September 12, 2024: Hacker Deluxe Print-And-Play

Hacker Deluxe is out now as a print-and-play! That's right – with a printer, a few craft supplies, and a little bit of hacking and folding, you can recreate the classic Hacker experience right at your table.

Okay, official promo hat off. Irene here. I need to tell you a story.

I first played Hacker on a drizzly Wednesday night at my college gaming club. I was able to find the exact date – January 7, 2015 – because I immediately posted about it on Instagram. Twice. My verdict:

"it's . . . really good?"

I was a computer science student and a huge fan of '80s and '90s cyberpunk. I loved Neuromancer and Hackers (1995). Hacker was right up my alley in theme, and the mechanics didn't disappoint – jumping from system to system through indials, squeaking past ICE on government servers, and distinct turn phases to phreak and nark? I felt elite. Finding out that the guy behind my favorite roleplaying game had also created this demented period piece was just too cool. I played again every chance I could

After I left the school (and the club's magnificent library), I didn't get to play again – or even see another copy IRL – until FnordCon 5. During one of my first actual conversations with SJ, I remember gushing excitedly about one of the other MIBs bringing Hacker. When I called it my favorite game, he raised an eyebrow and said "now that's a deep cut."

A few months later, I was helping Steve out at Dragon Con 2022. When I very self-consciously invited him to play a game, I was not expecting him to immediately accept, much less to agree to what I suggested next:

Teaching Steve Jackson my second favorite card game about computer hacking.

Getting to step up as a developer to help prepare Hacker Deluxe for a 2024 print-and-play re-release has been very cool. I love this game, and I'm thrilled to introduce it to a new generation and give it a second life on the Net. While we kept it as close to its original form as we could, there have been a few edits – the cards originally appearing in Hacker II: The Dark Side are now clearly marked for easy removal if you want to play the original version. And some cards and rules have been clarified, making this more like a remaster than a new edition.