Dark.net Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Transmission Phase
    • Intercept Information
    • Repairing Destroyed Network Tiles
    • Corporate Attack
    • The Attack Die
  • Action Phase
    • 1. Sell to a Fence
    • 2. Buy from a Fence
    • 3. Buy a Network Extension
    • 4. Install a Network Booster
    • 5. Hire an Informant
    • 6. Make a Contact
    • Use a Contact
    • 7. Install a Virus
    • Active Viruses
    • Neutralized Viruses
    • 8. Receive 1
  • Trace Phase
    • Retaliation Example
    • Resolving Retaliations
• End of Game
• Scoring
  • Scoring Reputation
  • Winner
  • Ties

Overview

In Dark.net, players will intercept transmissions to gain valuable information via their data network. Players will use fences to buy and sell information so that they can boost their ability to gather even more information.

To boost their Reputation, players will:

• Accrue credits
• Extend their network
• Hire Informants
• Install Network Boosters
• Make Contacts

If players need to draw a Response card and there are none remaining, the endgame will trigger.

Components

• 4 Starting Networks (1 per player color)
• 4 Player aides (1 per player color)
• 1 City Board
• 40 Network Extensions (10 per Fence color)
• 20 Contacts (5 per Fence color)
• 100 Information cubes (25 per Fence color)
• 12 Network Boosters (3 per player color)
• 16 Informants (4 per player color)
• 12 Virus tokens (3 per player color)
• 8 Credit marker cubes (2 per player color) and 4 "+50 Credit" markers
• Note: Credit marker cubes are smaller than Network Boosters.
• 4 Retaliation dice (1 per Fence color)
• 2 Transmission dice
• 1 Attack die
• 24 Trace tokens
• 24 Destruction tokens
• 16 Response cards

Setup

1. Randomly determine each player's color (violet, black, orange, or white) by dealing out player aides.
2. Place the City board in the center of the table.
3. Roll the 4 Retaliation dice then place the Retaliation die matching the Fence's color on each Fence area on the board.
4. Place a number of Information cubes on the Fence tracks equal the number showing on the Retaliation die of the Fence's color. Add the cubes from top to bottom.
5. Separate the Contacts face up into stacks based on their color and sort the stacks from lowest cost (on top) to highest (on bottom). Place each stack on the Contact space matching its color on the City Board.
6. Shuffle the Network Extension tiles and place them face down at the bottom of the City Board. (Feel free to separate these into smaller stacks for ease of play. Place them in the supply until needed.)
7. Draw and place face up the top 4 Network Extension tiles in the available spots next to the stack.
8. Place the Information cubes within reach of all players. This will make up the supply.
9. Also place the Trace tokens, Destruction tokens, and the Attack die within reach of all players.
10. Shuffle level 1 and level 2 Response cards separately. Draw cards based on the number of players shown below, keeping them face down. Place the drawn level 1 cards on top of level 2 cards to form the Response Deck.

# of Players	Level 1	Level 2
2	5	4
3	6	4
4	7	4

Return the remaining Response cards to the box as they will not be used this game.

11. Place the Response Deck face down near the City Board.

12. Give each player the following:

    • The Starting Network of the same color and number as their player aide
    • 4 Informants of their color
    • 3 Network Boosters of their color
    • 1 Virus token of their color for each opponent
    • 2 Credit marker cubes of their color
    • 1 Information cube of each type (blue, green, red and yellow). These form a player's starting cache.
    • Each player then places a Credit marker cube on their bank account equal to their starting credits.

    The player with the lowest-numbered player aide will become the First Player and place a Credit marker cube on their "1" credit space. Everyone else starts with one more credit than the person before them in player order.

    The color and number on the back of each Starting Network matches the player aide.

    Starting credits example: In a 3 player game; player 1 places his marker on "1" credit, player 2 would have "2" credits, and player 3 would have "3" credits. In this case, the players chose black, white and orange colors to play with. Black is #2 and is lower than white (3) and orange (4). The black player's credits are marked as 1 and will be the first player.

13. After the First Player is decided and setup is complete, play proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

Whoever has the lowest-numbered player aide will go first, with play proceeding clockwise.

Each player's turn consists of:

1. Transmission phase
2. Action phase
3. Trace phase

Transmission Phase

The Big Four are very careful about transmitting their information and transmit as rarely as possible.

Roll the two Transmission dice and add the value of the dice together. Based on the roll, all players will Intercept Information or a Corporate Attack will occur.

Intercept Information

If the value rolled is not 7, then each player will receive Information cubes from the central supply that they will place in their cache.

• For any network tile whose number matches the value rolled, a player will receive one Information cube matching the network tile's color.
• Also, for each Informant or Network Booster touching the network tile, the player will get an additional Information cube.
• Tiles with a Destruction token do not generate any Information cubes. They do, however, generate 1 credit, which is unaffected by Informants or Network Boosters.
• Players can choose to receive credits from their destroyed network tile or to pay the cost shown on that network tile to remove the Destruction token. Note the tile being repaired must match the die value.

Intercept Information example: If an 8 was rolled on the Transmission dice, then you would receive 3 green Information cubes: 1 from the total on the Transmission dice (8), which matches the number on the green network tile; 1 from the Informant touching that network tile; and 1 from the Network Booster touching the tile.

Repairing Destroyed Network Tiles

There are 2 ways to repair destroyed network tiles (i.e. remove the Destruction token).

First, during the Transmission Phase on their turn, a player can choose to repair a destroyed tile if the value rolled equals the tile number and they spend credits equal to the cost in the tile (A). Note that tiles repaired this way will not receive any Information during the Transmission Phase in which it is repaired.

Second, during the Action Phase on their turn, a player can choose to use a Contact that matches the color of the destroyed tile, flipping the Contact over, to remove the Destruction token (B).

Corporate Attack

If the value rolled on the Transmission Dice totals 7, the dice will cause a Corporate Attack.

• Roll the Attack die.
• Each player, if possible, must place a Destruction token on a Network Extension they own matching the color rolled.
• Starting networks are immune to corporation attacks.
• When a corporate attack occurs place a trace onto each fence.

The Attack Die

The Attack die has two blank sides and one side showing each Fence color.

Action Phase

On your turn you may pick any 2 different actions from the following 8. These actions are also listed on your player aide.

1. Sell to a Fence
2. Buy from a Fence
3. Buy a Network Extension
4. Install a Network Booster
5. Hire an Informant
6. Make a Contact
7. Install a Virus
8. Receive 1

1. Sell to a Fence

There are always those out there looking to buy the newest bits of information, and the local Fences are more than happy to facilitate this.

To sell information to a Fence:

• You may only sell to one Fence in a turn.
• Declare which Fence you will sell to and how many cubes matching their color that you will sell.
• For each Information cube you are selling, receive credits equal to the first visible number on the Fence track for that color. Increase the total on your bank account for the credits you have received.
• Place the Information cubes that you sold onto the first available spaces on the Fence track for that color, starting with the top-most spaces.
• If the Retaliation die is on the Fence, take the die and put a Trace token on the Fence.

Some Response cards may change the rules for how selling to a Fence operates. Rules on Response cards override the normal rules.

Sell to a Fence example: After declaring you will sell 3 blue Information cubes, you will: receive 9 credits (3 x 3 Information cubes); place 3 Information cubes from your cache on the blue Fence, covering the two other "3"s and the first "2" on the track. Since there is no Retaliation die on this Fence, no Trace token is added.

Limits to Information: If a player wished to sell to Doxbee and there are only these 3 spaces available, then they could only sell at most 3 Information cubes because the "1" space cannot be covered. Conversely, if a player wished to buy from Doxbee then they could buy at most the 5 available Information cubes. It is also possible for a Fence to have no information.

Accounting with Bunkrbnk: Keep track of your current credits on your player aide by moving the Credit cube markers on your bank account. For example, 15 credits would have one cube on the "10" and add the other on the "5".

2. Buy from a Fence

Sometimes you need a little bit of extra information to keep that Informant happy or get that Network Booster you need. The Fences are more than happy to sell you new information.

To buy information from a Fence:

• You may only buy from one Fence in a turn.
• You may NOT buy and sell with the same Fence in a turn.
• Declare which Fence you will buy from and how many cubes matching their color that you will buy.
• For each Information cube you are buying, you must pay credits equal to the first visible number on the Fence track for that color. Decrease the total on your bank account for the credits you are spending.
• Note that you can only buy the Information cubes currently available on a Fence, no more.
• Remove the Information cubes you bought from the bottom-up on the Fence track for that color, and place the Information cubes in your cache.
• If the Retaliation die is on the Fence, take the die and put a Trace on the Fence.

Some Response cards may change the rules for how buying from a Fence operates. Rules on Response cards override the normal rules.

Buy from a Fence example: After declaring you will buy 2 Information cubes, pay 6 credits (3 x 2 Information cubes). Take the bottom-most 2 Information cubes from the blue Fence and place them in your cache. The Retaliation die is on the Fence so you take it then place a Trace token on the Fence. This Fence already had 1 Trace on it so after placing your Trace there are now 2.

3. Buy a Network Extension

The farther your network reaches, the more information you can gather; a rule known by everybody in this trade.

Network Extensions example: This Network Extension is red, has a value of 2, and costs 1 credit to purchase.

Placing a Network Extension example: In the network shown, the marked Network Extension "A" is illegally placed, because it is not orthogonally-adjacent to another tile.

Empty the Trash: Before buying a Network Extension, you may pay 2 credits to discard all the current Network Extensions and draw 4 new network tiles, placing them on the board spaces.

To buy a Network Extension:

• You may only buy one Network Extension a turn.
• Take one of the face-up Network Extension tiles from the board, and place the tile orthogonally-adjacent to a tile in your network.
• Pay credits equal to the number of credits shown on the Network Extension tile, subtracting the cost from the value on your bank account.
• If the Fence matching the purchased Network Extension's color still has its Retaliation die, take the die and place a Trace on the Fence.
• Draw a new tile from the stack to replace the purchased tile.

4. Install a Network Booster

Sometimes a small efficient network is more important than a far reaching but inefficient network.

To install a Network Booster:

• Only one Network Booster may be installed a turn.
• Transfer Information cubes from your cache to the supply equal to the cost shown on your player aide. Note that each player has differing costs to install a booster.
• Place one of your Network Boosters at the corner of four network tiles.
• A Network Booster cannot be placed on a corner that already has another Network Booster and may not extend into a space with no tile.

Network Booster costs: Each Network Booster purchased for this player costs 3 red and 3 blue Information cubes.

Network Booster placement example: The Network Booster on the left is legally placed. The marked Network Booster "A" on the right is illegally placed. It extends into a space with no tile.

5. Hire an Informant

Informants are an easy way to get more information. You give them some info and they won't hesitate to give you some assistance.

To hire an Informant:

• Only one Informant may be hired a turn.
• Transfer Information cubes from your cache to the supply equal to the cost shown on your player aide. Note each player has differing costs for Informants.
• Place one of your Informants on the border of 2 tiles in your network.
• An Informant cannot be placed on a border that already has another Informant, nor can it extend into a space with no tile.

Informant costs: Each Informant purchased for this player costs 2 yellow and 2 green Information cubes.

Placing an Informant example: The marked Informants "A" and "B" are illegally placed. A is not between 2 tiles and B is on the same space as another Informant. All the other Informants are legally placed.

6. Make a Contact

Give people a little bit of information now and they will be more than happy to help you later. Having Contacts will certainly increase your Reputation.

Contact cost: Making this Contact will cost 3 green Information cubes.

To make a Contact:

• You may only make one Contact a turn.
• You may only have a maximum of 5 Contacts.
• Choose which Contact to make from the top Contacts showing on the board.
• Transfer Information cubes matching the Contact's color from your cache to the supply equal to the cost shown on the Contact.
• Place your new Contact in your cache.
• If the Fence matching the color of the Contact chosen still has its Retaliation die, take the die and place a Trace on the Fence.

Use a Contact

Contacts may be used to do one of the following:

1. Remove a Destruction token from a tile on your network of the Contact's color.
2. Neutralize a virus on a tile of the Contact's color.
3. Exchange Information cubes of the Contact's color for any other color at a rate of 2:1.

These abilities may be used at any time during the Action phase on your turn and do not count as one of your actions. These actions are also listed on the City Board.

When a contact is used, flip it over.

• Each used Contact counts for -1 Rep.
• Used Contacts do still add towards your "number of Contacts owned" during scoring.

7. Install a Virus

Sometimes it's necessary to steal from others on the fringe to survive.

To Install a Virus:

• You may only have 1 active virus on each other player.
• Spend 3 credits from your bank account.
• Choose an opponent's network tile to place one of your virus tokens on. The chosen tile:
  • Must be affected by either an Informant or Network Booster (or both).
  • Cannot have a neutralized virus or a Destruction token on it.
• Players may also pay 3 credits to relocate an active virus from one tile on an opponent's network to a new one on their network. Note that same placement restrictions apply.

Active Viruses

When the tile's number is rolled, the player who placed the virus receives half the Information cubes rounded up and the remainder go to the player whose tile contains the virus.

If a tile with an active virus is destroyed, the virus token returns to its owner.

Active virus example: If the Transmission roll was an "8", the black player (network owner) would get 1 red Information cube and the orange player (virus owner) would get 2 red Information cubes.

Neutralized Viruses

Players may neutralize a virus by using a Contact matching the color of the tile that the virus is on. Flip the virus token over to show it is neutralized.

A neutralized virus has no effect and cannot be moved. New viruses cannot be placed on top of neutralized viruses.

If a tile with a neutralized virus is destroyed, the virus token remains. Place the destruction token over it.

8. Receive 1

• Increase your credits by 1.
• Unlike the other actions, Receive 1 may be performed twice in a row, using up both of your actions in a turn.

Trace Phase

The Big Four make sure to punish any fences that cause too much trouble.

• Roll all the Retaliation dice that you have taken on your turn from selling to a Fence, buying from a Fence, purchasing a Network Extension, or making a Contact.
• If any of the Retaliation dice roll below the number of Traces on the corresponding Fence's color, a Retaliation will occur.

If multiple Retaliations would occur in a single turn, of the retaliation dice that rolled below the Trace number only the lowest will trigger a Retaliation on the corresponding Fence. The other Fences are spared.

If multiple dice are tied for lowest number, a Retaliation against each of the colors corresponding to the tied dice will occur.

• In addition, any Fence that has 6 Traces on it will suffer a Retaliation.

Retaliation Example

On your turn you collected 2 Retaliation dice, 1 blue and 1 red. After rolling, both dice are less than the number of Traces on each Fence of their respective matching colors, so a Retaliation will occur.

The number on the blue die is lower than the red die, which means the Retaliation will affect only the blue Fence.

Retaliation resolution example: 4 Information cubes are removed from the blue Fence (equal to number of Traces). Then all of the Trace tokens are removed. This leaves the blue Fence with only 1 Information cube. Finally, both the blue and red Retaliation dice are returned to their corresponding Fence.

Resolving Retaliations

For each Fence that is suffering retaliation:

• Remove Information cubes equal to the number of Traces on the Fence, place them in the supply.
• Remove all Traces from the Fence.
• Discard any Response card from the Fence.
• Draw a Response card from the top of the Response Deck and place it adjacent to the affected Fence.
• Read aloud to all players the rules on the Response card and perform any actions described.
• Return Retaliation dice to each Fence and pass the Transmission dice to the next player.

Response cards change the way that the affected Fence buys and/or sells information. The rules on these cards persist until they are replaced by a new Response card.

End of Game

If players need to draw a Response card and there are none remaining, the endgame will trigger. Each player who has not yet had a turn this round takes a turn, then the game ends and scoring occurs.

Scoring

Scoring Reputation

Each area in the player aide shows how much of a reputation you have gained for your accomplishments.

Count up your Contacts, Installed Network Boosters, and Hired Informants and consult the charts shown for each on your player aide.

Also, add 1 Rep. for each of your intact Network Extensions.

The credit Rep. is scored a little differently than the rest. Add Rep. from your credits equal to your total credits divided by 3, rounding down.

Subtract 1 Rep. for each Network Extension with a Destruction token on it, used Contact, and active Virus token on your network.

Scoring example (values printed in the rulebook's example):

• 1 Contact increases your Reputation by 6.
• 2 Network Boosters increases Rep. by 16.
• 2 Informants increases your Rep. by 11.
• If you have 16 credits, your Rep. increases by 5.
• 2 Network Extensions with Destruction tokens is -2 Rep.
• 1 Active Virus on your network is -1 Rep.
• A used Contact (flipped over) is -1 Rep.
• If you had 5 intact Network Extensions your Rep. would increase by 5.
• Total Reputation is 39.

Winner

After scoring, the player who has the highest-valued Reputation is the winner of the game.

Ties

In the event of a tie, the player with the most Information cubes remaining is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player with the highest valued Information cubes (according to the Fences) wins.