Design Diary Entry – 24th August 2025

(Note: This entry was dictated by the designer while driving a car and transcribed by AI.)

Last week was a pretty busy one, but I finally had a chance to start playtesting Hack-a-Pad. The good news: the core idea is working quite nicely. I ran numerous tests by playing solo, taking turns myself, and also involved my family in a few rounds. It’s been great to see it come to life and actually work on the table.

However, I’m a bit concerned about the game length. I’m aiming for a 20-30 minute game, but right now it’s stretching more into the 30-45 minute range. I’ll need to tweak that timing.

I’ve also realized I need to balance the cards a bit more. I’ve split the actions into three types: attack actions that target the other player’s apps, protective countermeasures to defend against attacks, and maintenance actions to boost privacy or uninstall unwanted apps. So that division is feeling good.

Next week, I’m going to start writing the rulebook and refining the rules. I’ve already adjusted the game flow a bit—now we have a marker for initiative each round, and the player with initiative installs an app first. Then they take actions, and the other player can respond with counters. Once the first player finishes, the second player takes their turn, and so on.

I’m hoping to have a first draft of the rules and a real card set ready for wider testing in about two weeks. Let’s see how it all comes together!

Design Diary Entry – 17th August 2025

(Dictated by the designer and transcribed by the AI while the designer was out picking raspberries!)

This weekend has been all about refining the card designs for Hack-a-Pad. I already had the basic card types sketched out, but I used my limited time to really nail down the actual card content: what kinds of applications, hack actions, and protective actions we’d have. The good news is that I’ve got a printable PDF ready to go, and I’m planning to start some prototype testing with my family early next week.

I did simplify the mechanics a bit. Originally, I wanted a hidden “backdoor” hack mechanic, but I realized I just don’t have enough cards in a 54-card design to make that work smoothly. So now it’s a little more straightforward: players will install and uninstall applications and then choose from different hacking or defensive actions during their turn.

Right now, I’ve got about 24 application cards covering roughly 17 different applications, and about 26 hack action cards, each with two possible actions to pick from. Some cards might give you more or fewer action points—starting at a base of four per turn, up to a max of seven. I also decided that applications can trigger effects when installed, at the start of each turn, or when uninstalled, which should add a little strategic depth.

Whats next?

I’m hoping to kick off testing next week. Since this is for a contest, I also want to make time to check out other contestants’ games and offer them feedback, even though it’s going to be a busy week at work. Plus, I need to update my Jewel eXchange rulebook for the Lautapelaamaan event in September. But we’ll see how it all goes!

And that’s where we are right now. Let’s see what the playtests reveal!