RaiNet AccessBattlers

RaiNet AccessBattlers, also known as Rai-Net Access Battlers, is a board game spin-off of the in-universe media franchise RaiNet Kakeru. Faris NyanNyan is a big fan of it and has become one of the top players. The board game is based on the real game Ghosts that was invented by American designer Alex Randolph in 1982. RaiNet AccessBattlers can be played in real life by using the main units from Ghosts or crafting the pieces yourself, or by playing it digitally (see section "Fan-Games").

Two players play on a 8x8 gameboard instead of Geister's 6x6 board. 2 Server Port cells (aka STOP cells) are located at the center of both player's front row. The foremost area of the board is called Stack Area.

These rules are based on the official rules in Comiket 80.

Setup
Each player receives 4 Link cards and 4 Virus cards and arranges them as he/she wishes in their setup zone. Those Online cards (Link cards and Virus cards) all look the same from the face, so only you know and can see the alignment of your own Online cards.

[A's Server Core] A A A P P A A A (B escapes from A's P) .. . A A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B B. . . B B B P P B B B (A escapes from B's P) [B's Server Core] (P stands for Server Port)

No card is placed in Server Ports or the Stack Area in the setup phase. Both players have 4 Terminal cards in their hand at the beginning of the game. Terminal cards from Basic set include LINE BOOST, FIRE WALL, VIRUS CHECKER and 404NOT FOUND.

Before starting the game, players, the referee, and the audience are encouraged to shout "DUEL ACCESS!".

Gameplay
Alternate turns. On your turn, you must move exactly one of your Online cards 1 space forward/backward/sideways (never diagonally). If you land on an opposing Online card, you capture it, reveal its Link/Virus alignment and move it to your Stack Area. An Online card in one of the opponent's Server Ports can use its move to escape the board. Escaped cards are stacked to your Stack Area. If an unrevealed Online card escapes, it stays unrevealed in the Stack Area until the end of the game.

You can use a Terminal card instead of moving an Online card. In other words, you have to consume 1 turn to use a Terminal card.

Victory Conditions
You immediately win if you ever do any one of the following:


 * You stack 4 Link cards in your Stack Area, regardless of whether they are your cards or the opponent's cards.


 * Your opponent stacks 4 Virus cards in their Stack Area, regardless of whether they are your cards or the opponent's cards.

LINE BOOST
Installing (Attaching) this card to one of your Online cards enables the Online card to move 2 spaces in a row. You cannot jump over other cards. You consume 1 turn to install LINE BOOST, and 1 more turn to uninstall (detach) it if you want. Once it is uninstalled, you can install it again. If a BOOSTED Online card is captured by the opponent, the LINE BOOST is uninstalled immediately. Boosted cards have to stop once on an opponent's Server Port before escaping the board.

FIRE WALL
FIRE WALL is a kind of barricade that no card can capture it. You consume 1 turn to place FIRE WALL at any unoccupied space on the board except the Server Ports and Stack Area, and 1 more turn to delete your FIRE WALL if you want. You cannot delete the opponent's FIRE WALL.

VIRUS CHECKER
VIRUS CHECKER reveals the Link/Virus alignment of one Online card on the board. You consume 1 turn to use it. A player can use this card only once in a game.

404 NOT FOUND
Pick up 2 of your Online cards on the board, shuffle them, and put them back in place. If one of the two cards has been VIRUS-CHECKed, you can set it back to uncheckd (unrevealed). A player can use this card only once in a game.

Fan-Games
As for now there's only one fan-game that's still receiving updates.


 * The download for the PC and Android version of the game is available at rainetdigital.com where one can also join the Discord server to find people to play with or report potential bugs.

(Development Discontinued)
The following fan-games do no longer receive any updates from their creators, but are still accessible to download and play.


 * A fan developed a multiplayer version of the game. A video of the gameplay is found here along with the link to download the game. For any questions, you can send an e-mail to [mailto:rainetfangame@gmail.com rainetfangame@gmail.com].
 * Another fan developed two multiplayer versions of the game that can be found here and here.
 * Some fans were developing a PC-Game at rainet.tumblr.com, but the theme was changed to pirates and ninjas. The previous blog is currently empty and under a different ownership. The latest version can still be found at this link.
 * Another fan-game is available on GitHub where only multiplayer is playable. Multiplayer requires to run a separate server application which can handle multiple logins and games.