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Programmer's Nightmare box art
1998 Ranked #21,152

Programmer's Nightmare

Plan actions in a queue and manage the timing before they resolve.

Card Game Action Queue Modular Board Theme: Teaching Programming

Players

2-6

Play time

Not listed

Age

12+

Complexity

2.5/5

Rating

5.62

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.1/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.1/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.7/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

In this game, players take turns laying out program instructions with "ownership bits" on the cards they play, creating a long line of interrelating program instructions that become more complicated as the program builds.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

In this game, players take turns laying out program instructions with "ownership bits" on the cards they play, creating a long line of interrelating program instructions that become more complicated as the program builds. Finally, a player will play a RUN card and set the program running. Who will survive the convolutions of the program? That's anyone's guess; each player decides if and how their own program instructions will function! There is a "Version 2" of the game in the rules; the program is dealt out at random in a loop, the players take turns claiming instructions that they think will let them win the game. Much of this game's strategy is based upon the initial selection of Program Instructions. Version two involves much more strategy and less luck.

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–6
Best with
2
Play time
20 min
Age
12+
Complexity
2.5/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Tom Jolly

Publishers

1
Jolly Games

Linked items

No published linked games yet.