Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Hard City is a miniatures board game for 1 to 5 players in which you take on the role of brave officers of the Hard City Police Department.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Variable Player Powers
Each player has different abilities, restrictions, or strategic advantages.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Team-Based Game
Players compete in fixed teams and coordinate toward a shared team result.
Read the full game description
Hard City is a miniatures board game for 1 to 5 players in which you take on the role of brave officers of the Hard City Police Department. You have to face off against the hordes of mutants controlled by the evil Doctor Zero, a mad scientist who wants to take over the city today...and the whole world tomorrow! In order to get out of this clash, you have to work together to rescue as many citizens as possible using the unique abilities of your characters to counter the bloodthirsty mutants' attacks. Become a police officer and enter the rainy, neon-lit streets of Hard City. Stop the evil mastermind Doctor Zero, shoot mutants, rescue civilians, and blast some cool synth music really loud while driving your Chevrolet. You will be given a whole arsenal of weapons and various items to help you withstand until reinforcements arrive — or become Doctor Zero and send your minions to the streets of the city, fight the officers, and finally take control of the whole metropolis! During each turn of the game, officers act first and spend their action points on various actions, such as moving, shooting mutants, escorting civilians, and using special abilities. Doctor Zero plays differently, having a deck of dedicated cards that determine what they can do: spawn new mutants, move them, or attack officers. The game is scenario-based, and the five episodes form a complete story of Doctor Zero's rise and fall and the officers' epic fight against him. Each episode is playable (and re-playable) on its own, having unique winning conditions and different set-up. Imagine a strategy dungeon crawler board game, played in the "1 vs. all" mode — but in a unique "new retro" setting heavily inspired by B-class action movies and the atmosphere of the 1980s era! Who will survive on the streets of mayhem?