deck and the Corporate Commission deck.
3. Place the rectangular tokens (Credits, Wounds, Skills and Reputation) next to the board.
4. Decide which player starts the game. The starting player puts in front of himself: the Starting Player marker, the Target marker, the Threatened Corporation marker and the Lag tokens. The Starting Player should have easy access to the Corporate Commission deck lying on the left side of the Board.
5. Each player, beginning with the Starting Player, chooses or draws at random one gamedec card and places it in front of himself. The players also take the sets of Clue/Obligation tokens corresponding to their detectives.
6. The player with the Starting Player marker places next to each of the Corporation spaces one Equipment card from the top of the deck, and then turns them face up. He also turns up a fifth Equipment card and places it on the Board next to the face-down pile.
7. Each player, beginning with the Starting Player, places the pawn of his detective on the Realium space and then takes 8 Task cards. After looking at the drawn Task cards each player places one of his Clue tokens on the "0" space of the Investigation Points track and takes one, freely chosen, Skill token. We advise choosing the Skill marked with the "+3" modifier first - after a few games and mastering the rules players may choose a different Skill at the start.
8. The Starting Player moves the 2 top Corporate Commission cards to a face-up pile next to the deck, and then places 1 Lag token on each of the Sensory World spaces indicated on the revealed cards (if both cards show the same Sensory World, only 1 token is placed on it).

In the basic variant of the game the Scenario cards, Terror cards and Finale cards do not take part - put them back in the box. The cards, pawns and Clue/Obligation tokens assigned to unchosen detectives also do not take part in the game.

Example: Components prepared for a 3-player game. The Starting Player is Ben Torres. Max Romanov starts the game with a good Reputation token, thanks to his special ability.

Board

On the Board there are spaces that detectives may visit (A, B and C). Additionally the Board has places for card decks and for monitoring the Investigation Points won by players. The symbols next to the spaces describe: the rules for entering a given Virtualium, the Exchanges that can be made on a given space, and the types of Corporate Aid. A detailed explanation of all symbols is at the end of this rulebook (p. 36).

A. Realium, the real world, is the place where detectives begin the game and draw new Task cards. B. The eight Sensory Worlds, sometimes called Virtualia: the realistic Brahma, the dangerous Crying Guns, the exclusive Deep Past World, the merchant Dream Space, the illegal Happy Hunting Grounds, the romantic Paradise Beach, the dynamic Speed Demons and the perverse Twisted & Perverted. C. Four Corporations: Mobillenium, Novatronics, Pharma Nanolabs and Zoenet Labs. D. Investigation Points track - positions 0 to 9 are used to mark the current number of Investigation Points of individual detectives. Each player starts from position "0". Reaching space "9" is equivalent to winning the game. E-K. Places for: the Task deck (E), the pile of completed/discarded Task cards (F), the Corporate Commission deck (G), the card of the current Corporate Commission (H), the Equipment deck (I), the pile of face-up Equipment cards (J) and the Equipment cards offered by the Corporations (K).

The Skill symbols placed by the Sensory World spaces serve as a reminder which Skills are useful when performing Tasks in a given Virtualium.

Gamedec Cards and Skill, Reputation and Wound Tokens

The gamedec card, and the Skill, Reputation and Wound tokens, serve to track the current state of each detective. On each card there are the following elements:

A. Skills are useful when performing Tasks. See p. 18. At the start of the game detectives have only one chosen Skill. See p. 4. When the game rules indicate the possibility of gaining a new Skill, the player takes a Skill token that he does not yet have and puts it next to the card. When a player already has all eight Skills, and the rules indicate the possibility of gaining another, nothing happens. The numerical modifier next to the icon of each Skill on the gamedec card says how well trained the character is in that field. For example, if Ben Torres gets the "Contacts" token, he will receive a +3 modifier when performing Tasks based on this Skill. In turn the "Discretion" token will add only +1 to the relevant Tasks.

B. Reputation means how popular and experienced the detective is, and thus how many commissions he receives. See p. 15. Reputation can take five levels, which are marked using two double-sided tokens:

• Extremely bad Reputation: the detective has no access to some Sensory Worlds and receives only 1 Task card when visiting the Realium. This level is marked with a black token turned to the side with the symbol of two wings.
• Bad Reputation: the detective is still not welcome in Brahma and Dream Space, but draws 2 Task cards. Bad Reputation is marked with a black token turned to the side with the symbol of a single wing.
• Neutral Reputation: the detective is either not particularly well known, or has an equal number of enemies and allies. The hero no longer has a problem visiting restrictive virtualia and draws 3 Task cards on every visit to the Realium. A player with Neutral Reputation simply discards the tokens with wing symbols.
• Good Reputation, guaranteeing the gamedec a steady inflow of new clients: during a visit to the Realium he draws 4 Task cards. This level is marked with a white token turned to the side with the symbol of a single wing.
• Excellent Reputation: the hero is a renowned game detective and draws as many as 5 Task cards during a visit to the Realium. This level of Reputation is marked with a white token with the symbol of a double wing.

All heroes begin the game without Reputation tokens (and so at the Neutral level), unless the detective card gives other information.

Changes of Reputation level during the game must be marked immediately with the appropriate token. For example, if a player with extremely good Reputation is forced to lower its level, he turns the white token to the side with the single wing symbol. If a player with Neutral Reputation is to lower its level, he takes a black token and puts it next to the card, single wing symbol up.

Some of the detectives cannot have extremely bad or extremely good Reputation - the available scale is marked on the card (if the rules would push a player's Reputation level beyond the available limits, nothing happens).

At no moment of the game should a detective have tokens with symbols of good and bad reputation at the same time. A detective is considered to have Bad Reputation if he has a black token, regardless of which side it lies on.

C-D. Bio Wounds (C) symbolise physical injuries, and Neuro Wounds (D) - mental ones. Receiving a Wound is marked by taking the corresponding token. Each player may have at most 1 Bio Wound token and at most 1 Neuro Wound token - receiving another Wound of the same kind in a row is ignored. Wounds do not eliminate a player from the game, but affect the performed Tasks adversely - the player subtracts the modifiers given on the card from every dice roll. When a player has the opportunity to heal one type of wound, he simply discards the corresponding token and stops applying that wound's penalty modifier to tests.

E. Special ability - each detective has a different ability, allowing him to modify or bypass one of the game rules. The special ability is active throughout the game.

Example

In the example, the player controlling Ben Torres has marked next to his card the following information:

• the detective has developed the Skills: Shooting and Contacts (which means that when he performs Tasks requiring these Skills, he will add +2 or +3 respectively to the dice rolls, and if he undertakes a Task based on both Shooting and Contacts, he will add as much as +5 [see p. 18]). The tokens of both Skills stay with the player until the end of the game (they cannot be lost).
• Ben has received a Neuro Wound and marked it with the corresponding token. Until he heals it (e.g. during a visit to Paradise Beach or by using corporate help [see p. 15 and p. 22]), he receives a -2 penalty modifier to all rolls.
• the gamedec has Bad Reputation - when visiting the Realium he will draw only 2 new Task cards [see p. 15]. Another detective with such a reputation would additionally have no entry to Brahma and Dream Space, but Ben Torres's special ability allows him to ignore this restriction.

Gamedec Pawns and Clue/Obligation Tokens

Pawns are used to mark the current position of detectives on the Board. Each detective begins the game on the Realium space. During the game he will be able to move his pawn between the various spaces of the Board: Sensory Worlds, the Realium and Corporations. In each of his turns a detective may visit two freely chosen spaces. See p. 14.

Each detective has 14 identical tokens with his symbol. One of the tokens is used to mark the current number of Investigation Points on the track. The remaining tokens have two uses: placed on a Sensory World space they are called Clues, and on Corporation spaces: Obligations.

A Clue means that the gamedec has cracked the hackers threatening a given Virtualium and has already gained an Investigation Point for performing a Task on that space - to continue the investigation he must visit other Worlds. A Clue token lying on the board may be used by the player to fulfil a Corporate Commission.

An Obligation means that the given detective has received help from the given Corporation and will not receive further support from it until he repays it by performing an appropriate Corporate Commission. See p. 19 and p. 21.

On each space only 1 Clue/Obligation token of a given detective may be placed at a time. Tokens are not placed on the Realium space.

Equipment Cards

Digital Equipment aids detectives when performing Tasks. Each Equipment card represents a program or virtual item that guarantees a +2 modifier to one of the eight Skills while in the Sensory Worlds. The bonuses from owning Equipment cards add up with the detectives' Skills, and also with other Equipment cards supporting the same Skill. Equipment is useless in the Realium - on that space the modifiers from Equipment cards are not taken into account.

Equipment cards can be bought, or received from a Corporation. Each player may have a maximum of 3 Equipment cards. All cards are public - they should be placed next to the gamedec card. Equipment is reusable - the player receives the bonus resulting from it for the entire time he owns the card (except on the Realium space).

Next to the face-down Equipment deck is a place for discarded cards (see Board, space "j"). At least one face-up card should always lie on it - when for some reason this pile runs out, it is immediately refilled with a new card from the top of the face-down deck. By each Corporation space there is a place for a single, face-up Equipment card offered by that Corporation (see Board, spaces "k") - analogously, when one of the players takes a given card, the space is immediately refilled with a new card from the deck.

The symbol by the Realium space is a reminder that while on this space players do not take into account bonuses from Equipment cards.

Example

In the example, the detective at the top has the Skill "Melee" and two Equipment cards: "Adrenaline" and "Sensory Halo". When performing tests based on "Melee" the player adds +3 to the dice roll. When performing tests based on "Agility" or "Contacts" the player adds +2 to the dice roll. When testing the remaining Skills he adds no bonus.

The gamedec at the bottom has the Skills "Melee" and "Discretion", and three Equipment cards: "Incapacitator", "Jetpack" and "Adrenaline". The bonuses the player will add when testing Skills are as follows: "Melee" +5 (Skill and Equipment card), "Agility" +4 (two Equipment cards), "Discretion" +2 (Skill). When performing tests of other Skills the player will not receive additional bonuses.

NOTE: cards on all face-up piles (Equipment, used Corporate Commissions and discarded Tasks) may be looked through, without changing their order. Cards on face-down piles may not be looked at, but may be counted.

Task Cards

Each Task card describes a new commission, a lead in the investigation or a story thread that a detective can follow. Tasks are crucial for the course of play - performing them regularly brings the gamedec closer to breaking up the gang of hackers and, thereby, to victory.

Each detective has 8 random Tasks at the start of the game, and may draw further cards during a visit to the Realium - the number of cards drawn is determined by the detective's current Reputation value. Held Tasks should be kept face down from the other players.

A player may discard Task cards he does not plan to undertake at any time. At the start of his turn a player may hold a maximum of eight cards in hand. It is possible to draw cards above this limit during the round, but the excess must be discarded after the end of his turn.

During his turn a player may try to perform the Tasks he holds, by visiting the spaces connected with them and performing the tests described on the cards. In case of success each card allows placing a Clue on the board, and most missions, especially the harder ones, also guarantee an additional reward.

A. Skills useful in carrying out this Task. The gamedec does not have to possess the Skills listed on the card, but without them (or the Equipment replacing them) he has a smaller chance of successfully performing the Task.

B. Difficulty Level is the value that must be reached or exceeded when rolling two dice for the Task to end in success. The cards in the deck have Difficulty Levels: 8 (easy), 10 (medium) or 12 (hard). The dice roll result is modified depending on the detective's Skills and other circumstances. See p. 17.

C. World - the name of the space on which the detective must be in order to perform the given Task. The World can also be recognised by the illustration and the colour of the card's border. Some of the Task cards are assigned to one of the Sensory Worlds or the Realium. The remaining cards are universal (that is, the Tasks described on them can be performed on any spaces, with the exception of Corporation spaces).

D. Failure - next to the red shield is a symbol defining what happens when a player undertakes the given Task but the dice roll result is lower than the Difficulty Level.

E. Success - next to the green shield are symbols denoting the rewards the detective receives when he performs the Task successfully.

Discarded or completed Tasks go to the appropriately marked area of the Board (see Board, space "f"). When the Task deck runs out, shuffle the pile of discarded cards and form a new, face-down deck from it.

Credit Tokens

The yellow tokens depict the currency of the Gamedec universe. For Credits one can buy in the Realium and the Sensory Worlds such goods as Equipment and Skills. One can also trade with other players using them. Merely owning at least one Credit token is a condition of entry to the exclusive Sensory Worlds: Deep Past World and Crying Guns.

Each player may have any number of Credit tokens. At the start of the game detectives have no Credits.

Lag Tokens

Lags signify disruptions in the functioning of network connections. They appear in the game when players too sluggishly or ineffectively carry out Corporate Commissions. See p. 25.

Lag markers have a double use: placed on a Sensory World space they mean that in the given Virtualium not everything works as it should and missions performed in it are riskier. Every time a player performing a Task on a space with a Lag token rolls a "1" on either die, the Task automatically ends in failure.

The second effect of Lags is directly slowing detectives. A player receives a Lag token when the hackers manage at the end of a round to attack the Corporation on whose space his detective has Obligations. The token means the loss of one move - in his next round the detective may visit only one, instead of two, board spaces, because he loses the rest of the time repairing his connections, tidying his database and holding tiresome telesensory talks with sponsors.

No more than 1 Lag marker may lie on any Sensory World space - if the rules order a token to be placed on a space that is already infected with Lags, nothing happens. Lag markers never go on Corporation spaces or to the Realium.

Corporate Commission Cards, Target and Threatened Corporation Markers

Corporate Commission cards (A) tell where the activity of terrorists is currently concentrated. At the start of each round one card is revealed from the deck and, according to it, the markers are placed on the board: Target (B) and Threatened Corporation (C). See p. 13.

The Target marker is double-sided: on one of its sides a Lag symbol is placed. When this symbol is visible, the Target marker works analogously to a Lag token (rolling a "1" on a space with this marker means automatic failure). Performing a Corporate Commission by any of the players allows turning the marker to its other, safe side. See p. 19. If at the end of the round the Lag symbol is still visible on the Target marker, a cyberterrorist strike occurs and new Lag tokens appear in the game. See p. 25.

When the Corporate Commission deck runs out, the final hacker attack occurs and the game ends. If by then none of the players has achieved the victory conditions, all detectives are considered to have failed. See p. 26.

Course of Play

The game is played in consecutive rounds. Each round is divided into the following phases:

1. Corporate Investigation
2. Gamedec Actions
3. Hacker Attack

The game continues until one of the detectives gains a sufficient number of Investigation Points or until the Corporate Commission cards run out.

Phase 1: Corporate Investigation

The Starting Player reveals the top card of the Corporate Commission deck and places it in the space next to the deck. He then places on the board the Target and Threatened Corporation markers, according to the instructions on the revealed Corporate Commission card. The Target marker should be placed with the Lag icon side up.

If the Starting Player cannot reveal a Corporate Commission card because the deck ran out in the previous round, the game ends. See p. 26.

Example: After revealing a new Corporate Commission card, the Starting Player places the Target marker in the world Twisted & Perverted, and the Threatened Corporation marker on the Mobillenium space.

Phase 2: Gamedec Actions

In clockwise order, beginning with the Starting Player, the turns of all detectives follow.

In his turn each player may make a move twice, moving his pawn on the board. On each visited space the player may perform various actions, described below. See p. 15.

When a player finishes his actions, the turn of the next player begins. The Gamedec Actions phase ends with the turn of the last player.

Entering Happy Hunting Grounds or Twisted & Perverted automatically lowers the detective's Reputation by 1. Reputation drops each time a player places his pawn on one of these spaces.

The above entry conditions must be met only at the moment of moving onto the given space. If a player stops meeting them after the move has been made (e.g. spends all his Credit tokens on the Crying Guns space), nothing happens.

On each visited space the player may take actions specific to the given World or Corporation. Most actions may be performed multiple times, and all actions on a given space may be performed in any order, also interleaved with other actions. It is allowed to visit a space and perform no actions on it, and also to visit the same space twice in a row.

The exception is the actions of playing Task cards and Attacking - a player may not perform both of them in one turn. Playing at least one Task card makes it impossible to Attack other players until the start of the next round. Analogously, attacking another detective makes it impossible to play Task cards.

Movement

If a player does not have a Lag token, he may move his pawn on the board twice in his turn. A player with a Lag token may move only once - instead of the second move (and the actions following it) he must discard the Lag token he has.

The round must begin with a move - no actions may be taken on the space where the detective starts his turn without first moving the pawn (it is however possible to begin with a Move to exactly the same space).

The spaces that can be visited are: the Realium, the Sensory World spaces and the Corporation spaces. A gamedec's pawn may be moved to any spaces, however entry to some Sensory Worlds requires meeting certain conditions, which are indicated by symbols placed next to the spaces:

• On the Brahma and Dream Space spaces a detective with Bad Reputation (that is, a black Reputation token) may not stand - if the player wants to visit one of these spaces he must first find a way to improve his Reputation.
• On the Crying Guns and Deep Past World spaces a detective without any Credit tokens may not stand. A Credit is not a payment - there is no need to discard the token upon entering! To enter one of these Worlds the player must have at least one such token at that moment.

Example of movement and actions: Angela Baal visits the world Happy Hunting Grounds - her Reputation immediately drops by 1 level. Standing on this space the player plays a Task card, then trades with another player, and finally plays another Task card. In her second move Angela would like to enter the Brahma space, but she cannot make such a move because she has Bad Reputation. The player decides to visit Paradise Beach instead and to play a third Task card on it. Another detective is currently in Paradise Beach - Angela cannot attack him, because in this turn she played Task cards.

Actions in the Realium

The following actions a player may take in his turn after entering the Realium space:

• Drawing Task cards
• Exchanges
• Playing Task cards
• Attacking another detective
• Discarding Task and Equipment cards
• Trading with other players
• Assists and Sabotages

Actions on Sensory World Spaces

The following actions a player may take in his turn after entering one of the eight Sensory Worlds:

• Exchanges
• Playing Task cards
• Attacking another detective
• Corporate Commission

Actions on Corporation Spaces

The following actions a player may take in his turn after entering one of the four Corporation spaces:

• Corporate Commission
• Corporate Aid

Universal Actions

The following actions a player may take at any moment (also in the turns of other players), regardless of the occupied space:

• Discarding Task and Equipment cards
• Trading with other players
• Assists and Sabotages

Drawing Task Cards

While in the Realium a player may draw as many new Task cards from the face-down deck as his current Reputation indicates. The player does not look at the new cards immediately and cannot use them in the current turn - instead he places them face down above his gamedec card and continues his turn.

The action of drawing Task cards may be performed once per each visit to the Realium.

After finishing his turn the player looks at the newly drawn Tasks - adds them to the cards in his hand and, if he exceeds the limit of 8 cards, discards the excess Tasks of his choice.

Exchanges

By each of the Sensory Worlds and by the Realium space there are symbols defining the Exchange possible to perform in the given World. Exchanges are marked with an arrow and usually concern swapping one type of owned goods (tokens or cards) for another.

During a visit to a given space a player may perform any number of Exchanges, as long as he has enough resources. Exchanges may be interleaved with other actions, such as playing Task cards, attacking other detectives etc.

All possible Exchanges are described at the end of this rulebook.

Example: Ben Torres enters the Brahma space. The exchange symbol by this Sensory World informs that the player may exchange any 3 Task cards from his hand for 1 Credit token. Ben discards "The Ring of the Nibelung" and "The Return of the King", because both Tasks take place on the Deep Past World space, and the player does not plan to go there in the near future. As the third he discards the card "Cyberogre" from the world Speed Demons. For the discarded cards the player takes a Credit token. He could immediately discard another 3 Tasks to take another Credit token, but the player decides not to use this possibility.

Playing Task Cards

To play a Task card the detective must be on the space marked on the card. Universal Tasks (with a grey frame) may be played in any of the eight Sensory Worlds, and also on the Realium space. A player may play only Task cards that he holds in hand - face-down cards drawn in the Realium in a given turn will be available only from the next round. On Corporation spaces no Tasks are played.

After revealing the card to the other participants of the game a test must be performed: the player rolls two six-sided dice and adds to the result all possible modifiers. If the final roll result is equal to or greater than the Difficulty Level specified on the card, the Task ends in success. Otherwise it ends in failure.

If the test is performed on a space on which a Lag marker lies (or a Target marker placed with the Lag icon up), the test ends in failure also when the value "1" comes up on either die - regardless of the final result and the Difficulty Level.

The modifiers affecting the test may be as follows:

Skills - each Skill of the detective that is highlighted on the Task card allows increasing the roll result by the corresponding value (+1, +2 or +3, depending on the detective). Skills whose tokens the detective does not have, and those not listed on the Task card, are not added to the test. If the player has the tokens of both Skills listed on the card, he adds both modifiers to the roll.

Equipment - each Equipment card owned that corresponds to the Skills listed on the Task card guarantees a +2 bonus to the test. The Equipment and Skill modifiers are cumulative. The player does not need to own the token of the corresponding Skill in order to use the Equipment supporting it. Remember that Equipment cards do not work on the Realium space.

Wounds - received Wounds reduce the roll result, according to the values marked on the gamedec card (-0, -1, -2 or -3). Wounds accumulate - if a detective has both a Bio and a Neuro Wound at once, the player subtracts both modifiers from the roll. Wounds affect every roll, regardless of the Skills listed on the Task card.

Assists and Sabotages - each player may try to modify the roll with Task cards that previously ended in failure. See p. 23. Each card used for this purpose allows modifying the roll result by +2 or -2, depending on the intention of the player playing it. Assists and Sabotages can modify both one's own rolls and the tests of rivals.

Test: 2d6 + Skills + Equipment + Assists - Wounds - Sabotages >= Difficulty Level

It is forbidden to play Task cards in a round in which the player Attacked other detectives - in one turn a player may EITHER play Tasks OR attack.

Example: Max Romanov enters the world Deep Past World and plays the card "Too Easy a Target", revealing it to the other players. The card has a low Difficulty Level (8) and is based on the Skills: Agility and Melee. Max has Melee (guaranteeing a +2 modifier), but does not have Agility. Earlier he managed to get the Equipment card "Jetpack", guaranteeing a +2 modifier in Agility tests, and also the card "Incapacitator", useful in Melee tests. As a result the player will add as much as +6 to the dice roll result (+2 for the owned Skill and +4 for both Equipment cards) - so he will manage to match the Difficulty Level even if he rolls two ones.

The situation would be different if Max had Wounds (he would have to subtract 1 from the roll for each Wound), the other players decided to make the Task harder for him with a Sabotage (-2 for each card used in this way), or if there lay a Lag token in Deep Past World (rolling a "1" on either die would cause automatic failure).

If the Task ends in success, the player follows the instructions described by the symbols in the lower right corner of the Task, and then discards the card onto the top of the face-up pile next to the Task deck. The reward may be described by one or two symbols (the first is always "Clue"). In the case of two rewards, each of them is resolved separately.

In case of failure the detective receives the penalty defined by the symbol in the lower left corner. The card of the failed Task is not discarded - instead the player places it face down under his gamedec card. A Task set aside in this way does not count toward the limit of cards held in hand and cannot be played, but the player may use such a card for Assists or Sabotages in the future.

A Task card may be played even when the player has none of the Skills listed on it, and also when he has no real chances of success of the mission (e.g. because of Wounds received).

Possible rewards in case of success:

• Clue is resolved differently on the Sensory World spaces and differently in the Realium:
  • After performing a Task on a Sensory World space the player may place on it his Clue token, provided that in this World there is not already a Clue of that player. Placing a Clue on a new Sensory World space is rewarded with 1 Investigation Point. Points 7, 8 and 9 cannot be gained this way. See p. 25.
  • In the Realium no Clue tokens are placed - instead, if a Task performed on this space ends in success, the player receives 1 Investigation Point. It is possible to gain Points 7, 8 and 9 in this way.
• Investigation Point - the player immediately receives 1 Investigation Point (he does not need to place his Clue for this). This Point is gained regardless of the occupied space, the Clue tokens on the board or the player's current number of Investigation Points. See p. 25.
• Skill - the player immediately takes a new Skill token that he does not yet have.
• Equipment card - the player takes an Equipment card from the top of a pile (face-down or face-up - his choice). In this way Equipment cards above the allowed limit can be obtained, but the excess will have to be discarded at the end of the round.
• Credit token - the player immediately takes 1 Credit token.
• Reputation increase - the player raises his Reputation by 1 level, by drawing, discarding or turning the appropriate tokens.

Possible penalties in case of failure:

• Reputation loss - the player lowers his Reputation by 1 level, by drawing, discarding or turning the appropriate tokens.
• Bio Wound - the detective receives a Bio Wound token.
• Neuro Wound - the detective receives a Neuro Wound token.
• Offending a Corporation - the player chooses one of the Corporations by which his Obligation token does not lie and places his token on its space, losing the possibility of getting support from this Corporation in the future.

Attacking Another Detective

A detective may attack another gamedec if he expects to steal valuable information and leads from him. Although attacking does not help in building Reputation, it may be a good way of catching up with more successful gamedecs in the investigation.

The goal of the attack is above all the theft of information, therefore only players who have more Investigation Points than the attacker may be attacked.

To attack another player the detective must stand on the same board space. Attacking on Corporation spaces is not possible - megacorporations have advanced security systems and do not allow confrontations between their contractors. In one turn one may attack all players (as long as they are not scattered around the board), however each detective may be attacked only once per round. It is not possible to perform an Attack when the player has already played at least one Task card in the given turn - both a virtual attack and continuing the investigation require separate, time-consuming preparations.

After entering the same space as the victim and declaring a fight, the attacking player immediately loses 1 Reputation level, and then chooses the form of the attack: Shooting or Melee. Both detectives taking part in the fight make separate rolls of two dice, whose results they increase by the appropriate Skill (chosen by the attacker) and the modifiers from the corresponding Equipment, and then they include the modifiers from owned Wounds and any Assists. The player who finally gets the higher result wins the clash. In case of a tie, the fight ends with no additional effect.

Attack - both players compare results: 2d6 + Skill + Equipment + Assists - Wounds - Sabotages

If the attacker wins the fight, he immediately gains 1 Investigation Point.

The loser, regardless of whether he was the attacker or the attacked, receives a Wound of a type chosen by himself (Bio or Neuro - however, he cannot choose a Wound that he already has). If the loser already has Wound tokens of both types, nothing happens.

Example: Angela Baal has 4 Investigation Points, while Ben already has 5, and Max Romanov as many as 7. The player controlling Angela decides to devote the round to attacking competitors. As the first target she chooses Ben - although this Gamedec has gained during the game quite a lot of Equipment useful in fighting and will be a tougher opponent, Angela has a chance to gain an Investigation Point from him first, and then by attacking Max.

Angela stands on the same space as Ben and declares an attack using Shooting. By declaring an attack on another detective Angela automatically loses 1 Reputation level. Both players roll the dice and add their modifiers from the Skill Shooting (Angela has the Skill at +3 and the Equipment card "Minigun", adding +2 to this test, while Ben does not have the appropriate Skill, but can add +2 for the owned card "Plasmagun"). Angela rolls a "4" and finally gets a result of "9", while Ben rolls two fives, getting a result of "12"! The fight ends with Angela being wounded - her player chooses a Neuro Wound (both types of wounds give Angela the same modifier: "-2", but looking at the situation on the board the player decides that it will be easier for him to heal the Neuro Wound).

In the second move Angela moves to the space occupied by Max and again declares an attack using the Skill "Shooting". The gamedec's Reputation reached the lowest possible level during the previous attack, so this time the player does not modify its value. Angela can add to the roll only +3 (+2 for Equipment, +3 for Skill and -2 for the Neuro Wound). Max adds nothing to the roll, because he has neither the Skill Shooting nor the appropriate Equipment (he has the card "Incapacitator", but the duel is fought with Shooting, not Melee). Both players get a result of "7" on the dice, which, after adding modifiers, means Angela's win. The player controlling this detective gets 1 Investigation Point, and Max receives a wound, choosing a Bio Wound.

Had Angela first attacked the weaker Max, she would have had a smaller chance of receiving a wound, but would not have had a chance of gaining 2 Investigation Points in this turn - after a successful attack she would have 5 Points, the same as Ben, and attacking players with the same or fewer Investigation Points is forbidden.

Corporate Commission

Corporate Commissions are essential to prevent Lags from appearing on the board - detectives can track down the hackers, but usually repairing the extensive damage must be handled by corporations with large budgets. An additional reward for performing Commissions is the possibility of removing Clue and Obligation tokens from the board, enabling the player to gain further Investigation Points and to use Corporation support again.

A Corporate Commission may be undertaken by a player whose Clue token lies on the space with the Target marker - that is, a detective who has already performed a Task in this World and cracked the hackers operating there. The Clue may, but does not have to, have been gained in the round in which the player undertakes the Commission. To perform a Corporate Commission the detective must be in the World with the Target marker, or on the space of the Threatened Corporation.

After declaring the wish to perform the Commission the player removes his Clue and Obligation tokens from both spaces: the Target and the Threatened Corporation, and then turns the Target marker with the Lag symbol down (if the Target marker was already turned, the player may instead remove one Lag marker from the board). From the moment the Target is turned, all players may be sure that no new Lag markers will appear at the end of the turn.

To perform a Corporate Commission the player does not need to have an Obligation on the Threatened Corporation space - he may perform the Commission solely to remove his Clue from the Target, or to prevent new Lags from appearing. A Corporate Commission can be performed on the same terms even when the Target marker already lies on the safe side (someone performed the Commission earlier in the turn) - for each subsequent Corporate Commission one more Lag marker can be removed from the board.

Removing a Clue token from the board does not mean losing the Investigation Point gained thanks to it.

Example: The Target marker lies on the Dream Space space, and the Threatened Corporation marker on the Novatronics space. Because the Target is turned Lag symbol up, at the end of the turn Lags will appear unless someone performs a Corporate Commission. Ben Torres happens to have his Clue in Dream Space, so he decides to carry out a Corporate Commission - for this he must visit either the World with the Target marker, or the Threatened Corporation space.

If Ben performs the Commission while on the Dream Space space, he will prevent new Lags from appearing, but apart from removing his Clue from this space he will not receive any reward. The player therefore decides to carry out the Commission by visiting the Novatronics space. Thanks to this he can first use Corporate Aid, for which he is forced to place an Obligation token. Right after this he performs the Corporate Commission: he removes both his Clue token from Dream Space and the Obligation from the Novatronics space, and then turns the Target marker so as to symbolise the performance of the Commission.

In the second move of the same turn Ben may again stand on the Novatronics space and use its help a second time, because he has already repaid the previous Obligation. He may also visit Dream Space and try to perform a new Task on this space - if as a result he places a new Clue on the board, he will be able to perform a Corporate Commission again in the same round to remove one of the Lag tokens from the board.

Corporate Aid

To use corporate support the player must stand on the space of the appropriate Corporation and place his Obligation token on it. The player may not use the aid if his Obligation already lies on the given space.

Immediately after placing the token the player receives two of the three types of aid listed by the Corporation:

• healing Neuro or Bio Wounds,
• increasing his Reputation or drawing a Credit token,
• drawing the Equipment card lying by the Corporation space.

Healing Bio Wounds - Pharma Nanolabs and Novatronics can heal the Bio Wounds the player has. After choosing this aid the player discards the Bio Wound token.

Healing Neuro Wounds - Mobillenium and Zoenet Labs can heal the Neuro Wounds the player has. After choosing this aid the player discards the Neuro Wound token.

Financial support - Mobillenium and Pharma Nanolabs can offer the player Credits. After choosing this aid the player draws 1 Credit token.

Improving Reputation - Novatronics and Zoenet Labs can increase the detective's Reputation. After choosing this aid the player raises his Reputation by 1 level and marks it with the appropriate tokens.

Equipment - each Corporation always offers one face-up Equipment card. After choosing this aid the player takes the Equipment card lying by the given Corporation's space, and then refills the empty space with a new card taken from the top of the face-down Equipment deck.

If the player does not want to heal any wounds or take Equipment, he may receive financial support or Reputation improvement twice, by drawing 2 Credit tokens or raising his Reputation by 2 levels respectively. If the player wishes, he may receive only one Corporate Aid, but in that case he still places his Obligation marker on the Corporation space, depriving himself of its help in the future. As part of Corporate Aid one cannot take two Equipment cards.

Corporate Aid can be received only once per detective's move. In particular, it is not possible to perform in one move three actions: using Aid, removing an Obligation token by performing a Corporate Commission, and using Corporate Aid again.

Example: Max Romanov stands on the Zoenet Labs space and places his Obligation token on it. In return he may receive aid twice. He decides to raise his Reputation by 1 level twice. Zoenet Labs will give Max no more aid until he removes his Obligation by means of an appropriate Corporate Commission.

Discarding Task and Equipment Cards

Because when starting his round a player may not have more than 8 Task cards and 3 Equipment cards, he may decide to discard some of his cards at any moment of the game, except moments when it would interfere with playing out the normal rules (e.g. during Trade).

All discarded Task cards go to the face-up pile next to the Task deck. Should the Task deck run out, shuffle the pile of discarded cards and form a new, face-down deck from it.

All discarded Equipment cards go to the bottom of the face-up pile next to the Equipment deck. Analogously, when the Equipment deck runs out, a new deck should be formed from the pile of discarded Equipment cards (if there are any), and then the top Equipment card should be moved onto the face-up pile. If there is only one card on the face-up pile, a new deck is not created.

Example: In the situation shown, the Equipment deck has run out. The player who last drew a card shuffles all the cards from the face-up pile and forms a new, face-down deck (A) from them. He then reveals the card from the top of the deck and places it next to it, forming a new pile (B).

Trading with Other Players

Trade allows players to exchange resources: Credit tokens, Task cards and Equipment cards. Trade may be proposed by any player, but the player currently playing his turn must always take part in it - one cannot conduct exchanges between two inactive players. There is a limit of one transaction per player's turn. To carry out Trade the detectives need not be on the same board space.

Expectations and rates are declared openly (one may show one's Task cards to the other players for this purpose) and, after becoming acquainted with all offers, the player currently playing his turn may choose one of them. After mutual agreement the players exchange cards and/or tokens according to the arrangements.

In trade between players there are no predetermined rates - everyone has the right to demand any number of Credits, specific Equipment cards or any number of Task cards (more or less specified). It is up to the co-players whether they agree to the offers. It is permissible to give up cards or Credit tokens for free - such a transaction also counts as Trade.

Task cards obtained during Trade go straight to the player's hand and may be used in the same round.

Example: Max Romanov has an Obligation on the Threatened Corporation space, but is not able to perform a Corporate Commission. As a result he is at risk of receiving a Lag token at the end of the current turn. To perform a Corporate Commission the detective must gain a Clue in Speed Demons, where the Target marker currently lies. The player declares the wish to trade: for two Task cards possible to perform on the Speed Demons space (so either connected with that World, or universal) he is ready to pay 2 Credit tokens.

The player controlling Ben Torres has only one universal card and says that he could give it for 1 Credit token. Angela Baal says that she too has only one matching card and wants both Credit tokens for it, but in addition will support Max with one Assist during the performance of the Task (she too wants no new Lags to appear on the board).

Because Max begins to consider both proposals, Ben decides to show him his card: it has a low Difficulty Level and is based on Skills that Max happens to have. The player decides to trade with Torres - he takes the Task card from him and gives in exchange 1 Credit token.

Assists and Sabotages

Each Task card set aside after a failure (see p. 17) may be used to support or hinder any later test (also one performed by another player).

A detective carrying out an Assist or Sabotage should declare such an intention and discard one or more cards he holds (onto the pile of discarded Task cards - see Board, space "f") before the dice are rolled. In the case of Sabotage, the roll result is modified by -2 for each card discarded for this purpose. In the case of Assist, +2 is added to the roll for each used card.

Assists and Sabotages may be used on tests from Task cards, and also during rolls in fights between players.

It is permitted to carry out an Assist (and also a Sabotage) on oneself. In one roll the Assists and Sabotages of several players may take part - all modifiers are cumulative. To carry out an Assist/Sabotage action one need not be on the same space as the player who is its target.

When an Assist is carried out on another player, the assisting detective immediately increases his Reputation by 1 (regardless of the number of cards devoted to it, the result of the test and whether the other player wants the Assist or not).

Example: Max Romanov is close to ending the game - he has 8 Investigation Points and is just performing the Task "Data Thief" (the reward for the Task is a bonus Investigation Point - were it not for that, Max would have to gain the last Point in the Realium).

The Task has Difficulty Level 12, but Max has Discretion +3, Deduction +2 and the Equipment card "Gamedec Goggles" adding a further +2 to Deduction - so he needs to roll only "5" for the roll, once modified, to equal the Difficulty Level. Seeing the danger, Ben decides to sabotage his competitor, playing as many as two of the previously set aside Task cards that ended in failure.

Angela decides also to stop the imminent winner and adds one more card to the Sabotage. Max Romanov now has an additional -6 modifier to the roll and the success of the mission hangs by a thread. The player controlling him decides to use the last of his set aside cards as an Assist. Finally, the player must roll "9" on the dice for the mission with Difficulty Level 12 to end in success (+5 from Skills, +2 from Equipment, -6 from Sabotages and +2 from Assists give a total of +3 to the roll).

Max rolls and "8" comes up on the dice - the test ends in failure. The player receives the penalty from the card (lowering Reputation), and then takes the card "Data Thief" and sets it aside, face down, under his gamedec card - he will be able to use this Task card as an Assist or Sabotage later in the game.

It is worth placing cards intended for future Assists and Sabotages (A) under the Gamedec card, so that they are easily distinguished from cards that the player drew in the Realium and has not yet looked at (B).

Phase 3: Hacker Attack

Each round ends with resolving the hacker attacks. If the Target marker has not been turned (that is, none of the players performed a Corporate Commission), remove it from the Board and place a Lag token in its place. Additionally, all players whose Obligation tokens lie on the space of the Threatened Corporation each receive a Lag token (because of which they will lose one move in the next turn). If a Corporate Commission was performed during the turn, nothing happens.

Investigation Points

The Investigation Points track on the Board marks progress in the investigation against cybercriminals. Each player marks on it with his token his currently owned number of Investigation Points, starting from position "0". Investigation Points once gained cannot be lost in any way. Positions "7", "8" and "9" are marked with a different colour, because they cannot be gained by placing Clue tokens on the board. Reaching position "9" by any of the players means his immediate victory.

Investigation Points are gained in four ways:

• by placing Clues on the board (remember that this way only Points 1-6, marked in blue, can be gained, and that on one board space only one Clue token of a given player may lie);
• by attacking players who have more information;
• by performing Tasks in the Realium (remember that Equipment cards do not work on the Realium space);
• by performing Tasks with the symbol denoting a bonus Investigation Point.

In one round a player may gain more than 1 Investigation Point. It is possible to obtain more than 1 Investigation Point after performing a single Task, as long as the card guarantees such rewards. Remember that playing Task cards excludes an attack in a given round and vice versa.

Example: Angela Baal has 4 Investigation Points. She managed to perform the Task "Nemesis" on the Crying Guns space, in exchange for which she places her Clue token on this space. The effect of the placed Clue is gaining an Investigation Point - Angela moves her token on the Investigation Points Track to space "5". According to the symbol next to this position, the heroine immediately gets a new Skill.

The player still has two Task cards in hand: "No Forgiveness" and "Everyone Has Their Price". If she performs the first of them, she will not gain another Investigation Point - her Clue token is already on the Crying Guns space and she cannot place another there (she may however undertake this Task simply to get the second of the rewards: a Credit token). An additional reward for the second of these Tasks is an Investigation Point - if Angela performs it, she will move her marker on the Track to position 6.

Had the player played "Everyone Has Their Price" as the first card in the round, for its successful performance she would have received at once points 5 and 6 (the first for placing the Clue, and the second as the additional reward guaranteed by the card) and would still have the Task "Nemesis" in hand.

If at the start of the round Angela had 6 and not 4 Investigation Points, she would have received no Point for performing the Task "Nemesis", because by placing a Clue one cannot gain Points "7", "8" and "9" - to continue the investigation the player would have to immediately take on the Task from the card "Everyone Has Their Price".

End of the Game

The end of the game may occur in two cases:

• one of the players managed to gain the ninth and last Investigation Point;
• the Corporate Commission deck has run out and in the Corporate Investigation phase the starting player cannot reveal a new Commission.

In the first case the winner is the player who gained 9 Investigation Points. If the players want, they may continue the game for second place. The winner does not take part in the further game - this gamedec's pawn should be removed from the board, and his rounds are skipped. A player who has finished the game cannot perform Assists, Sabotages and Trade (he may however still perform the duties of the Starting Player in the Corporate Investigation and Hacker Attack phases).

Alternatively, players may determine the subsequent places on the basis of the following rules:

• the highest places are taken, in turn, by the players with the most Investigation Points;
• the order among tied players should be established on the basis of Reputation - the higher the level of this factor, the higher the player's position;
• in the case of a further tie, the order is determined by Corporate Obligations (whoever has fewer counts), then Skill tokens (whoever has more), and finally Credit tokens (whoever has more).

When the Corporate Commission deck runs out, a massive attack of cybercriminals occurs, and the Net is temporarily shut down. All players are considered to have lost.

Optional Rules

The rules presented in this chapter allow modifying the game in various ways: lengthening it, increasing the level of difficulty or developing the story. The players should decide together before starting the game which optional rules they will use. We do not recommend playing with optional rules if not all participants know the basic rules.

Longer Game

A single game of the board game Gamedec usually lasts no longer than 90 minutes. If the players wish to devote more time to the game, they may agree beforehand to play to 16 Investigation Points. Such a game lasts on average 2-2.5 hours. When playing to 16 Points, apply the following changes:

• Points "7", "8" and "9" may be gained by means of Clues.
• When a player gains the tenth Investigation Point, he moves two of his tokens to the "0" space. The next spaces of the Track will mark positions "11"-"16" (the red spaces are ignored in the second lap of the Points Track). A new Skill is gained on spaces "0", "5", "10" and "15". The game is won by the detective who first gains 16 Points.
• After the Corporate Commission deck runs out, draw 8 cards and, without looking at them, form a new deck from them. The game ends in the defeat of all detectives only after the Corporate Commission deck formed the second time runs out.

Task Cards Available Immediately

In a game of 2 or 3 players there usually appear on the board more Lag tokens than in a larger group, while at the same time the waiting time for one's turn is shorter. When playing with 2 or 3 people the players may decide to look immediately at the Task cards drawn in the Realium, instead of keeping them face down until the end of the round. The drawn Task card may be played in the same turn.

Less Randomness

Players who prefer more aspects of the game to be calculable may use different rules for Lag markers and Assists. In this variant the Lag markers lying on the board do not cause automatic failure after rolling a "1", and instead burden the test with a -2 penalty modifier.

Note: the special ability of Vivien Lacroix allows her to ignore the effects of Lags. When using the above optional rule, in the case of a duel of Vivien with another detective on a space with Lags, the journalist's opponent should subtract 2 from his roll. During a duel of other detectives the effect of Lags cancels out.

Additionally, if while performing a Task a player uses 3 or more Assist cards, he may decide to automatically take the result "7" on the dice roll. Success and failure are resolved after adding to the value "7" all normally applicable modifiers (Wounds, Skills, Lags etc.). The 3 used Assist cards are also added to the final result (as are other Assist and Sabotage cards). The player may decide to roll the dice anyway, but in that case he can no longer change the roll result to "7".

Online Trade

Supporters of negative interaction may agree before the game to use changed trade rules. In this version the participants set the exchange rates normally, but do not need to prove that they possess the declared goods. After reaching an agreement, both players taking part in the trade secretly prepare the tokens and cards sent to the counterparty. The players reveal the sent goods simultaneously, and then hand them over to each other. A player who did not send those cards or tokens that he agreed on before the transaction lowers his Reputation by 1 (if both players cheat, both lower their Reputation).

Variable Starting Player

Players who are well versed in the rules of the game may decide to change the Starting Player during the game. According to this rule, the player who is the first to perform a Corporate Commission in a given round immediately takes the Starting Player marker and ends the round after his turn, going straight to the next Corporate Investigation. If nobody performs a Corporate Commission, the Hacker Attack phase takes place normally, after the turns of all players. A player who takes the Starting Player marker in the above way skips his Round in the next Turn. Were it not for this rule, after playing one Round in which he took the Starting Player marker, he would begin the next Round as first player in the next Turn, that is he would play two Rounds in a row, which would put him in a privileged position over the other players.

When playing this variant each performance of a Corporate Commission brings the inevitable end of the game closer, by faster exhaustion of the Commission cards - the players must therefore plan their moves more carefully.

Terror

The game includes 10 cards with descriptions of the global consequences of the hackers' desperate attacks in the face of inevitable defeat. The players may use these cards to raise the level of difficulty of the game. Each Terror card contains a short story description and rules (A) that must be followed at the moment it is revealed.

Setup with Terror Cards

Before the game, shuffle the Terror deck and place it anywhere next to the Board, face down.

Revealing Terror Cards

Each time one of the detectives gains the seventh Investigation Point (that is, his marker enters the red spaces of the Track), reveal the card from the top of the deck. Depending on the description on the card, it has an immediate effect or influences further play. The revealed Terror card affects all players taking part in the game.

If a player gains more than 1 Investigation Point at once, "jumping over" position "7", the Terror card is also revealed.

Scenarios

The Scenario cards included in the game allow changing the type of play a little. Each Scenario card describes a story thread connected with one of the heroes or with the actions of the hackers. A game with Scenarios should include additional rules: "Longer Game" to 16 Investigation Points (omitting the creation of a new Commission deck - the game ends after a single use of all 16 cards), "Variable Starting Player", and "Terror".

A. The detective who is the main hero of the Scenario's plot. B. Story introduction. C. Conditions for starting the Scenario. D. Special abilities the detective gains while playing the Scenario. E. The first story path that the player may follow. It takes the form of a Task. F. The second path, being an alternative development of the story. To complete it the player must meet the given condition. G. Finale cards that can be chosen after completing one of the story paths.

Two Scenario cards differ from the others: they have no parts A, E, F or G, and instead they strongly modify the detective's special abilities and describe the condition for ending the Scenario.

A Finale card contains a story description and special abilities (A) that the detective gains after obtaining this card.

Setup with Scenarios

Before the game starts, but after the detectives have been chosen, discard all Scenario cards connected with detectives not taking part in the game. From the remaining set each player secretly draws one card. Before the game begins, each player should read his Scenario.

Two Scenarios are not connected with any hero, so there should always be more cards to draw than players. Undrawn cards should be set aside without looking at their contents.

Next to the board place 10 face-up Finale cards - these are possible developments of the story described in the Scenarios, guaranteeing players additional abilities. Six cards are unique - whoever first obtains one, finishing his Scenario, takes the corresponding card, depriving the other players of the possibility of using it. The remaining cards, with somewhat limited abilities, can be obtained by players who completed their story thread with a delay.

Example: Angela, Ben and Max take part in the game, so before the game each player will draw for himself one of the following Scenario cards: "Trouble at Tigre Sky", "Mutiny on Mars", "Muscles of Steel", "V-Runner" and "Double Agent".

The player controlling Angela drew Ben Torres's Scenario. During the game she will be able to complete it in the following stages:

To reveal and start the Scenario the player must either perform an Assist for the benefit of the player controlling Ben, or remove her Clue token from one of Torres's favourite virtualia (Dream Space or Brahma). If the player chooses the second solution, she cannot at the same time use the removed Clue to perform a Corporate Commission - the token is used up to activate the Scenario "Mutiny on Mars".

From the moment the Scenario is revealed until its completion (or the end of the game, if Angela decides not to finalise the story), the player controlling Angela may use a special ability: she adds +2 to all her tests, as long as she has Bad Reputation.

If the player wants to complete the Scenario she has two paths to choose: she may either try to perform the Task "Silver Hand", or simply discard any 3 Equipment cards to meet the conditions of the story "Star Fleet". In the first case Angela would gain 3 Investigation Points, and Ben Torres 1 Point (regardless of whether he helped Angela with it). The gamedec however decides to fulfil the second condition: first, she likes the bonus resulting from Bad Reputation, but unfortunately cannot enter Dream Space with it and perform the Task. Besides, Angela has as many as 6 Equipment cards and the second condition is decidedly easier for her to fulfil.

After several turns, when Angela decides that the special ability guaranteed by the Scenario is no longer needed by her, she discards 3 Equipment cards and declares completion of the Scenario. She immediately receives 2 Investigation Points (reward for the "Star Fleet" thread) and chooses one of the possible Finale cards. She decides to take the card "Smuggling Network", because from now on she plans to perform Tasks in the Realium, and this card potentially gives her a large bonus to Tasks on that space. Angela keeps the chosen Finale card for herself - the player who drew Angela's Scenario will not be able to obtain the card "Smuggling Network" after completing the story thread "Infernal Game".

Starting a Scenario

There are four types of conditions for starting a Scenario:

• performing an Assist for the benefit of the Scenario's hero;
• removing one's Clue token from one of the Worlds listed on the card;
• removing two of one's Clue tokens from any Sensory Worlds;
• performing any Corporate Commission.

At the moment one of the conditions listed on the card is met, the player may (but does not have to) reveal his Scenario to the other players - from this moment his detective may use the additional special rules listed on the Scenario card. Starting a Scenario by means of an Assist may take place in another player's round - the remaining conditions must be fulfilled in one's own turn, as part of actions on any visited space.

A player may decide not to start the drawn Scenario for the whole game. An unrevealed Scenario has no influence on play, does not add special abilities to the detective and does not change his victory conditions.

Completing a Scenario

Each of the Scenarios, except for the two special Scenarios, has two possible story tracks. After starting the Scenario the player may decide to pursue one of them in order to finish his thread. The first ending is usually harder to complete (it takes the form of a Task with Difficulty Level 12, 14 or 16), but guarantees higher rewards. The second ending is somewhat easier - it requires meeting a specified condition, e.g. accumulating and discarding an appropriate number of tokens. A player may complete only one of the endings - after completing it the Scenario card should be discarded, and the detective ceases to draw benefits from the special rules described on it.

The player need not declare in advance which ending he will try to perform. He may also decide not to finish the Scenario at all after starting it, using the special abilities until the end of the game.

The first story path always takes the form of a Task, analogous to a Task card held in hand. This Task is repeatable: the player may try to undertake it in every round, until he succeeds and completes the Scenario. The Task may be undertaken only once per move. A failure does not mean having to discard the Scenario card (the Scenario card cannot be used for Assists or Sabotages).

If the Task is completed, the additional reward - Investigation Points - goes to the Scenario's hero: if the player drew the Scenario of his own detective, he gets 4 Investigation Points as a reward for completing it, whereas if he plays another player's Scenario, he gets 3 Investigation Points, and 1 bonus Point goes to the player controlling the given hero.

Completing the Scenario by means of the second story path must be carried out in one's own round, as part of actions performed on any space of the board.

For each ending, three possible Finale cards to choose from are given. A player who completes his Scenario discards its card and in exchange may take one of the cards listed with the ending, drawing from that moment until the end of the game the benefits of the special abilities described on it. If no cards allowed by the ending chosen by the player are free any more, the player gains no additional reward.

One of the Finale cards does not guarantee the detective an additional special ability, and instead takes the form of a difficult Task that may be undertaken repeatedly, analogously to the Task described by the Scenario.

Special Scenarios

Two Scenarios are not assigned to any of the detectives and do not have two story paths - they cannot be completed in the conventional way. Instead, these Scenarios strongly develop the special abilities of detectives. One of the special Scenarios changes the victory conditions of the player playing it, while the other may be interrupted as a result of the actions of other players.

More Terror Cards

When playing with Scenarios the players may decide to raise the level of difficulty by introducing more Terror cards into the game. In this variant new Terror cards are revealed in the following situations:

• one Terror card at the start of the game, before the first round begins;
• one card each time any of the players gains the seventh Investigation Point (his marker enters the red area of the Investigation Points Track);
• one card each time a player gains the tenth Investigation Point (his marker again enters the blue spaces of the Track).

If a player with 6 Points gains 4 consecutive Investigation Points at once (e.g. by completing a Scenario), two Terror cards are revealed: one for gaining the seventh Point and one for gaining the tenth Point.

If the Terror deck runs out, do not create a new deck or introduce further cards into the game.

Story Development

Players who are more interested in the Gamedecverse and the adventures of game detectives are encouraged to keep aside the Task cards completed during play and, after the game ends, try to tell the stories of their characters on their basis. Publish the most interesting adventures on the Gamedec discussion forum: http://forum.gamedeczone.com

F.A.Q.

What exactly does Vivien Lacroix's special ability mean? Vivien ignores the effects of Lags: she does not lose a move if she receives a Lag token in the Hacker Attack phase (she may discard it immediately), and she also does not get an automatic failure in a Task if she rolls a "1" while on a space with a Lag token (or on a space with a Target marker showing the Lag symbol).

What happens when Taida Wolf receives a Lag token? Taida moves twice (the third move is lost to discarding the token).

Can Hei Lan choose to deliberately lower her Reputation after entering Twisted & Perverted, ignoring her special ability? Yes.

Does Duncan Powers have to take Wound tokens, since he ignores their effects anyway? This is not necessary, unless the game is played with Scenarios and Duncan draws the card "Digital Mind".

How exactly does Koloman Troy's special ability work? Koloman draws 1 Credit token each time he stands on one of the spaces: Novatronics, Mobillenium, Zoenet Labs or Pharma Nanolabs. Koloman does not need to use corporate aid or perform a commission for this - he may visit a corporation solely to use his special ability. If Koloman visits a corporation space twice in one turn, he uses his special ability twice.

What does Max Romanov's special ability mean? Max starts the game with the highest Reputation level: before the game begins he takes a white Reputation token and places it by his card with the double wing symbol up.

How many times can Pauline Eim use the help of Novatronics? Pauline may use the help of Novatronics once on each visit to this space, each time choosing two types of support. There is no upper limit to the aid. Pauline does not place her Obligation token on the Novatronics space only if her token already lies there.

When gaining a new Skill, can one postpone the choice? If the detective does not yet have all 8 Skills, the player should immediately take a new Skill token. The choice made cannot be changed.

Do Lags affect the results of an Attack? In a game on the basic rules: no. In a game with the "Less Randomness" variant both fighting detectives should subtract 2 from their results (that is, the modifiers resulting from Lags also cancel out, unless Vivien Lacroix takes part in the fight).

Is it allowed to perform a Corporate Commission right after placing a Clue on the board? Yes. A Corporate Commission may be performed both with a freshly placed Clue and with a Clue token placed on the board in one of the previous turns. At the moment of performing the Commission, the player's Clue token must be on the space with the Target marker.

Is it possible for one player to perform an Assist and a Sabotage at the same time? Yes. The modifiers obtained from Assists and Sabotages are cumulative. A player performing both an Assist and a Sabotage on another gamedec at the same time increases his Reputation by 1 level (regardless of how many cards he devoted in total to this test).

How many Investigation Points does a player gain after playing a Task card and succeeding? It depends on several factors:

• If the card is played on the Realium space, the player receives 1 Investigation Point.
• If the card is played on a Sensory World space, the player may, as a reward, place his Clue token on the occupied space (provided his token does not already lie on that space). Placing a Clue token results in gaining an Investigation Point, if the player does not thereby enter the red spaces of the Track (positions "7", "8" and "9").
• In every case the player receives an additional Investigation Point if the Task card bears the magnifying glass symbol, denoting a bonus Point.

Can one play a Task card doomed to failure in advance? Yes. A player may play such a card to obtain a card for future Assists and Sabotages. A situation is possible in which failure threatens the player in no way: e.g. when he already has a Wound of the given type, Obligations to all Corporations or his Reputation has already reached the lowest level. It is worth remembering this when deciding whether to play another card.

Must one have a Skill in order to strengthen it with an Equipment card? No. The bonuses from Skills and Equipment cards are independent and are cumulative.

Can one player have more than 1 Lag token? No. A Lag token should be discarded without delay in the player's nearest turn. If the rules would indicate receiving another token (e.g. as a result of the action of a Terror card), it should be ignored.

Can one perform a Corporate Commission without turning the Target marker to the safe side? Yes, as long as at least one Lag token lies on the Sensory World spaces. As a result of a Corporate Commission the player must either turn the Target marker or remove 1 Lag token from the board.

Where do tokens and cards used up during Exchanges go? Credit tokens go to the pile of remaining tokens. Cards should be discarded onto the appropriate piles (discarded Task cards or Equipment). Rectangular tokens and cards are never left on board spaces.

Do I have to leave Brahma/Dream Space if I have Bad Reputation? No. Reputation is checked only during a character's move. If its value drops when the detective is already on the given space, nothing happens. The detective cannot however stand on this space again until he increases his Reputation.

Do I have to leave Crying Guns/Deep Past World if I have no Credits? No. The number of Credit tokens owned is checked only during a character's move. If a player loses all Credits when the detective is already on the given space, nothing happens. The detective cannot however stand on this space again until he gains at least 1 Credit token.

Can one stand in the Realium twice in a row and thus draw Task cards twice? Yes. Each time the player draws as many Task cards as his Reputation indicates. He may thus draw cards above the limit of 8 cards in hand (he must however discard the excess before starting his next round). The player does not have to draw cards right after entering the Realium - he may first take other actions on this space (e.g. perform a Task to increase his Reputation).

When can Task or Equipment cards not be discarded? At a moment when it would interfere with another player's actions. For example, one cannot discard an Equipment card intended for trade during the performance of a transaction. One also cannot discard an Equipment card onto the top of the pile when another player is buying new Equipment in Crying Guns or gains it as a reward for one of the Tasks.

Can one trade while performing a Task? Yes, but only before the dice roll. After revealing the Task card to the other players and declaring that one is undertaking it, one may propose a trade in order, for example, to gather better Equipment before rolling or to persuade other players to Assists.

F.A.Q. on Optional Rules

What happens in a game with Scenarios when one of the players completes another detective's first story path and, as a result, two players simultaneously obtain the number of Investigation Points sufficient to win? The game ends, and the winner should be determined using the additional criteria listed in chapter III.5.

After revealing the Terror card "Global Attack" or "Severed Net", can more than 1 Lag token lie on one of the spaces? No. On one Sensory World space only 1 such token may lie. If Lags already lie on one of the spaces, skip that space when carrying out the instructions from the Terror card.

When the Terror card "Short Circuit" is in the game, does a detective receive a Neuro Wound also after entering a space with the Target marker? Yes, as long as the marker is turned Lag symbol up.

What does the special rule on the Terror card "Sensory Blocks Lifted" mean? Until the end of the game players receive both Wounds, Neuro and Bio, each time they are wounded (regardless of the type of wound received).

What do the additional rewards for performing Tasks on obtained Finale cards (e.g. increasing Reputation on the card "Digi-net Support") mean? The additional reward listed on the Finale card is received by the player each time he succeeds in performing a Task. The reward is cumulative with the normal rewards from the Task card - it is thus possible, for example, to raise Reputation by 2 levels or to gain 3 Credit tokens at once.

How exactly does the special rule from the Finale card "Smuggling Network" work? The player receives a +1 bonus to Task tests for each Equipment card owned. The standard bonuses from Equipment cards still do not count toward the test (Equipment does not work in the Realium). The Equipment need not correspond to the Skills listed on the Task card. For example, if a player has 3 Equipment cards, he adds +3 to each Task test.

How does the Finale card "Puppet Master" work? This card works like a Task card that may be undertaken repeatedly, until success is obtained. The Task has no assigned Skills - it can be performed only by rolling "12" on the dice, or thanks to Assists and other bonuses. The Task "Puppet Master" does not count toward the limit of cards in hand and may be undertaken once per move. If the Task ends in failure, it cannot be used for an Assist or Sabotage - the Finale card stays with the player until he manages to perform this Task.

When can the special ability guaranteed by the Scenario "Big Brother" be used? At any moment of the game, provided that the Scenario has been started and not yet completed. In particular the player may remove an Obligation just before the Hacker Attack phase or immediately after obtaining corporate aid. The ability can be used multiple times during a turn, as long as the player has enough cards.

When can the special ability guaranteed by the Scenario "Digital Mind" be used? At any moment of the game, provided that the Scenario has been started and not yet completed. In particular the player may increase his Reputation at the cost of a wound, just before receiving a wound from another source.

Is the special ability guaranteed by the Scenario "Smoke and Mirrors" cumulative with Assists? Yes, in one roll both the mentioned ability and Assists can be used. The Credit token must be discarded before rolling the dice, analogously to Assist cards.

When using Realium Task cards on another space, thanks to the ability from the Scenario "Vanishing Point", does the detective automatically gain Investigation Points instead of placing Clues, as he would in the Realium? No. Placing a Clue and gaining an Investigation Point depend on the space on which the detective is, not on the world to which the played card is assigned.

How exactly do the special abilities from the scenario "Postorganism" work? The player playing this scenario may add 1 Lag token in any Sensory World, at the start of each round - during Corporate Investigation, after revealing a new Corporate Commission card. The player cannot add a token this way on a space where a Lag token already lies. If the player playing the scenario "Postorganism" receives a Lag token during the Hacker Attack, in the next round he may move three times (four times, in the case of Taida Wolf), and then discards the Lag token he has.

Can Taida Wolf playing the scenario "V-Runner" move four times in her Turn? Yes.

Can a player holding the scenario "Double Agent" win in the traditional way, by gaining the appropriate number of Investigation Points? Yes, provided that he does not start the scenario at all (does not reveal it to the other players after previously removing 2 Clue tokens from the board).

Order of Actions in a Round

1. Corporate Investigation
2. Gamedec Actions
   • Starting player's turn
     1. Move
     2. Actions taken on the visited space
     3. Move
     4. Actions taken on the visited space
   • Next player's turn
     1. Move
     2. Actions taken on the visited space
     3. Move
     4. Actions taken on the visited space
   • Next player's turn...
3. Hacker Attack

Detective Actions

Actions in the Realium

• Drawing Task cards - once per each visit to the space
• Exchanges - any number of times
• Playing Task cards - any number of times, as long as the player did not Attack
• Attacking another detective - once per each detective, as long as the player did not play Task cards

Actions in the Sensory Worlds

• Exchanges - any number of times
• Playing Task cards - any number of times, as long as the player did not Attack
• Attacking another detective - once per each detective, as long as the player did not play Task cards
• Corporate Commission - any number of times

Actions on Corporation spaces

• Corporate Commission - any number of times
• Corporate Aid - double aid per visit to the space

Universal actions (also outside one's own round)

• Discarding Task and Equipment cards - any number of times
• Trading with other players - once per player's turn
• Assists and Sabotages - any number of times

Symbol Summary

• Investigation Point - you receive 1 Investigation Point (move your token up 1 position on the Investigation Points track).
• Clue - place your Clue token on the occupied Sensory World space, provided that your Clue does not already lie on that space.
• Skill - take a Skill token you do not yet have.
• Equipment card - take a new Equipment card from the face-down deck or from the top of the pile of face-up Equipment cards (your choice).
• Credit token - take a Credit token.
• Reputation increase - raise your Reputation level by 1 and mark it with the appropriate token. See p. 7.
• Reputation loss - lower your Reputation level by 1 and mark it with the appropriate token. See p. 7.
• Corporate Obligation - place your Obligation token on the space of any Corporation on which your Obligation does not already lie.
• Bio Wound - take a Bio Wound token (if you do not already have it).
• Neuro Wound - take a Neuro Wound token (if you do not already have it).
• Healing Bio wounds - discard the Bio Wound token.
• Healing Neuro wounds - discard the Neuro Wound token.

Exchanges on Board Spaces

• Brahma - discard any 3 Task cards you own to take 1 Credit token. You may discard Task cards from your hand, or also the face-down cards drawn in this turn in the Realium.
• Crying Guns - discard 1 Credit token to take 1 Equipment card. You may take a card from the top of the deck or the face-up pile of discarded cards. If you empty the face-up pile this way, reveal a new Equipment card from the top of the deck.
• Deep Past World - discard 2 Credit tokens to take a new Skill token. You cannot choose a second time a Skill the detective already has.
• Dream Space - discard 1 chosen Equipment card to take 1 Credit token.
• Happy Hunting Grounds - discard 1 Credit token so that a chosen player immediately places 1 of his Obligation tokens on the space of any Corporation of his own choice on which he does not yet have his token (thereby losing the possibility of using its support in the future).
• Paradise Beach - discard 1 Credit token to heal your Neuro wounds.
• Speed Demons - discard 1 Credit token to increase your Reputation by 1.
• Twisted & Perverted - discard 1 Credit token so that a chosen player immediately lowers the Reputation of his detective by 2.
• Realium - discard 1 Credit token to heal your Bio wounds.