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Black Hats
2026
Rules assistance for Black Hats
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 40–60 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.5/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Black Hats
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Black Hats is a board game released in 2026 for 2 players, 40–60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Raymond Ortgiesen and Erik Finnegan and its main mechanics are Variable Set-up, Grid Movement, and Modular Board.
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About the game
Black Hats is a head-to-head, tactical board game with a deckbuilding component to boot. Players take turns commanding their VR hackers (called runners) or playing executable cards to support them from a custom-built cyberdeck. Your cyberdeck allows you to hack the hex board upon which you play. There are 24 runners, 20 rigs, and 45 unique executable cards to choose from in deck building, allowing you to craft a strategy that feels unique to you and your crew. Rigs provide a runner with a stat line and potentially an ability, but every runner has their own signature active and passive ability. There is a huge amount of experimentation and re-playability to be enjoyed! The tactical core of the game revolves around the hacking mechanic. The network is divided by connecting groups of same-colored hexes into "subnets," but both players can change the color of any space at any time with their cards, reshaping the board as you play. An enemy that sits across the board may be absolutely unreachable or just a single space away and, if you can outsmart your opponent, you control which. Forget about range, cover, and terrain - on this virtual battlefield you trade trenches for subnets and fire support for executable cards. The battles on the network aren't fought with soldiers, they're fought with runners. Hire your crew, customize your cyberdeck, and hack your way to an early retirement. This is Black Hats! —description from the designer
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
- Dice or Death Games
Questions and answers
Black Hats supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Black Hats is 40–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Black Hats for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Black Hats has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Black Hats belongs to these categories: Card Game, Video Game Theme, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Variable Set-up, Grid Movement, and Modular Board. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Black Hats are: Raymond Ortgiesen and Erik Finnegan. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Black Hats as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.