The year is 1942, and World War 2 rages on. You are the head of an elite team of cryptanalysts tasked with breaking the infamous Enigma code. But you’re not the only one working towards this goal. It seems that rival teams are trying to decipher it as well – and only one can gain the fame and recognition that comes with deciphering this near impossible cipher. It seems the fate of the war rests on your shoulders.
You better get crackin’.
Code Crackers: The Enigma is a 3-5 player “cooperatively competitive” game where players work towards the same goal of cracking the enigma code. However, there can only be one winner. Whomever has added the most percent when the tracker reaches or exceeds 100% on the end of any given player’s turn wins!
Code Crackers is a 3-5 player game meant to be an entry level game along the same level of difficulty as Catan or Ticket to Ride. Each of the game’s mechanics are simple, but together they create a complex, dynamic system that rewards clever planning and creative playstyles. It is a game that can be quick to learn but difficult to master! Cardgame players will find Code Cracker easy to pick up!
While Code Crackers’ board layout may seem traditional, it relies on it’s unique tracker mechanic that shows the overall progress rather than each player’s individual contribution. It’s great for people looking to transition from more traditional board games (like monopoly and risk) to more complex games that are still easy to pick up. With 3 different ways to play, plus characters with their own unique abilities, you can make the game as difficult or as easy as you want!
Here is a print and play for you all to try the game!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pO57k-4qmJkndFfNUi51lO3GGc9YTwDS
Full rules here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zqJoImC7arp3Oz1mdRmnb7zsCgjZuvoDfCKlo8jneMU/edit#
Players on their turn will go through 2 phases: the Research Phase and the Investment phase.
During most player’s research phase, they will turn any active cards on their facilities clockwise from 3 descending to “Research Complete”. When Research Complete is hit, the card is flipped over and the player does what the card says.
For example, if it says add 5%, the player adds 5% to their own personal board and 5% to the main board.
If it says minus 4%, the active player chooses another player to lose 4% and 4% is lost on the main board.
Investment Phase
Each player has 3 actions during this phase and can choose from any of the following options. A player may choose the same option multiple times, but they must take all 3 actions on their turn.
Purchase: Market
The player may purchase a Research card from the Market row. Spend gold equal to the number in the gold circle in the card’s bottom right hand corner, then add that card to their hand.
Alternatively, face down Research cards may be purchased from the top of each deck for an amount of gold equal to the number in the gold circle in the bottom right hand corner.
Immediately replace empty spots in the Market row with the top card of the respective Market deck.
Purchase: Asset
The player may spend gold to purchase an Asset card from the Asset row. The cost of the card is located in the gold circle at the top of the card.
Immediately replace empty spots in the Asset row with the top card of the respective Asset deck. Make sure that the top card of the deck is face up.
Immediate effects resolve as soon as the card is purchased. Conditional Effects can never be triggered off of an immediate action on the same card.
If it has an immediate action, the effect happens as soon as the player purchases the card. If the card has a Conditional Effect, it does not trigger itself when the card up.
Activate a Card
The player may place one of the cards from their hand face down on one of their open facilities with the circled number on the back completing the circle on their player card.
Expedite
The player may turn one of their active research cards clockwise, as if it was in the research phase.
Receive Funding
Take 1 gold from the bank.
At the end of their turn, if a player has more than 5 gold, they must reduce down to 5 and return their extra gold to the bank.
Code Crackers: The Enigma was born over 3 years ago with a simple idea of adding and subtracting percentage. Stored in a closet for about a year until Rob, newly moved to Massachusetts, decided to turn this idea into a reality.
Rob went to Great Stories, his local game shop, to see how the game would fare, and it was a great success! Spending the next year and half refining and expanding the game, it has been played hundreds of times by dozens of people.The reception has been extremely positive from people of all walks of gaming.
We are now trying to get this game to a market near you! We hope that you enjoy Code Crackers: The Enigma!
The game’s art is mostly done and just needs about a month or two of extra work to refine. However, as this is our first board game, we fully expect there may be some unforeseen challenges. We have gotten our quote from Panda Productions and have built extra money into the budget to cover the cost of the game as well as the fees for Kickstarter. Thank you for looking at our game!