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), in teams of 2 (4 players), or against an AI opponent.
The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of several parts:
1. roll for speed (simultaneous, secret);
2. select actions (simultaneous, secret);
3. reveal actions;
4. player turns (each player in speed order move on the board and attack if possible);
5. pass priority tracker and start the next round.
Each character starts with 5 HP. When a character is dealt damage, their HP is reduced by that amount. A character reduced to 0 HP is Knocked Out (KO’d). A KO’d character respawns at the end of the current round. The player that KO’d them receives 1 point, and the first player (or team) to reach 2 points wins.