Your servers are positioned at the bottom of the screen and are your last line of defense. Enemies that reach the bottom will attack your servers, causing economic and reputation damage.
Positioned at 20% of screen width from the left. When enemies reach the bottom of the screen, they attack the nearest server. This server generates 1/3 of your total income when online. If it goes offline, your income multiplier drops to 70% for 2 servers or 40% for 1 server remaining.
Positioned at the center of the screen (50% width). As the middle server, it often takes the most damage since enemies spawn across the entire width. Keep this server healed! When all 3 servers are online, you earn 100% of your potential income. The server displays a visual HP bar above it that changes color from green (healthy) to yellow (degraded) to indicate status.
Positioned at 80% of screen width from the left. When this server goes offline, you lose 1/3 of your income generation. If all 3 servers go offline, your income drops to just 10% of normal. You can repair servers using the Emergency Repair item from the shop ($300 for +50 HP to all servers). The DevOps Engineer staff member can increase all server HP by 20.
The Shop Zone is located at the bottom of the screen (85-95% of canvas height). Fly down to the 3 laptop emojis to purchase upgrades and emergency repairs.
Purchase a weapon upgrade for $500 to advance to the next weapon tier. Weapons have 5 tiers total (Mark I through Mark V). Each tier increases damage output, fire rate, and bullet count. Higher tier weapons are essential for dealing with high-HP enemies like DDOS Attacks (5 HP) and Ransomware (4 HP). Click on the left laptop emoji (25% from left edge) to purchase.
Emergency Repair is your lifeline when servers are taking heavy damage. For $300, all 3 servers immediately regain 50 HP. If a server was offline (0 HP), it comes back online in "degraded" status. If a server was degraded (under 30 HP), it returns to "online" status. This can save your income generation during intense waves. Click on the center laptop emoji (50% from left edge) to purchase. Cannot be used if you have insufficient funds.
Activate a 30-second damage buff for $200. While active, all your bullets deal double damage (2x multiplier). This stacks with other multipliers: if you also have the Pen Tester hired (+50%) and a companion (+50%), your total damage could reach 4.5x! Best used during boss waves or when overwhelmed by high-HP enemies. The buff timer counts down even when you're not shooting. Click on the right laptop emoji (75% from left edge) to purchase.
Fly down to the bottom of the screen (75-82% of canvas height) where the 3 business people emojis are to enter the Management Zone. The game pauses, allowing you to review analytics, hire/fire staff, and check customer reviews.
Move your shield down to the Management Zone (below the "MANAGE BUSINESS" text). The game will automatically pause and open the Business Management overlay. To exit, click the "RESUME GAME" button or press ESC.
When firing staff, you have two options:
Option A: Pay Severance (Ethical)
Cost: salary Γ 60 seconds
Effect: No reputation penalty
Option B: Skip Severance (Unethical)
Cost: FREE
Effect: -5 reputation per staff fired, 5% chance of lawsuit (-$1000, -10 rep)
Your ethics are tracked in the Business Analytics tab showing total severance paid vs skipped, and number of unethical firings.
Defend your servers from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. Each enemy type has unique behavior and attack patterns.
The most basic cyber threat. Black Hat Hackers move straight down the screen toward your servers with high speed. They deal direct damage on contact, reducing server health. Easy to defeat individually but dangerous in groups. Prioritize eliminating them early in waves to prevent server damage accumulation.
Trojan Horses move slowly but unpredictably, using zigzag patterns to evade your fire. They bypass standard defenses and are harder to hit than direct attackers. Their slow speed makes them less immediately dangerous, but their evasive behavior means you need precise aim. Hire a SOC Analyst to detect them earlier.
AI Pen Testers are highly evasive and move at high speed, actively dodging your bullets. Unlike other enemies, they target you directly rather than servers. They're dangerous because they force you to move and defend yourself while managing server threats. Use rapid fire powerups or hire a Pen Tester staff member to increase damage and take them down faster.
Intelligence Agencies use strategic pathfinding to locate and attack your most profitable servers. They're moderately fast and have higher HP than basic threats. Their intelligence makes them particularly dangerous to your economy - they'll specifically target servers generating the most revenue. Prioritize eliminating them to protect your income streams, or use backup servers to absorb their attacks.
DDOS Attacks are large, slow-moving threats that freeze one server's income generation for 15 seconds when they hit. This is devastating to your economy - a frozen server generates zero revenue during the freeze period. The countdown timer is visible on the affected server. Hiring a Firewall Tech reduces the freeze duration to 8 seconds. These are high-priority targets - eliminate them before they reach your servers.
Ransomware is one of the most dangerous threats. When it hits a server, that server becomes RANSOMED and stops generating income permanently until you pay the ransom fee (typically $500, higher on Hard difficulty). The ransom amount is displayed on the affected server. You can pay the ransom by clicking the server panel. Alternatively, use backup servers - if a server has a backup link, the backup absorbs the ransomware attack instead. Hiring an Incident Responder automatically pays ransoms at 50% cost.
Fraudsters are economic threats that don't target servers directly - instead, they drain your balance continuously while alive. Every frame they exist, they steal money from your account. This makes them extremely dangerous to your economy, especially if multiple fraudsters are active simultaneously. They ignore servers and focus on draining your resources. Eliminate them as quickly as possible to stop the financial bleeding. They appear starting in Wave 6.
Social Engineers are small, fast threats that reduce your Customer Trust percentage when they hit servers or the player. Lower trust directly multiplies your income - at 50% trust, you only earn half revenue. This makes them economically devastating despite their low HP. Each hit reduces trust by 5% (2.5% with CISO staff). They appear starting in Wave 7. Hire a CISO to reduce their impact, and use PR Campaign upgrades to restore trust over time.
Cryptominers are stealth threats that hijack your server resources when they infect them. While alive, they reduce the affected server's income generation by 20%. Unlike ransomware, they don't disable the server - they just make it less profitable. Multiple cryptominers can stack their effects, severely reducing your revenue. They use stealth behavior to evade detection. Eliminate them quickly to restore full server profitability. They appear starting in Wave 8.
Hire security professionals to enhance your defenses and boost your economy. Each staff member has a hire cost and ongoing salary.
Firewall Technicians specialize in network defense. When you hire one, any DDOS attacks that freeze your servers will only freeze them for 8 seconds instead of 15 seconds. This significantly reduces the income loss from DDOS attacks. Hire cost is $200 with a $5/sec salary. Best hired early when DDOS attacks start appearing in Wave 4. The faster recovery time compounds over multiple DDOS hits throughout the game.
Incident Responders automatically handle ransomware attacks. When a server gets ransomed, they automatically pay the ransom at 50% of the normal cost after a 5-second delay. This is invaluable protection against ransomware threats. Hire cost is $300 with a $8/sec salary. While expensive, they save you money on ransoms and keep servers online longer. Essential for late-game survival when ransomware becomes frequent.
SOC (Security Operations Center) Analysts specialize in threat detection. When hired, they detect stealth enemies (Trojan Horses, Ransomware, Cryptominers) earlier on the screen, giving you more reaction time. This is particularly valuable against Trojan Horses which are hard to hit due to their evasive behavior. Hire cost is $250 with a $6/sec salary. Useful starting in Wave 3 when stealth threats begin appearing.
Penetration Testers enhance your offensive capabilities. When hired, all your bullets deal 50% more damage, making it easier to eliminate threats quickly. This stacks with other damage multipliers (companion, difficulty). Hire cost is $280 with a $7/sec salary. Excellent for aggressive playstyles and helps you clear waves faster. Particularly effective against high-HP enemies like DDOS and Ransomware.
The Chief Information Security Officer is your top-level security executive. When hired, they reduce the trust damage from Social Engineers and Fraudsters by 50%. Since customer trust directly multiplies your income, protecting it is crucial. Hire cost is $400 with a $12/sec salary - the most expensive staff member. Essential for late-game when Social Engineers appear in Wave 7 and trust becomes a critical resource.
Powerups drop randomly from defeated enemies. Weapon powerups last 10 seconds of active shooting. Collect them to gain temporary bonuses and switch weapons on the fly. Click to toggle firing on/off and switch between weapons.
The Heal powerup provides immediate financial relief. When collected, it adds $100 to your balance. This is particularly valuable when you're low on funds and need to hire staff or pay ransoms. Spawn rate: 30% of defeated enemies. Most common powerup. Use the extra funds strategically - either to hire staff members or to pay off ransomed servers.
Rapid Fire dramatically increases your offensive capability. When activated, your fire rate increases from 8 frames between shots to 3 frames, and each shot fires 3 bullets instead of 1. This lasts for 5 seconds (300 frames). Excellent for clearing waves quickly or dealing with multiple threats. Spawn rate: 25%. Stack multiple Rapid Fire powerups for extended duration.
The Shield powerup provides temporary protection. When activated, a glowing shield appears around your player character for 6.5 seconds (400 frames). While active, you're visually protected (though this is primarily visual - focus on dodging). The shield has a pulsing animation. Spawn rate: 15%. Useful when you're surrounded by threats and need breathing room.
The Companion powerup summons a White Hat Hacker ally that orbits your player and shoots at nearby enemies. The ally increases your effective damage output and helps clear threats. Lasts 8 seconds (500 frames). The companion's bullets also deal 1.5x damage. Spawn rate: 15%. Excellent for dealing with multiple threats simultaneously. The ally appears as a π¨βπ» emoji near your position.
The Nuke powerup is the most powerful. When collected, it instantly destroys every enemy currently on the screen and awards you their full point values. This is a game-changer when you're overwhelmed by multiple threats. Spawn rate: 10% (rarest common powerup). Use it strategically - save it for waves with many high-value enemies. The nuke effect creates particle explosions for all destroyed enemies.
Multi Shot is an extended version of Rapid Fire. It provides the same 3x fire rate and 3-bullet spread, but lasts twice as long (10 seconds / 600 frames). This gives you sustained offensive power for clearing entire waves. Spawn rate: 5% (rarest powerup). Extremely valuable when you get it. Stack multiple Multi Shot powerups for even longer duration of enhanced firepower.
The Standard weapon is your default gun. Fires 1 bullet per shot at a balanced fire rate. Reliable and consistent. Use as a baseline when no other weapons are active.
Fires 5 bullets in a wide spread pattern. Lower damage per bullet but covers more area. Excellent for clearing groups of enemies. Slightly slower fire rate.
Fires a fast, high-damage laser beam. Excellent for eliminating high-HP enemies quickly. Very fast projectile speed. Lower fire rate but devastating damage.
Fires 8 bullets in a wide spread at extremely fast rate. Creates a wall of fire. Lower damage per bullet but rapid-fire makes it effective. Great for sustained fire.
Precision sniper rifle. Fires slowly but with extreme damage and very fast projectile speed. Perfect for eliminating high-priority targets. Requires patience between shots.
Launches large grenades with high damage. Slow fire rate but each shot packs a punch. Large projectile size makes it easier to hit. Great for bosses.
Classic machine gun. Fires 2 bullets per shot at very fast rate. Balanced damage and fire rate. Excellent all-purpose weapon for sustained combat.
Freezing ice beam. Fires 3 bullets with moderate damage. Good balance of spread and damage. Visually distinctive cyan color.
Plasma energy weapon. Fires 2 high-damage bullets. Good balance of fire rate and damage. Purple energy projectiles.
Advanced railgun technology. Single shot with very high damage and fast projectile speed. Excellent for eliminating tough enemies.
Classic shotgun. Fires 7 bullets in a wide spread. Moderate damage per bullet but devastating in groups. Good for close-range combat.
Tactical burst fire weapon. Fires 3 bullets per shot with fast fire rate. Good balance of spread and rapid fire capability.
Miniature rapid-fire gun. Fires 4 bullets at extremely fast rate. Lowest damage per bullet but sustained fire is devastating.
Advanced photon technology. Fires 2 high-damage bullets with fast projectile speed. Excellent balance of fire rate and damage.
Vortex energy weapon. Fires 6 bullets in a spiral pattern. Unique spread pattern covers wide area. Moderate damage per bullet.
Inferno fire weapon. Fires 10 bullets in wide spread at extreme fire rate. Creates a wall of fire. Lowest damage per bullet but overwhelming volume.
Cryogenic frostbolt weapon. Fires 2 high-damage freezing projectiles. Good fire rate and damage balance.
Lightning-based weapon. Fires 3 lightning bolts with moderate damage. Good spread pattern for group targets.
Void dark matter weapon. Fires single dark matter projectile with very high damage and fast speed. Excellent for eliminating tough enemies.
Celestial starlight weapon. Fires 4 star projectiles with moderate damage. Good spread pattern and balanced fire rate.
Starting Balance: $1000
Income Generation: Each ONLINE server generates money/sec based on customer count
Customer Trust: 0-100% multiplier on all income (at 50% trust, you earn half revenue)
Staff Salaries: Deducted every second from your balance
Bankruptcy: Game Over if balance stays negative for 10 seconds
3-Server Defense Line: Servers positioned at bottom of screen (20%, 50%, 80% width)
Server States: ONLINE (100% contribution), DEGRADED (under 30 HP, still online), OFFLINE (0 HP, no contribution)
Income Impact: 3 servers = 100% income, 2 servers = 70% income, 1 server = 40% income, 0 servers = 10% income
Server Health: Damaged by enemies reaching bottom of screen, heals via Emergency Repair ($300)
HP Bars: Visual indicators above each server showing health (green β yellow β red)
Location: Bottom of screen (85-95% of canvas height)
Items: Weapon Upgrade ($500), Emergency Repair ($300), Damage Boost ($200)
Interaction: Fly down to 3 laptop emojis and click to purchase
Instant: Purchases apply immediately, deduct from balance
Location: Bottom of screen (75-82% of canvas height)
Entry: Fly down to business people emojis (π§βπΌπ¨βπΌπ©βπΌ)
Pause: Game pauses automatically when you enter
Tabs: Combat Analytics, Business Analytics, Reviews, Staff Management
Exit: Click "Resume Game" or press ESC
Bullet Damage: Base 1 HP per bullet
Difficulty Multiplier: Easy 1.3x, Hard 0.8x
Companion Bonus: +1.5x damage when active
Pen Tester Bonus: +1.5x damage when hired
Combo System: Consecutive kills multiply score (max 5x multiplier)
Wave Duration: 600 frames base, increases by 50 frames per wave
Wave Bonus: Wave number Γ 50 points when wave completes
Enemy Scaling: Speed increases by 10% per wave
Victory Condition: Survive 10 waves with at least 1 server ONLINE
Easy Mode: 0.7x enemy spawn rate, 1.3x player damage, lower ransom amounts
Hard Mode: 1.5x enemy spawn rate, 0.8x player damage, higher ransom amounts, more frequent ransomware
Your company's reputation affects customer acquisition, pricing power, and overall business success. Manage it carefully!
Starting Reputation: 50%
Range: 0-100%
Income Multiplier: Reputation directly affects your earning potential
Different enemies damage your reputation when they hit your servers:
PR Officer (π’) - Regenerates reputation +2% per second
Security Trainer (π) - Regenerates customer trust +1% per second
Article Writer (βοΈ) - Reduces Social Engineer reputation damage by 50% (counters rumors)
Compliance Officer (βοΈ) - Reduces Fraudster reputation damage by 40% (prevents fraud)
Track your infrastructure utilization as enemies consume compute resources. This is a secondary scoring metric.
Compute represents the computational resources your servers use to defend against and process threats. Each enemy type consumes different amounts of compute when defeated:
Your Max Compute Used is displayed on the game over and victory screens as a secondary score metric. Higher compute usage means you faced more/tougher threats and defended against them successfully.
Hire specialized staff to enhance your defenses, boost income, and protect your reputation. Each staff member has unique abilities and salary costs.
The Product Team focuses on revenue generation through customer acquisition and retention. These staff members directly boost your income by making your service more attractive to customers.
Your business receives customer reviews based on your performance. Reviews affect your reputation, which directly impacts your income. Manage your reputation carefully!
150 Total Reviews: The system maintains up to 150 reviews in a circular buffer (oldest removed when full)
Review Generation: New reviews appear every 30 seconds of gameplay, plus immediately after server breaches
Star Rating: 1-5 stars based on your current reputation percentage
Customer Personas: 30 unique customer types (Enterprise, SMB, Startup, Individual)
Review Categories: Security (40%), Pricing (30%), Support (20%), Reliability (10%)
Regular Reviews: Generated every 30 seconds of active gameplay
Breach Reviews: Immediately after a server is hit by an enemy
Negative Reviews: Automatically 1-2 stars when server breaches occur
Good Reviews: 4-5 stars generated when reputation is high (85%+)
Reputation Impact: Each 5-star review gives +0.1 reputation
Access your reviews through the Management Zone (fly down to the business people emojis). The Reviews tab shows:
β’ Average Rating: Your overall star rating (1.0 - 5.0)
β’ Recent Reviews: Last 3 reviews received
β’ Rating Breakdown: Count of 5β
, 4β
, 3β
, 2β
, and 1β
reviews
β’ Category Analysis: Which areas customers comment on most
β’ Focus on eliminating Black Hat Hackers and AI Pen Testers
β’ Accumulate balance before hiring staff
β’ Don't hire staff yet - your initial income is sufficient
β’ Collect Heal powerups to build up your balance
β’ Avoid getting hit - focus on dodging
β’ Hire Firewall Tech ($200) when DDOS attacks appear (Wave 4)
β’ Consider hiring Incident Responder ($300) when ransomware appears (Wave 5)
β’ Fraudsters appear in Wave 6 - prioritize eliminating them
β’ Buy a second server if you have $1500+ balance
β’ Use Rapid Fire powerups to clear waves faster
β’ Hire CISO ($400) when Social Engineers appear (Wave 7)
β’ Hire Pen Tester ($280) for increased damage output
β’ Use backup servers strategically - link them to absorb ransomware
β’ Maintain customer trust above 70% - use PR Campaign upgrades
β’ Save Nuke powerups for waves with multiple high-value enemies
β’ Keep balance positive - bankruptcy is instant game over
Aggressive Economy: Buy servers early, hire multiple staff, maximize income generation
Defensive Economy: Hire staff to reduce threat damage, use backup servers, focus on survival
Balanced Approach: Buy 2-3 servers, hire 2-3 staff members, balance offense and defense
Bankruptcy Prevention: Always maintain positive balance - fire staff if necessary to avoid negative balance
β’ Prioritize high-threat enemies: DDOS, Ransomware, Fraudsters
β’ Use Rapid Fire powerups to burst down high-HP enemies
β’ Keep moving - don't stay in one spot
β’ Focus on eliminating threats before they reach servers
β’ Use Nuke powerups when overwhelmed by multiple threats
β’ Companion allies help clear waves - collect them when available
1. Firewall Tech - Reduces DDOS damage (Wave 4+)
2. Incident Responder - Handles ransomware (Wave 5+)
3. CISO - Protects trust (Wave 7+)
4. Pen Tester - Increases damage (any time)
5. SOC Analyst - Detects stealth (optional, Wave 3+)
6. Product Team - Hire mid-game for revenue boost (Programmer, UX Designer, PM)
7. Tech Lead - Hire last for force multiplier effect
β’ Emergency Repair ($300): Buy when any server drops below 30 HP (yellow)
β’ Weapon Upgrade ($500): Purchase early in Wave 1-2 for maximum value
β’ Damage Boost ($200): Use before boss waves (5, 10, 15) or when overwhelmed
β’ Management Zone: Enter between waves to assess staff needs and check reviews
β’ Severance Ethics: Pay severance when possible to protect reputation; only skip if desperate
Reputation is Critical: It directly multiplies your income. At 50% reputation, you earn 75% of your potential. At 100% reputation, you earn 100%.
Protect Reputation: Hire Article Writer to counter Social Engineers (8 damage each). Hire Compliance Officer to counter Fraudsters (7 damage each).
Recover Reputation: Hire PR Officer ($350, $9/sec) to regenerate +2% reputation per second. This pays for itself quickly through increased income.
Priority: If reputation drops below 30%, prioritize hiring PR Officer. The income boost will quickly recover your balance.
What is Compute? A secondary score metric tracking infrastructure utilization. Higher compute = tougher threats defeated.
Maximize Compute: Focus on defeating high-compute enemies (DDOS = 200, Cryptominer = 180, Ransomware = 150).
Wave Progression: Reaching Wave 10 with high compute usage shows excellent threat management.
Scoring: Compute doesn't affect gameplay - it's just a bragging right metric for how much you've defended against!
Defensive Stack: Firewall Tech + Incident Responder + CISO = Handles all major threats
Economic Stack: Solutions Architect + PR Officer + Vendor Manager = Maximize income and reduce costs
Reputation Stack: PR Officer + Article Writer + Compliance Officer = Protect against reputation damage
Hybrid Stack: Pen Tester + Firewall Tech + PR Officer = Offense + Defense + Economy balance