ACCESS DENIED

© Greg Love, 10th September 2018

Scenario
You are part of a team of three elite Infiltrator Agents, tasked by your shadowy employers with infiltrating the
Advanced Cyber-Dynamics (ACD) Corporation complex, and stealing as much industrial technology data as
possible. ACD is world leader in robotics technology, and their precious technical data is locked in computer
terminals and protected by firewalls (anti-hacking protection). The more data you steal, the more credits your
team will be paid. Credits are also stored in corporate safes, and cracking these open will boost your pay.
How far will you push your luck?

Objective
Steal as much data and credits as possible before the game ends. The game ends when either: (1) all 5 data
terminals have been hacked – you win the game, or (2) all 3 Agents have been arrested – you lose the
game. Stealing credits from safes is optional, but doing so will increase your score. Win or lose, the total
credits earned by your team determines your score when the game ends.

Game components (Number of components)

Map tiles (rooms) (12). Corporate safes (5). Security devices (12) **
Doors (28) * Agents (3). C.C.T.V. terminal (1).
Hiding spots (4). Guards (3). Robot terminal (1).
Data Terminals (5). Security robot (1). Dice (3). 1D10, 2D6. ***
Score track - low ink version (1). Security Alerts (17). Score counter (1).

* 4 unlocked doors, 4 locked doors, 4 alarmed doors, and 4 keypad doors, 12 Unlocked doors (one-sided).
** 4 CCTV counters, 4 laser sensors, and 4 motion sensors.
*** You will need to provide one D10 (one ten-sided die) and two D6 (two six-sided dice).

Setting up the game

1. Prepare the game map and score track. Shuffle the START map tile and the other 11 map tiles together
and deal them face up in a grid 4 map tiles wide by 3 map tiles high. Place the score track nearby, and
place the score counter on the START box. Tile orientation & placement of the START tile do not matter.
2. Place doors. Place 1 one-sided (printed on one side) unlocked door counter face up on each edge of the
START tile where it adjoins another tile, so that it overlaps both tiles. Take all 16 unknown door counters,
place them ‘?’ side face up, & mix them. Then place 1 unknown door counter (‘?’ side face up) at every join
between 2 map tiles, so that it overlaps both tiles. Put aside any left-over counters.
3. Deploy Agents. Place each Agent counter on the START map tile.
4. Deploy the guards and robot. Roll 2D6 and total the rolls. Place all guards on the map tile with a number
matching the dice roll total. E.g. if you roll 3 and 5, place all guards on map tile ‘8’. Roll 2D6 and total the
rolls, and place the robot on the map tile indicated by the dice roll total.
5. Use a 2D6 roll total to randomly select 1 numbered map tile and place the CCTV terminal & the Robot
terminal face up on that map tile. Shuffle face down the 5 terminal counters (including the A.I. Core) and
the 5 safe counters, & place 1 counter face down on each numbered map tile (excluding the map tile with
the CCTV terminal & the Robot terminal). Once all 10 counters are placed, flip them over to reveal them.
6. Shuffle face down all 12 security device counters (4 CCTV cameras, 4 motion sensors, & 4 laser
sensors) and place 1 security device counter face down on each numbered map tile. Once 11 counters
are placed, flip them to reveal them. Put aside the 1 remaining security device counter.
7. Take the 4 hiding spot counters, and randomly allocate each counter to a different room, using a 2D6 roll
total to place it. There may only be one hiding spot counter per room.

Turn sequence
Each game turn consists of the following two phases, performed in this order:
1. AGENT ACTION PHASE. Each Agent takes up to 3 actions.
2. SECURITY PHASE. Move guards and the security bot.
1. Agent Action Phase
During the Agent Action Phase, each Agent has 3 action points to ‘spend’ on performing up to 3 actions.
The possible actions available to each Agent are: movement, check door, pick lock, hack, and crack safe.
 An Agent may take these actions more than once, if they have enough action points remaining. However,
an Agent may move only once during the Agent Action Phase.
 An Agent on a hiding spot counter cannot perform any actions while there is a guard in the room.
 Important: Agents in a room with a laser sensor or motion sensor present must successfully hack the
sensor before doing any other actions in that room. E.g. an Agent cannot attempt to crack a safe in a room
containing a laser sensor or motion sensor until the sensor is hacked.

Each of these actions costs 1 action point. An Agent may do 1, 2 or 3 actions during this phase, or no actions
at all. Any unused action points cannot be carried over to a later game turn, and cannot be transferred to
another Agent. One Agent must complete their actions (if any) before another agent can do their actions.

Skill tests 
These actions require a skill test to determine if the action succeeds or fails: pick lock, hack, and crack
safe. To do a skill test, an Agent must be in the same room as the target of the skill test; roll 1D10 and
compare it with the target number at the top of the counter. If the roll was equal to or greater than the target
number, the skill test succeeds; do what is printed after the success icon - . The use of Team Work,
described below, improves the chances of passing a skill test.

Team Work 
Agents can take advantage of team work to improve their chances of passing a skill test. Whenever an
Agent attempts a skill test, add 1 to the die roll/s if there are any other Agents in the same room as the Agent
doing the skill test.

Movement 
An Agent may move only horizontally or vertically from its current room to any adjacent room. All Agent
movement from room to room must be through an unlocked door.

 Moving is optional; an Agent can remain in their current room.

 An Agent may only move once during the Agent Action Phase.
 If an Agent/s ends their movement in a room with an active C.C.T.V. camera, they are detected if a guard
or bot moves into the same room as the C.C.T.V. terminal, to which all C.C.T.V. cameras are connected.
 No Agent may move into the same room as a guard or bot. The only exception is that Agents may move
into a room containing a hacked bot, but no guards.
 If any Agent enters a room containing a laser sensor or motion sensor, their movement must stop. The
sensor must be successfully hacked before any Agents in that room may move to adjoining rooms. This
does not prevent other Agents entering the room containing the sensor, from adjacent rooms.

Check Door 
Whenever an Agent attempts to move through an unknown door (see left), they must first
spend 1 action point to determine its status by flipping it to its other side. This reveals whether
? the door is unlocked, locked, alarmed, or has a keypad. Agents may only move through
unlocked doors, indicated on the map by an unlocked door counter (see below).

Pick Lock 
Some doors are locked (see example, left, top), and must be unlocked before any Agent can
5 pass through the door from one room to another. Lock picking is an action, and each attempt to
pick a lock costs 1 action point. To attempt lock picking, roll 1D10.
LOCKED
 If the die roll was equal to or greater than 5, remove the locked door counter, and replace it
with an unlocked door counter (see left, bottom). If the die roll was less than 5, the door
remains locked. The Agent may try again, but only if they have any action points remaining.
UNLOCK
Hack 
Hacking is disabling or bypassing devices, in particular, computer and security systems. In this game, these
devices can be hacked: alarmed doors, keypad doors, CCTV cameras, terminals - including the CCTV
terminal, and Robot terminal, laser sensors, and motion sensors. All of these devices are alarmed, as
indicated by this icon on their counter:  This means if an attempt at hacking the device fails, an alert is
triggered. An Agent may attempt hacking a device only if they are in the same room as the device. An Agent
on a hiding spot can hack a device in that room, but only if there are no Guards present there.
 Important: each hack attempt costs 1 action point, regardless of whether the attempt fails or succeeds.

To hack a device requires a skill test; roll 1D10 and compare it with the target number printed
in the top left corner of the counter. A die roll greater than or equal to the target number
indicates a successful skill test - , the device is hacked, whereas a failed skill test on an
alarmed  device creates an alert. For example, the target number to hack an alarmed door is
5. Hence, a 1D10 roll of 5 - 10 will hack the door.

Whenever an Agent fails a skill test on an alarmed device - , place an alert counter (see above, left) in the
room where the skill test failed. There can be more than one alert counter in a room, due to multiple failed skill
tests in that room.

5  Alarmed Doors
 If the die roll was greater than or equal to 5, remove the alarmed door counter, and replace it
with an unlocked door counter.
ALARM
Keypad Doors
2D6>3 Roll 2D6 (two 6-sided dice), and compare both rolls with the target number (>3).
  If both die rolls are > 3; remove the locked door counter, and replace it with an unlocked
KEYPAD
door counter.

C.C.T.V. cameras
4  Hacking a CCTV camera is optional. However, if a guard or bot move into the room with the
CCTV terminal while any Agent/s are in a room containing an active (not hacked) CCTV
C.C.T.V. camera, an alert is triggered. To hack a CCTV camera, roll 1D10 > = 4.
 Flip the CCTV counter over to the HACKED (inactive) side.

C.C.T.V. terminal
7  Hacking a CCTV terminal is optional. All CCTV cameras in the complex display what they ‘see’
on this CCTV terminal. If a guard or bot move into the room with this terminal, an alert is
C.C.T.V.
TERMINAL triggered in every room containing an Agent and an active (not hacked) CCTV camera. To hack
a CCTV terminal, roll 1D10 > = 7.
NO
 Turn over the CCTV terminal counter to its hacked (NO SIGNAL) side. All CCTV cameras
SIGNAL remain inactive (disabled) until the CCTV terminal is rebooted.
C.C.T.V.
Laser sensor
Almost invisible to the naked eye, laser sensors are triggered whenever an Agent moves
5 
through them, breaking the beam of light. To hack a laser sensor, roll 1D10 > = 5.
 Remove the hacked Laser sensor counter from the game.
LASER
SENSOR
Motion sensor
6  This device is triggered by detecting minute changes in air density due to movement. To hack a
motion sensor, roll 1D10 > = 6.
MOTION  Remove the hacked Motion sensor counter from the game.
SENSOR

7  Data terminals
These are your priority targets. To hack a data terminal, roll 1D10 > = 7.
 If the hacked terminal is the A.I core, add 10 to your score by moving the score counter
TERMINAL along the score track, and remove the hacked terminal counter from the game.
If the hacked terminal is not the A.I core, roll 1D10 to see how many gigabytes of data you have stolen.
Increase your score by that amount on the score track by moving the score counter, and then remove the
hacked terminal counter from the game.

The robot terminal

7  This terminal controls the security bot remotely, via a wireless link. By hacking this terminal, an
Agent can temporarily disable the bot. To hack a robot terminal, roll 1D10 > = 7.
ROBOT
TERMINAL
 The security bot is hacked. Flip the bot counter (see left) and the robot terminal counter
over to their hacked side. While hacked, the bot does not move during the security phase, and
cannot detect and arrest any Agents that move into the room it is located.

HACKED Safe cracking

Your primary mission is to steal data, but why not help yourself to some corporate credits while
6  you work? Cracking safes and stealing the credits within is optional, but doing so will increase
your score. If an Agent carrying credits is arrested before returning to the START room, all
SAFE
credits carried by that Agent are lost; remove the credits counter/s and the Agent from the
game. To crack a safe, roll 1D10 > = 6.
1D10
A player may choose to leave a credits counter in its current room for an Agent to pick up later
in the game. To do so, any Agent simply has to enter the room containing the credits counter.
CREDIT Picking up a credits counter in this way does not cost any action points.
S
 Flip the counter over to the credits side and place it under the counter of the Agent that cracked the safe, or
any Agent in the room. An Agent can carry more than one credits counter.

If an Agent carrying a credits counter/s moves to the START room, add those credits to your
score. For each credits counter carried to the START room, roll 1D10; this is how many credits
SCORE you have stolen. Move the score counter (see left) up the score track that many spaces, and
then remove the credits counter/s from the game.

2. Security phase
In this phase, the security units - the 3 guards and the security robot (bot) - will patrol the complex,
searching for intruders. If there are no alert counters on the game map, the security units will follow their
routine patrol pattern; the guards move to a random room, and the bot moves to the next higher numbered
room. If there are alert counters in one or more rooms, each of those rooms will be investigated by one
(different) security unit. Important: security units cannot enter the START room.

No alerts
If there are no alert counters on the map, security units follow their routine patrol pattern:
1. For each guard, roll 2D6 and total the rolls. Move the guard into the room with a number matching the dice
roll total. For example, if you roll 2 and 6, move a guard to room 8.
 If the total rolled on 2D6 equals the guard’s current room number, the guard does not move.
2. Move the bot to the next higher numbered room. For example, the bot is moved from room 6 to room 7.
 If the bot is currently in room 12, move it to room number 2.

Removing alerts and credit, and rebooting hacked systems

 If a security unit enters a room with any alert counter/s, immediately remove those alert counters.
 If a security unit enters a room with a left-behind credit counter, flip the counter to the SAFE side.
 If a security unit enters a room with a hacked CCTV terminal, they reboot it. Flip the CCTV terminal
counter and all hacked CCTV camera counters to their other (active) side. Immediately place one alert
counter in every room containing an Agent (not on a hiding spot) and a CCTV camera.
 If a guard enters a room with a hacked robot terminal, they reboot it. Flip the robot counter and the
robot terminal counter to their other side; the bot is now active. Immediately move the bot to the next
higher numbered room.
Investigating an alert in one room
If there are one or more alert counters in one room only, move the closest security unit one room horizontally
or vertically along the shortest path (excluding the START room) toward the room containing the alert
counter/s, to investigate. If two or more security units are equally close to the room containing the alert
counter/s, randomly choose which one to move. If there are two or more equidistant paths to the room with the
alert counter/s, move the security unit to the room with the higher room number. Security units not
investigating an alert follow their routine patrol pattern (see No alerts).

Investigating alerts in multiple rooms

If there are alert counters in more than one room, move one security unit (guard or bot) one room toward
each room containing alerts, to investigate. The security unit closest to each room containing alerts is moved.
If two or more security units are equally close to a room containing the alert counter/s, randomly choose which
one to move. Security units are always moved one room horizontally or vertically (never diagonally) along the
shortest path toward a room containing alerts.
 The shortest path is that which includes the fewest number of intervening rooms between the starting room
(containing the security unit/s) and the destination room (containing the alert/s).
 When counting rooms to determine the shortest path, do not count rooms diagonally, or the START room.
 If there are two or more equally shortest paths to a room with alert counters, move one guard or bot
horizontally or vertically toward the room with the highest room number.
 Security units not investigating an alert follow their routine patrol pattern (see No alerts).

Patrolling priorities
Each room number printed on a map tile has a number of dots after it indicating the probability the guards will
visit it. Play tip: bear these patrolling priorities in mind when planning where to move your Agents. There are 3
patrolling priority levels: 1 dot - Low priority (rooms 2, 3, 11, and 12), 2 dots - Medium priority (rooms 4, 5, 9,
and 10), and 3 dots - High priority (rooms 6, 7, and 8).

Arresting agents
If any guards or the bot move into the same room as any Agent/s, the Agent/s is arrested: remove the
arrested Agent/s counter from the game map and any credits counters carried by those Agents. Those credits
does not count towards your score. Exception: guards cannot detect an Agent on a hiding spot, and so do
not arrest the Agent.

The game ends when either: (1) all 5 data terminals have been hacked - you win the game, or (2) all 3
Agents have been arrested - you lose the game. Win or lose, the total credits earned by your team are
indicated on the score track when the game ends. If all three Agents have not been arrested yet, remove the
arrested Agent/s from the game, and any credits counters carried by that agent. The removed credits
counters do not count towards your score.

Hiding spots
Hiding spots represent ‘blind spots’ in rooms, which conceal one Agent located on them. If an
Agent counter is placed on a HIDE counter (see left), they are not detected if (1) a guard/s
moves into that room, or (2) the room contains an active (not hacked) C.C.T.V. camera, and a
HIDE guard or bot move into the room containing an active C.C.T.V. terminal. An Agent on a hiding
spot cannot attempt hacking and cannot move if there are any guards in the room.

Exception: if the security bot is in the same room as an Agent on a hiding spot (if the bot is not hacked), it
detects & arrests the Agent; the bot is equipped with thermal imaging sensors that detect Agent body heat.

Optional rules and game variations

If playing the optional perks rule, during game set-up, take the 10 perks cards & select 3 cards.
Assign 1 card to each Agent; place the 3 selected cards in a row in front of you. The left card is
assigned to Agent 1, the middle card is assigned to Agent 2, & the right card is assigned to Agent 3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Image credits: 1. Abstract matrix numbers background purchased from Alamy, 18/7/2018. Contributor: tawatchai prakobkit /
Alamy Stock Photo, Image ID: P7EK24. 2. The Security Alert image was purchased from ALAMY: https://www.alamy.com/.
Contributor: Skorzewiak / Alamy Stock Photo, Image ID: P38AH8. Legal disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, the game designer claims
no copyright on any of the images appearing in these game rules or associated game components.