Many cycles have passed since The Crash brought the system to its knees.

Now, fragments of sentient

code do battle in the digital wasteland left behind. Can you program your way to victory?

HARDCODED is a simultaneous action-selection fighting game, where players secretly program their
characters to perform special moves in an attempt to outmaneuver and ultimately knock out their opponents.
The game can be played free-for-all (2, 3, or 4 players) or in teams of 2 (4 players).

COMPONENTS
A. 4 brown speed dice (1 per player)
B. 4 green action dice (1 per player)
C. 4 character meeples (1 per player)
D. 4 HP tracker cubes (1 per player)
E. 4 double-sided character cards
F. 4 double-sided map cards
G. 1 double-sided AI card
H. 1 priority tracker cube

CHARACTER CARDS
Character cards are double-sided, with a different character
on each side. Each character has the following:
A. Name
B. HP track (1-5)
C. Special ability
D. Selection grid (9 spaces)
E. Character actions (6)
The placement of each character’s name, special ability, and
character actions within their selection grid has no meaning.

MAP CARDS
Map cards are used to form the map where players will battle.
Each map card consists of 12 spaces, some of which have
special effects.

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SETUP
Give each player:
• 1 character card
• 1 character meeple
• 1 HP tracker (in their meeple’s color)
Each player selects 1 of the characters on their character card to play as,
and places their character card in front of them with that side face up.

Each player places their HP tracker on the “5” of their character’s HP

track.

Shuffle the map cards (including front/back) and lay them out to form
a map, using 1 map card per player. Several possible layouts are shown,
along with possible starting locations for different player counts and
team setups.

Each player adjusts their character card so that it is orthogonal to the

map (the character’s selection grid should run along the same
lines as the grid of map spaces).

Each player places their meeple on one of the starting spots

indicated, according to player count and whether you are
playing on teams. Meeples start the game laying down.

Give the priority tracker to the youngest player. They place it in

front of their character card.

HOW TO PLAY
The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of several
parts.

ROUND
1. Roll for speed (simultaneous, secret).
2. Select actions (simultaneous, secret).
3. Reveal actions.
4. Player turns (each player in speed order).
5. Pass priority tracker and start next round.

ROLL FOR SPEED AND ACTION SELECTION

Each player does these steps at the same time, in secret:
1. Use 1 hand to shield your character card from view.
2. Roll your brown speed die, behind your hand so that other players do not see the result. This value is
your speed this round. It determines where in the round order you will be (not how far you will Move).
3. Without changing its value (honesty system!), place your brown speed die on 1 of the 9 spaces of your
character’s selection grid. This placement determines where you will move this round. You always move
1 space in the chosen direction, regardless of speed.
4. Take your green action die and set it to any value. This value determines which of your 6 character
actions you will perform this round.
5. Place your green action die on 1 of the 9 spaces of your character’s selection grid (can be the same space
as your brown die). This placement determines where you will aim your character action this round.

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REVEAL ACTIONS
Once all players have announced that they are done selecting their actions, each player moves their hand to
reveal their character card, showing their dice values and placement. Then, each player takes a turn, in order
from highest to lowest speed. The player with the priority tracker, or closest to the priority tracker in turn
order (clockwise), wins ties.

A player’s speed (after being modified by any character abilities) cannot go below 0 or above 6. Speed is
always set during the action reveal, and does not change for the remainder of the round.

PLAYER TURNS
Each player’s turn consists of 2 phases, which are done in order:
1. Move phase.
2. Action phase.
During your Move phase, move your character
meeple 1 space on the map. The direction is
determined by where you placed your brown
speed die on your selection grid. The grid acts
as a compass, where the center space represents
your meeple. For example:

The blue player’s speed die placement will cause them to move Northwest. The red player’s speed die will
cause them to move South.

Meeples can never be on the same space; if another meeple (or other obstacle like a wall) is in the way, your
meeple does not move.

During your Action phase, perform the action

corresponding to the number you set on your
green action die. The action will be aimed
according to where you placed your action die
on your selection grid. For example:

The blue player’s action die number

and placement will cause them to
perform a Kick (action die value 4) to
the Southwest of their meeple.

Remember that your Move phase comes

immediately before your Action phase, and will
change where your character meeple is on the
map. Make sure to aim your actions with this in
mind! Example:

PASS PRIORITY TRACKER

After each player’s turn has been resolved, the
priority tracker is passed to the next clockwise
player. Then, begin the next round.

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STANDARD ACTIONS
There are several standard actions that most characters possess, while others are unique to that character. The
standard actions usually include:

DASH: performed by setting your green action die to a value of 1. It causes you to move in the
direction of your action die. This is in addition to movement that occurs in your move Phase,
allowing you to move twice in a single turn.

When you dash, treat a value of 1 on your brown speed die as if it were a 6 instead. Dashing
also causes you to Block. See Parrying and Blocking below.

REBUKE is a standard attack that also causes you to Parry. It deals 1 damage to the space
indicated by your action die. See Parrying and Blocking below.

QUICK HIT (action die value 3) deals 1 damage to the space indicated by your action die. It
treats a value of 2 on your brown speed die as if it were a 6 instead.

Quick Hit is unique in that it switches your Move and Action phases for the turn, so the
damage from Quick Hit happens before you move in the direction of your brown speed die.
Kick

KICK (action die value 4) is the basic attack in the game, and deals 1 damage to the space
indicated by your action die. In addition, it has the Wide keyword, so it also deals 1 damage to
the 2 spaces on your selection grid adjacent to where you placed your action die, as shown in
the example below:

PARRYING AND BLOCKING

Parrying and Blocking are not among the 6 character actions.

A Parry is automatically performed when you choose not to move during your Move phase. This is done by
placing your brown speed die on the center space of your selection grid (note the Parry symbol there). Some
actions like Rebuke may also tell you to Parry (meaning you can Parry without needing your brown speed die
to be centered).

When you Parry, all damage that comes from the direction of your green action die is reduced by 1, and then
the foe who attacked you takes 1 damage. This lasts for the entire round up until your turn happens; this
means when Parrying, it’s better to have low speed.

Note that the attacker doesn’t take Parry damage until after their attack has landed; this means if they deal
enough damage to break through the reduction, they could knock you out before the Parry damage occurs.

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In the example to the right, the
blue player successfully Parries
the black player’s Kick (which
would not have worked if blue
had higher speed than black).
After Parrying, Blue would
perform their own Kick without
moving, landing a hit on black.
Black takes damage from both
the Parry and the Kick, while
Blue takes no damage!

When you Dash as your action, it also causes you to Block.

Blocking works exactly like Parrying except it doesn’t
damage foes who hit your block. Because the standard
Dash grants Block the Wide keyword, it affects the spaces
on either side of your green action die location, as well.
Example:

WINNING & BEING KNOCKED OUT

When a character is dealt damage, their HP is reduced by that amount. A character reduced to 0 HP is
Knocked Out (KO’d). The player that KO’d them receives a point, indicated by standing up their character
meeple. The first player (or team) to reach 2 points wins.

A KO’d character respawns at the end of the current round. They select a map card with no enemy meeples
and place their character meeple on 1 of its spaces, restoring their HP to 5. If their meeple was standing up, it
remains so.

If multiple players are KO’d during the same round, they respawn in the order they were KO’d. Break ties with
the priority tracker.

TEAM BATTLE
Teammates share points and are not affected by each other’s actions (damage, knockback, etc). Teammates
cannot move through or into each other.

Teammates may confer during the secret portion of the round, coordinating their movement and actions.

TERMINOLOGY
• DMG: Damage. Reduces target’s HP by the amount of the damage.
• WIDE: Causes the effect to also target the selection grid spaces adjacent to the player’s action die
(orthogonal spaces also affect adjacent corners, corner spaces also affect adjacent orthogonals).
• BOLT X: The effect travels X spaces in the specified direction, stopping if it encounters a meeple or wall.
• BEAM X: The effect travels X spaces in the specified direction, continuing through meeples but
stopping if it encounters a wall.
• AREA: The effect targets all 8 spaces adjacent to your meeple, regardless of action die placement on the
character selection grid.
• SPEED ± X: The effect modifies your speed this round by +X or -X (do not physically change the value
of your speed die).

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 • SPEED X: The effect sets your speed to X this round, regardless of the value of your speed die.
• SPEED X → 6: The effect treats a speed die value of X this round (before any modifiers) as a 6 instead.
Other speed modifiers are then applied.
• KNOCKBACK X: The effect pushes targeted meeples X spaces away from you.
• INLINE: Other meeples that are aligned with yours orthogonally or diagonally are considered Inline.
• PARRY: Reduces damage from the direction of your action die by 1. Foes that attack
you from that direction take 1 damage from you. Lasts from the start of the round
until your turn; no effect on slower foes.
• BLOCK: Identical to Parry but does not damage foes that attack you.
• : Action die placement on the character selection grid.
• SPEED DIE : Speed die placement on the character selection grid.

SOLO MODE
If you wish to play this game solo, you can use the AI card
to control an enemy character and battle them. The AI card
contains movesets for the 8 different characters, determining
their behavior.

Set up the game normally. The player starts with the green
priority tracker. Set the AI card so that it shows the moveset for the
character you are fighting. The AI always has the following abilities:

AI ABILITIES
• At speed 1-3 the AI counts as Blocking if it is not already Parrying.
• Map effects that change the AI’s speed actually rotate its speed die to the new value.
• When targeting abilities, the AI always assumes the player will stand still.
• The AI can move in two different ways: Advancing or Retreating.

ADVANCING MOVEMENT
1. Mentally mark the space on AI fighter’s selection grid on the opposite side of center from where the
player meeple, is in relation to the AI meeple. For example:
A. ...If the player meeple is due West of the AI meeple, mark the East space of the AI selection grid.
B. ...If the player meeple is anywhere in the quadrant Northwest of the AI meeple, mark the Southeast
space of the AI selection grid (see example below).
2. Eliminate the marked space, and the adjacent outer spaces, from the AI selection grid.
3. Starting at the Northwest space on the selection grid, and skipping the eliminated spaces, mentally
number the remaining spaces from 1-6.
4. Roll the green action die. The number rolled is the space on the selection grid where the brown speed
die will go, to program the AI’s
movement.
5. The AI can’t walk off map edges or
through walls, and won’t move on to
lava spaces; if it tries, reduce its die roll
value (looping from 1 back around to
6) until you find a value that avoids the
illegal move.

6
RETREATING MOVEMENT
1. Same as Advancing, only the marked
space is in the direction of the player
meeple, instead of opposite them.

TURN ORDER FOR FIGHTING

THE AI
Each round, the player does the following:
1. Passes the priority token to whoever
did not have it last turn.
2. Roll their own speed and programs
their own turn (movement and action).
3. Roll the AI’s speed. If a terrain effect
would modify their speed, rotate the
die to the new value.
4. Check the AI character’s moveset, starting at the top line and continuing down until you find a move
they can execute.
A. Moves with a brown or blue tag require those conditions to be met before checking whether the
move can hit. Usually this will be a check for certain speed die values.
B. If all the tag conditions for a line are met, check to see whether that move could possibly connect
with the player’s current location (movement may be required). Then roll advancing or retreating
movement (if specified), and reduce the number rolled until you find a movement that allows the
attack to land. Program that AI movement and AI action (using the AI’s dice), and proceed to
resolving turns.
C. If a line’s conditions cannot be met (the tags are wrong or the specified attack is impossible to land
on the player’s current location), proceed to the next line of the moveset and repeat this process.
D. Moveset lines with an ellipses (...) always execute if they are reached.
5. If you have checked every line of the moveset without placing the AI action die, roll it and the AI will
perform that action, aimed so that (after movement) it is pointed towards the player’s current position.

The rest of the game is played normally.

CHARACTER ABILITIES IN DETAIL

FIGHTER
• Berserker (special ability): You deal +1 damage with all abilities when your HP is 2 or less.
• Chi Blast (action die value 5): Fire a Bolt in the direction of your action die, which travels 3 spaces and
deals 1 damage. Bolts stop at the first obstacle they hit. Reduces your speed by 1.
• Mega Kick (action die value 6): A more powerful version of Kick, which deals 2 Wide damage, but
reduces your speed by 2.
NINJA
• Smoke Bomb (special ability): Immediately after taking damage (assuming you are not KO’d), you may
move 1 space orthogonally (North, South, East, or West; not diagonally). This is one of the few abilities
that introduces choice after players’ actions have been revealed, making it very powerful.
• Blink (action die value 1): A modified version of Dash that causes you to jump 2 spaces. Jumping
ignores obstacles and meeples on the spaces you pass over. If the space you would land on is already
occupied, you instead travel as far as you can and then land.
• Jump Kick (action die value 5): First, you move 1 space in the direction of your green action die, then
you deal 1 Wide damage in that same direction. Reduces your speed by 1. Coupled with your regular
movement, this means you could travel 2 spaces and still attack.

7
 • Mantis Kick (action die value 6): A more
damaging version of Kick, which deals 2 Wide
damage but reduces your speed by 1. Does
nothing if you take damage before it triggers
(for example, a faster opponent hits you earlier
in the round).
DUELIST
• Quickening (special ability): While your HP is
2 or less, you gain +1 speed and your max speed
becomes 7 (instead of the normal max of 6).
• Riposte (action die value 2): A modified version of
Rebuke, which Parries slower foes instead of faster
foes. This allows you to move into the way of attacks and
potentially hit twice while avoiding damage. The Parry
doesn’t kick in until after your turn ends, so Riposte itself can
be Parried.
• Pistol Shot (action die value 5): Fire a Beam in the direction of your action die, which travels 2 spaces
and deals 1 damage. Beams stop if they hit a map obstacle like a wall, but keep traveling through
meeples. Reduces your speed by 1.
• Swift Cut (action die value 6): Deal 1 damage to the space with your action die. Increases your speed by
2.
PSYCHIC
• Telekinetic Pull (special ability): At the end of each round, you may pull any inline enemy meeples 1
space toward your meeple. Inline means the other meeples must be orthogonally or diagonally lined up
with your meeple. You may make the choice for each enemy meeple individually. If you move a foe into
a damaging map space that KO’s them, you get credit for the KO.
• Gravity Wave (action die value 5): Deal 1 damage to the space with your action die. Then, do a Wide
knockback in that same direction, pushing any enemy meeples on that space and neighboring selection
grid spaces 1 space away from your meeple.
• Psionic Burst (action die value 6): Deal 2 damage to each of the 8 spaces around you, ignoring the
placement of your action die. Reduces your speed by 2. Does nothing if you take damage before it
triggers (for example, a faster opponent hits you earlier in the round). Note that the placement of your
action die can still matter if you are Parrying.
ARMORED BEAR
• Cold Iron (special ability): You take 1 less damage from the direction of your action die, up until your
turn starts each round (meaning foes with lower speed are unaffected by this). Essentially, this is a
passive Block, and can stack with damage reduction from a normal Parry or Block.
• Ice Breath (action die value 5): Fire a Bolt in the direction of your action die, which travels 2 spaces and
deals 1 damage. Bolts stop at the first obstacle they hit. Slower foes damaged by this attack cannot deal
damage for the rest of this round. Reduces your speed by 1.
• Claw Swipe (action die value 6): A slower version of Kick, which deals 1 Wide damage but reduces your
speed by 2. However, if your speed is less than 2 (after modifiers), it deals 3 damage instead.
HUNTER
• Aim (special ability): When revealing your speed for the round, you gain +1 speed if you chose not to
move this round (by placing your brown speed die in the center space of your selection grid).
• Hawk Strafe (action die value 5): Fire a Beam in the direction of your action die, which travels 4 spaces
and deals 1 damage. Beams stop if they hit a map obstacle like a wall, but keep traveling through
meeples. Reduces your speed by 3.
• Raptor Hunt (action die value 6): Fire a Bolt in the direction of your action die, which travels 4 spaces
and deals 2 damage. Bolts stop at the first obstacle they hit. The Bolt deals no damage at range 1.
Reduces your speed by 3 if you moved this round (your brown speed die is not centered).
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SCOUT
• Explore (special ability): You treat the map edges as if they wrap back around to the opposite side.
To find the opposite side, take your movement/attack direction, flip it around (rotate it 180 degrees),
and then trace spaces in that direction until you come to an edge space. This can result in some weird
interactions; for example, if you use the area attack Howl in 1 corner of a rectangular map, it will affect
the 3 other corner spaces, pushing foes on those spaces away from those edges.
• Howl (action die value 5): Push all foes adjacent to you away 1 space.
• Pursuit (action die value 6): Move 3 spaces in the direction of your action die, then attack in that same
direction. The damage you deal is equal to the number of spaces you travel via Pursuit (spaces you
moved in other ways, such as during your Move phase or from foes’ Knockback attacks, don’t count).
Reduces your speed by 2.
WITCH
• Curse (special ability): Whenever you are damaged, you deal 1 damage to the space your action die
is on. This will do nothing if your action die is centered. If you reduce all damage from an attack (by
Parrying or Blocking), Curse will not trigger. Foes can Parry or Block the damage from Curse like any
other attack.
• Paralysis (action die value 5): Fire a Beam in the direction of your action die, which travels 2 spaces and
deals 1 damage. Beams stop if they hit a map obstacle like a wall, but keep traveling through meeples.
Slower foes damaged by this attack cannot Move during their Move phase this round. Reduces your
speed by 1.
• Voodoo (action die value 6): Grabs the first foe it encounters in the direction of your action die, and
pulls them to the space next to you (where your action die is pointing).

MAP EFFECTS IN DETAIL

• Portal: When you end a move here, you may then jump to any other unoccupied Portal space on the
map. This applies to any type of movement, whether during your Move phase or Action phase. However
if you move multiple spaces with the same action (for example, Flying Kick) and completely traverse
this space without ending on it, ignore the Portal effect.
• Mud: Reduces your speed by 1 when you start the round here (min 0).
• Road: Increases your speed by 1 when you start the round here (max 6).
• Tall Grass: Sets your speed to 6 when you start the round here; you do not need to roll your speed die.
Other modifiers can still change your speed for the round.
• Power Runes: You deal +1 damage with all abilities when standing on this space.
• Power Drain: You deal -1 damage with all abilities when standing on this space.
• Lava: Take 1 damage when you move here. Parrying and Blocking have no affect. If this damage KO’s
you, the last player to affect you with an ability of any kind (damage, push, knockback, etc) gets credit
for the KO.
• Ice: When you end a move here, you may then move 1 more space in the same direction you just moved.
This applies to any type of movement, whether during your Move phase or Action phase. However if
you move multiple spaces with the same action (for example, Flying Kick) and completely traverse this
space without ending on it, ignore the Ice effect.
• Wall: Stops projectiles, attacks, and movement. Does not interfere with diagonals unless two walls are
joined, in which case the joined corner does interfere with diagonals that would pass through it.

CREDITS
Rules version 0.5 (Updated April 9, 2018)
Game design by Peter Plashko, Matthew Bishop, and Dan Miller. Art by Matthew Bishop. Copyright 2018.

This document may be freely duplicated and shared as part of the 2018
9-Card Nanogame Contest. The creators retain all rights to its content.
9
QUICK REFERENCE
SETUP
Use 1 map card per player. Default map setup and starting locations shown below. Meeples start lying down.

Each player gets 1 character card, 1 brown die, 1 green die,

1 meeple, and 1 matching HP cube.

Youngest player starts with the green priority tracker.

EACH ROUND
1. Roll for speed (brown dice; simultaneous, secret)
2. Select actions (simultaneous, secret)
3. Reveal actions
4. Player turns: Each player in speed order, high to low (being closer to the
priority tracker wins Speed ties)
A. Move phase (brown die)
• Value: Your speed this round
• Placement: Where you will move during your turn
B. Action phase (green die)
• Value: The action you will perform during your turn
• Placement: Where you aim that action
5. Pass priority tracker and start next round

BEING KO'D
Players respawn anywhere on an empty map card with full HP. Player that
KO’d them stands up their meeple.

MISC
• Meeples cannot move into spaces with other meeples.
• Walls block ranged attacks and movement.
• Speed cannot go below 0 or above 6.
• Teammates don’t damage each other and may confer when planning their turns.

WINNING
The first player or team to get a second KO wins (meaning they have a standing meeple and then get another
KO).

PARRYING
Caused by placing your speed die in the center of your selection grid, or using Rebuke. You take -1 damage
from the direction of your green action die this round, up until your turn, and foes that attack from that
direction take 1 damage. Low speed is good for Parrying. (Blocking is identical but doesn’t damage foes.)

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