The coffee shop is a little busier than normal for a Thursday at 9 a.m.—a definite mixed blessing. Sitting by the window with your tablet set up to look like you are writing, you scan the rest of the customers with an expert’s eye. Your backup is stationed over by the wall. At the far end of the counter is a woman also carefully checking out the rest of the customers. You don’t recognize her, but she’s probably your contact’s backup. You still have a couple of minutes to go when Hensley of the C.I.A. walks in and up to the counter. It might be a strange coincidence. Doesn’t matter though, everything just took a turn for the worse.
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The [Redacted] Hackby Alan Bahr is an espionage minimalist role-playing game (RPG) using The Black Hack system. I was given a copy of The [Redacted] Hack by the author while at Life, The Universe and Everything (LTUE website) 2018 writing conference for review purposes.
In 17 pages The [Redacted] Hack rule book provides everything needed to start an espionage game. All you have to do is create a character and a scenario to delve into a world of intrigue.
Alan Bahr is able to strip the game system down to the basics. Minimalistic gaming is about giving the players and the game master (GM) the ability to shape the game into a story they want to create quickly and easily. The [Redacted] Hacksuccessfully does that. There is enough here to provide the scaffolding without weighing everything down with minutia.
There is one class of character, secret agent. How you decide to play your spy is open to the game you are creating. You build them based on the attributes rolls and the background special features you choose. This minimalistic system is great for players who don’t want to spend a lot of time working up a backstory and for times when you want to start a game quickly.
One strong advantage The [Redacted] Hack has is the ability to bring players into the adventure quickly. It states, “This game is much more lethal and unforgiving than the core iteration of The Black Hack it’s based upon.” This isn’t a bad thing, and can be used in a fun way.
I created a quick scenario to play in the system. The higher lethality was used as part of the story with the knowledge not everyone was going to make it through the adventure. Because the system allows for easy character creation, everyone had a backup secret agent who could be called in from another part of the city. It had a bit of call back to Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle from Top Secret (Wikipedia page).
The [Redacted] Hack worked great for the game and provided an evening of fun.
I give The [Redacted] Hack 5 out of 5. It accomplishes what it set out to do in a manner that makes it enjoyable to play.
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You lean against the wall around the corner in the alley across from the coffee shop. Smoke is rising out of the broken front window you dove through. Funny how the tablet is still sitting on the table untouched. In your right hand you have the machine pistol you took off your backup after you ran out of bullets. In your left is the flash drive you came for. You knew there were others wanting the drive, just not that many. The bullet in your thigh hurts and the loss of blood is making you light headed. Doesn’t matter though, now you have to get back to the safe house.
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