In Security
In Security Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
The players are security employees taking turns accessing their employer's database, either hacking it or scavenging for leftovers from the previous hack. Depending on what they find, players might add secrets to their stash, find leaky password databases, encrypt sensitive data, or just throw a party and get drunk. The first player to collect 14 Secrets wins the game by forcing their boss into giving them a promotion.
Components
- 6 six-sided hacking dice
- 6 six-sided scorekeeping dice (1 per player)
- 6 player mats (1 per player)
Game Setup
TL;DR: Every player puts their die on their Secrets track. Start with Secrets equal to the number of players minus 2, and Access Level 1. Starting player rolls 1 hacking die to create the initial hack pool.
- Everyone receives a player mat and a scorekeeping die, and places their die on the Secrets track on the outside of their mat.
- The position of the scorekeeping die on the Secrets track indicates how many Secrets you have. The starting number of Secrets (die position) is equal to the number of players minus 2. For example, in a 5-player game everyone starts with 3 Secrets (and places their die on the '3' square).
- The value on the top die face indicates your Access Level. Everyone starts with the 1 face up, indicating Access Level 1.
- The starting player is whoever had their house last broken into by secret security agents. In case of a tie, determine a starting player at random by rolling a die.
- The starting player takes 1 hacking die to form the initial hack pool, and sets the remaining 5 dice aside as reserve dice. Whenever dice are picked from the hack pool, they are added to the reserve dice. Whenever dice are added to the hack pool. they are taken from the reserve dice. The maximum hack pool size is 6 dice.
- Then the starting player rolls the hack pool (1 die), and starts their first turn.
Playing a Turn
TL;DR: Every turn, either Hack (pay to add 3 dice and roll) or Scavenge (don't roll). Then pick a die (remove it from the pool), execute the action, and pass the dice to the next player.
Every turn starts with receiving the hack pool from the previous player. The value on these dice represent the leftovers from the previous hack. Sometimes there may be no leftover dice at all.
On receiving the dice, the active player must choose to either:
- Hack: Spend one Secret to add 3 dice to the hack pool, then reroll the entire pool. Pick one die from the results (remove it from the hack pool), and execute an associated action.
- Scavenge: Leave the pool as it is (don't roll). Pick one die from the pool (remove it from the hack pool) and execute an associated action.
After you've picked and executed your action (see 'Actions' below), move the remaining dice to the next player on your left, without changing the values on the dice. This ends your turn.
If you cannot Scavenge (because the previous player picked the last die from the hack pool, or because the previous player's action prohibits you from Scavenging), you must choose to Hack.
Only in the case that you cannot Scavenge and you cannot Hack (because you have no Secrets), you get Lucky. You find 1 Secret at the bottom of office garbage bin. This ends your turn.
Actions
TL;DR: Every turn, execute one action that matches the die you picked from the hack pool. Your player mat lists all available actions. When adding dice, always put them on a face of your choice. Minimum Access Level is 1.
Every turn, when you've picked your die from the hack pool, choose one of the corresponding actions on your player mat and execute it.
Most actions have one associated die. For example, you need to pick a 6 to use the "Office Party" action. Some actions have two associated dice, This means you can use either die to execute that action. For example, you can use a "Classified Documents" action with either a 3 or a 4.
The available actions, as summarized on the player mat, are:
- Private Stash (1). Count either identical or different values in the pool (your choice), and gain that many Secrets. For example, a pool of 2, 3, 4, 6, 6 has 2 identical values (6, 6) and 4 different values (2, 3, 4, 6), so you'd get 4 Secrets. Note that the 1 you picked to use this action is no longer in the pool.
- Two-Man Job (2). You gain 1 Secret, and the previous player (to your right) also gains one secret. If possible, remove one additional die from the pool (your choice).
- Classified Documents (3 or 4). You gain Secrets equal to your Access Level.
- Password Database (3 or 4). Gain 1 Access Level.
- Back Door Deal (5). You may spend 1 Access level to gain 3 Secrets. If you are on Access Level 1, this action has no effect.
- Encryption (5). You gain 1 Secret. You may change the value of one die in the hack pool (flip it to a face of your choice). If the next player wants to Hack, they must pay 1 additional Secret to do so.
- Office Party! Everyone's drunk (6). Choose another player: they lose 1 Secret, you gain 1 Secret. The next player may not Scavenge.
End of the Game
TL;DR: First to 14 Secrets wins. Access Level breaks ties.
When a player reaches 14 or more Secrets, they immediately blackmail their boss into giving them a promotion (and win the game).
In the rare case that a "Two-Man Job" action gives 2 players 14 Secrets at the same time, the one with the highest Access Level wins. If that's a tie too, the boss buckles under all that pressure and promotes both players (the game is a tie between those two players).
Example of Play
Edward receives a hack pool of 1, 2, 2 from the previous player. Edward's pretty low on Secrets, so he chooses to Scavenge rather than start a new Hack. He picks the 1 for a "Private Stash" action. This gains him 2 secrets. He then passes the remaining 2, 2 pool to the next player.
Being given a 2, 2 pool, Bradley can only Scavenge a 2 for a "Two-Man Job" action. But Bradley doesn't want to give Edward any more Secrets, so he chooses to Hack instead: he spends 1 Secret and adds 3 dice to the pool. He then rolls all 5 dice, resulting in a 2, 4, 4, 5, 5 pool. Bradley chooses a 4 for the "Password Database" action, and increases his Access Level by 1. He flips his scorekeeping die from 1 to 2 to indicate the new Access level, and moves the remaining 2, 4, 5, 5 pool to the next player.