In GridHack you’ll play the role of a hacker, invading a machine through the weak spots in code, and building your own hacking network to steal data. But you better hurry – you’ll be playing against the counter-hack program, which can introduce firewalls, freeze or corrupt your network and more.
GridHack is a game that takes place on a grid, similar to graph paper. Over a series of turns, you'll roll dice to add nodes, bugs, and grow your hacking network. Copy enough data before the counter-hack program completes, and you win the game!
On your turn you'll roll two dice. The result of the dice determine the actions you can choose to take on your turn - expand your network, or add a node or bug to your network. Doubles allow you to take both actions OR an action of your choice. You can also choose to ignore the dice rolls and take any action of your choice - but if you do, the counter-hack program gets to advance two steps.
After your turn, the counter-hack program goes. This is a pre-programmed series of turns designed to stop you from hacking the network and stealing data. The counter-hack program has one action it takes per turn. After the counter-hack program is complete, it is your turn again.
Play continues turn after turn between you and the counter-hack program, until you copy enough data and win, or the counter-hack program complete and you lose.
—description from the designer