CYBER DEFENSE GAME CONCEPT

We live in a digital age where we have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. The bounty of the internet lets us share, explore, buy, create, and coordinate like never before. However, digital perils also threaten us. Cyber attacks are launched every minute against our citizenry.
The game Cyber Defense thematically explores concepts in cyber security. Modern computer systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks, and there needs to be a constant vigil to keep computer systems safe against cyber intrusion through cyber security measures. Common types of cyber attacks include Phishing, Man-in-the-middle and Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks. In Cyber Defense, one player plays as the Hacker, and the other player plays as the Defender.

AREA CONTROL GENRE - Cyber Defense is an Area Control Genre Game. In this genre of games, players vie for spaces or areas through attacks, strength or presence. Players use resources or forces that can be mustered into an area to try to gain dominance in the zone. Often, multiple players can occupy the same space, and controlling an area grants a player advantages and resources.

CYBER DEFENSE GAME SETUP


BATTLEGROUND AREAS - There are 3 battlegrounds: Phishing, Man-in-the-middle and DDOS battlegrounds. Mark these three regions in the play area with face down cards, playing cards or blank paper.
DRAW DECK - Expel the Wild Cards. Shuffle the remaining cards to form a draw deck.
DISCARD PILES - The deck has a discard pile next to it (that starts with no cards in it).
DEAL CARDS - Each Player is dealt 10 cards, drawn from the draw deck.
DETERMINE ROLES - Roles are randomly determined. One player is the hacker (starting player), one player is the defender.
PASSWORD - Deal 6 face down cards in a row into the defender's password area. The defender may look at these at anytime.
MITM CARDS - Deal 2 cards face up for each player into the MitM Battleground.


CYBER DEFENSE GAME PLAY OVERVIEW

Cyber Defense is played over 3 rounds, each round is composed of these steps:


DEVELOP BATTLEGROUNDS

Players take turns playing cards into any of the three Battlegrounds (BG) until each player has played 9 cards into the three Battlegrounds. Cards played into the Phish and DDOS Battlegrounds are played face down. MitM Battlegrounds cards are played face up. Each BG must have one card played to it. There is no maximum.

These are the rules regarding the Development of Battlegrounds
PLAY - Players take turns playing cards into any of the three Battlegrounds until each player has played 9 cards into the three Battlegrounds.
PHISH & DDOS - Cards played in the Phish and DDOS Battleground are played face down.
MITM BATTLEGROUND - MitM Battlegrounds cards are played face up.
BG MINIMUM - Every BG must have at least 1 card played to it. There is no maximum to the number of cards a BG can hold.

USE A CARD EFFECT

Players alternate using up to two Card Effects in their Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) BG (see below).

These are the rules regarding the Playing Card Effects
GAME EFFECTS - Players alternate using game effects from up to two different Man-in-the-Middle cards that they control. The effects can be applied to any of the Battlegrounds.
NEUTRAL CARDS - All cards in any of the battlegrounds are owned by their respective players. But they are also considered Neutral Cards for Tech Deck game effects purposes. However, Password cards are not considered in play for game effect purposes and may not be affected by game effects.
DEVELOP BATTLEGROUND - After using a Game Effect on a Card, you can play a card to any Battleground.
SEARCH EFFECTS - The Hacker may not use Game effects that search the deck (9 of Knowledge, 6 and 11 of Technology). However, the Defender may use cards that search the deck.

RESOLVING BATTLEGROUNDS

Each battleground is resolved starting with the Phish BG, then the MitM BG and lastly the DDOS BG (see below).

These are the rules regarding the Resolving Battlegrounds. Resolve each BG separately and sequentially.
PHISH BATTLEGROUND - [Theme: Seeing Information] - The highest value card wins the Phish BG. Use Tech Deck tie breaker rules (Knowledge [lowest suit]- Science-Technology-Service [Highest suit]). If the Hacker wins, they reveal one password digit card of the Defender. If possible, first reveal a non-upgraded digit. Then, the Hacker makes 2 guesses. If the Defender wins, they can unlock a locked digit. The Hacker makes 1 guess.
MITM BATTLEGROUND - [Theme: eavesdrop insertion] - The highest total sum value of the all the MitM cards wins the MitM BG. High card is the tie breaker. If Hacker wins, they make 4 guesses (2 bonus guesses). If the Defender wins, the Hacker makes no guesses.
DDOS BATTLEGROUND - [Theme: Overwhelming Attack] - Arrange the DDOS cards from high to low for each player. Compare each pair of Hacker & Defender cards from low to high. The DDOS Winner is the one who wins the most comparisons. Each opposing pair of lowest-value cards counts as one comparison win. If one player has more cards in their DDOS BG than another it counts and a 1:0 win for that comparisons. Use Tech Deck tie-breaker rules. If the Hacker wins, they can lock one digit in the Defender's password preventing it from being upgraded. Slide the card back to indicate it is locked. The Hacker make 2 guesses. If the Defender wins, they can upgrade a password digit. The Hacker makes 1 guess.

PASSWORD GUESSES



These are the rules for handling the Password Guesses
MAKING A GUESS - The Hacker selects a card (position in the password) and makes a guess, stating a number from 1 to 13. If he selects an upgraded digit, he names both a value and suit instead.
MARKING A GUESS - If the Hacker guesses a number that is in the password but not in that position, the Defender states how many of that guessed number are in the password and turns the target card sideways. This indicates that the card is not of that value, but the value is in the password. If the Hacker guesses the proper suit of an upgraded password digit but not the right value, the card is turned upside down (180 degrees). If the value is not in the password, the Defender says that there are no digits of that value and leaves the selected card alone. The Defender's response considers previously revealed digits. If the card is already turned sideways, and it is selected as a card for a guess again, it is only turned again only for a guess if it is an upgraded digit.
CORRECT GUESS - If the Hacker selects a non-upgraded password card and it matches the number, the Defender reveals that password digit. If the Hacker makes a correct guess for an upgraded password digit with both number and suit the Defender reveals that password digit.

PREPARE THE NEXT ROUND

Prepare the next round. Gather all cards (except password cards) to form a new draw deck. Each player is dealt 10 cards. Deal 2 cards face up for each player into the MitM BG. The game ends after 3 rounds. The first player alternates.

Players prepare the next round of play by:
CREATE A NEW DECK - Take all cards (except for the password cards) together including the cards used by the Hacker to guess the Defender's password to create a new Draw deck for the next round.
DEAL CARDS - Deal each Player 10 cards from the draw deck.
GAME END - The game ends after 3 rounds.
FIRST PLAYER - The first player alternates.
MITM CARDS - Deal 2 cards face up for each player into the MitM Battleground.

CYBER DEFENSE RESOLVING PHISH BATTLEGROUND EXAMPLE

Resolving Phish Battleground Example

The player with the highest value single card wins the Phish BG. There are two examples in this diagram.
In Example #1: Hacker wins with 13-Tech besting the Defender's 10-Science. The Hacker wins and gets to reveal (turns over) a digit in the Defender's password and he makes 2 guesses. The Defender played two cards into the Phish BG, but only the highest card (10-Science) is considered.
In Example #2: Here, the Defender wins the Phish BG because 12 Service wins over the 7 Knowledge. The Defender wins and unlocks a digit in her password and the Hacker makes only 1 guess.

CYBER DEFENSE RESOLVING MITM BATTLEGROUND EXAMPLE

Resolving MitM Battleground Example

The player with the highest total sum value of the all the MitM cards wins the MitM BG. There are two examples here in the diagram.
In Example #1: Here 25 > 16. So, the Hacker wins the comparison and as a result gets to make 4 guesses (2 bonus guesses).
In Example #2: In example 2, the Defender wins as 7+4+10 = (21) is greater than 13+2+2 = (17). When the Defender wins, the Hacker makes no guesses.

CYBER DEFENSE RESOLVING DDOS BATTLEGROUND EXAMPLE

Resolving DDOS Battleground Example

The player with the most number of lowest pairs-offs wins in the DDOS Battleground. There are two examples in the diagram.
In Example #1: Compare 2 to 3, 2 to 4, (none to 6). The Hacker wins 2 to 1 in DDOS BG.
In Example #2: Ties: the player with the most cards in DDOS BG wins the tie. If still tied, lowest card wins (knowledge, science, technology, service). In this example, both players tie as each have one pair-off win. The Defender has the lowest card (2 knowledge) so wins the tie.

DOWNLOAD THE RULES

Cyber Defense Full Rules: Cyber Defense Rules Full
Cyber Defense Compact Rules: Cyber Defense Rules Compact

CYBER DEFENSE INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Click below to watch a introduction video for Cyber Defense. The introduction video describes the basic concepts, objectives and an introduction to the Tech Deck.

CYBER DEFENSE PLAY GUIDE VIDEO

Watch a play guide video for Cyber Defense. The play guide video is an in depth video on how to setup the game, and all the steps involved in playing the game.


ENTRY ON BOARD GAME GEEK


You can read and explore the BoardGameGeek entry for CYBER DEFENSE.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
· Published: April 1, 2024
· Format: Card Game
· Elements: 54 Cards
· Size: 3.75" x 2.8751" x .875"
ORDERING CYBER DEFENSE
· To purchase the Tech Deck: Contact Me

EXPLORE OTHER TECH DECK GAMES