Hacker is a card game

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 (not a trading card game) made by Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...

 (SJG). Published in 1992

1992 in games

This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1992. For video and console games, see 1992 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1992:* Spiel des Jahres: Um Reifenbreite...

, the players impersonate hackers

Hacker (computer security)

In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...

 fighting for the control of computer networks. It is based primarily on interlocking access to different computer systems in the web. Players are not set directly towards each other, and several players can share access to a system. It is superficially similar (modulo terminology) to the game Illuminati

Illuminati (game)

Illuminati is a standalone card game made by Steve Jackson Games , inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game has ominous secret societies competing with each other to control the world through sinister means, including legal, illegal, and even mystical...

.

History

In 1990, SJG was raided by the United States Secret Service

United States Secret Service

The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...

 as part of a nationwide investigation of data piracy. The agents took computers, printers, hard drives, at least one pocket calculator, over 300 floppy disks, and an entire BBS

Bulletin board system

A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...

 server. It turns out that another game in development by SJG, GURPS

GURPS

The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...

 Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

was considered by investigating agents of the Secret Service to be "a handbook for computer crime" and that justified their actions against SJG. In 1992, SJG made a game out of this fiasco, and Hacker was born.

Expansions

In 1993 Hacker II: The Dark Side was released. Hacker II is a supplement to Hacker adding new rules, and new cards to the gameplay.

Awards

Hacker won the 1992 Origins Award

Origins Award

The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...

for Best Modern-Day Boardgame
and Hacker II won the 1993 Origins Award for Best Modern-Day Boardgame.