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'A game for the piecepack, by Jeff Barrett
'
Version 1.0 December 7, 2003
(c) 2003 Jeff Barrett
For one player: About 20 minutes
Case sat in the loft with the dermatrodes strapped across his forehead, watching motes dance in the diluted sunlight filtered through the grid overhead. A countdown was in progress in one corner of the monitor screen.
The screen bleeped a two-second warning.
And one and two and --
Cyberspace slid into existence from the cardinal points.
from Neuromancer
by William Gibson
Tiles | Data Structures |
Null Tiles (4) | Data Forts |
Other Tiles (20) | Ice |
Colored Pawns (4) | Ice Breakers |
Coins (5 in each color) | Power-Up Tokens |
Generic Counters (10) | Brain Damage |
Six-Sided Die | Blind Luck |
To Infiltrate and to occupy each of the four data forts with the corresponding (same color) ice breaker.
Shuffle the four data forts (null tiles) with six random ice (other tiles), and place face down. This is the data stack. Shuffle the rest of the ice and place face down on the data stack. Sort the coins by color into four stacks, number side down (numbers do not matter). Place the brain damage counters in a convenient location. These represent points of brain damage incurred during a run on the matrix. In the basic game, a run immediately ends in brain death if one ever takes ten points of brain damage.
Runs are made on the matrix (a smooth, clear surface). The matrix has the structure of a two-dimensional grid. Ice and data forts are placed into the grid as they are encountered.
Execute the following steps:
'three' other data structures. If installing a new data structure would violate this condition, it may not be installed. If the data structure can be installed, continue to step 3; otherwise, go back to step 1 and choose a new contiguous space. 3. If the chosen space contains ice or a data fort
'and no ice breaker', roll the die to determine the current strength of the ice breaker. If the ice breaker color is the same as the ice or data fort color, the breaker strength is equal to the die roll plus one; otherwise, the breaker strength is equal to the die roll. In either case, the strength of the breaker can be increased by one for each power-up of the ice or data fort color discarded at this time. 4. If the ice breaker strength is greater than the data-structure strength, then the ice or fort is successfully broken. The strength of ice is equal to the number on the tile. The strength of a data fort is equal to six. Move the ice breaker onto the data structure and collect the power-up token on the data structure if there is one. The power-up token represents knowledge gained. In case of success, skip to step 6; otherwise, continue to step 5. 5. If the ice breaker strength is less than or equal to the data-structure strength, take one brain damage. If the data structure is ice, then move the ice breaker onto the ice and collect the power up token on the data structure if there is one. The result of failing to break ice is just brain damage. But an ice breaker can only move onto a data fort if the breaker strength is
'seven or greater' (that is, strictly greater than the fort strength of six). The result of failing to break a fort is brain damage and the inability to infiltrate the fort. The breaker stays where it is. 6. If the total amount of brain damage taken during the run is greater than or equal to ten, then the run ends immediately in brain death; otherwise, continue to step 7. 7. If each data fort is occupied by the corresponding ice breaker (the ice breaker of the same color), then
'the run ends immediately and the runner wins'; otherwise, return to step 1.
The rules of the advanced game are the same as for the basic game except that one or more of the following options are added.
Choose a target amount of brain damage (less than ten points) that you are willing to incur on the run before you start. You win if you successfully make the run while taking less than or equal to the target amount of brain damage.
Instead of the basic game ice breakers, use the corresponding pawn to represent one or more of the following ice breakers. The base strength of these ice breakers is one less than in the basic game, but they each have an extra ability that can compensate. They also get the plus one strength bonus when challenging data structures of the same color as in the basic game.
Distance to a target is the shortest number of steps 'along a path of data structures
' that would move a breaker to the target. Only steps in the four cardinal directions are allowed. And the distance is undefined if there is no continuous path along data structures to the target. A breaker outside the matrix is distance one to each installed data structure. The distance from any location inside the matrix to a location outside the matrix is undefined.
The note d6 means the result of the roll of a six-sided die. The strength of an ice breaker is never less than zero.
Some ice breakers are stronger than others. Some work well only when appropriately matched. The standard way to choose an icebreaker is to pick one of the four pawns, then roll d6 to determine what ice breaker of that color the pawn will represent on the next run.
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'data forts' currently installed in the matrix. Breakers occupying forts move with the forts.
This game clearly owes much to the creative genius of William Gibson. If one is in any way interested in either the real or the virtual future, I recommend his books without reservation. Neuromancer
is a good place to start.
The author hereby grants permission to redistribute the rules of this game as long as they are distributed freely and without alteration. Best gaming wishes.