Frolic Malware Mayhem Hacker Duel, State Actor Edition Board and Card Game, Superpower vs. Rogue State Hackers, 2-Player, Age 13+, 60 Minutes

It's kind of a simple game yet it's also not so simple. There is a ton of stuff to learn to truly min-max in this game; however, once you learn one specific hacking method, it literally neutralizes one entire level of network defense and the game can feel rather like drudgery at times. Hacking is an incredibly complex area of expertise and this game really simplifies it down to basics. That's not a bad thing at all however and actually makes Malware Mayhem Hacker Duel, State Actor Edition an accessible game for those who know nothing about hacking. There's a small amount to learn about hacking and net security, but yeah the game is like 101 level. The real depth I'm sure comes when you purchase all 3 variations of the game which opens up incredibly complex rule sets and allows for much more homebrew as well. I can't speak on that but I'm definitely interested in getting the other 2 sets if we can find a few friends who'd like to join a game.As for this single game and rule set, it's not super complex as I've stated and it can feel a bit repetitive at times; however, for us, gaming of any tabletop kind, is really about the time spent with friends with the game simple being a side character. We've tried quite a few games and this one is definitely in the "let's play again sometime" category when we can't get our full party together for dnd. Essentially the game is a card collecting game with some slight nuance, but I really don't want to give anything away as despite it feeling repetitive at times, it is pretty well made. The makers could refine some things and add more depth and variation but overall I'm impressed and had a lot of fun. Just bear in mind this game while simple is rather tedious. I mean the rule book is over 40 pages, so while for me it felt simple I doubt that would be everyone's experience, especially if you're unfamiliar with computers and/or network security.One other thing of note that is a huge positive - the quality of the included items (cards, tokens, box, etc.) are all very well made and will last many years.

Pros:1) Fun and easy to absorb since you can play it in increasing levels complexity. This way it's easy to jump on and then continue to more difficult levels.2) The metal pieces are well made. Heavy, no chips, scratches or missing paint.3) Playmats are thick and of good quality - I didn't notice any knick's or loose threads.Cons:1) One set only comes with two player mats so you will need to buy an expansion to be able to play with more people.2) My biggest qualm is that the instructions are not correct. If you see that last two images, one page says that the action cards are the green cards. The last image, shows a page detailing the resource phase. In this page, it alludes to the resource cards being the green cards. Obviously, you can't play the game right if the cards are switched which is a complete oversight of the designers. I knocked it down one full star for this for lack of attention to detail and unnecessarily stressing the gamer.

I may be a bit of a board game snob, having played a lot of them and owning a large collection already, but this was kind of... meh. The ruleset isn't terrible, but nothing special. The components are sturdy cardboard but very basic - everything feels cheaply made. The art is super generic and doesn't really engage you.I do love the play mats though, they are very clearly laid out to help you get an overview of what the game state is.This is part of a series of games, using presumably pretty much the same rules but with different playable factions in each. If you own more than one you can combine them, which should make this a bit more interesting.But on its own, if you want a good 1v1 "hacking" game Netrunner is likely still going to be your go-to. If you want variety though, you could certainly do worse than trying this out.

This is a fun boardgame that offers an interesting playstyle using terms commonly used in security ops, but knowledge of those terms isn't really needed outside of the rules of the game. You can add additional boxes by shuffling everything together and slightly modifying the starting rules and turn it into a team vs team game (or do a free for all).The components are nice, there is some cardboard tokens to punch out, but overall, the hardest part is just separating the components again after a full player session.

My husband enjoyed this! Took a little bit to figure out, but once we were going it was fine. Great that you can buy additional sets to expand for more players.