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Cyber Threat Guardian (CTG) is a multi-player card game, for ages five and up, that introduces players to technology and cybersecurity terms and concepts.

Like other family games, it involves a little strategy and a bit of luck. This game provides a fun way for younger children to begin learning about patterns, online safety practices, technology terminology and cyber-safety!

CTG is also an easy card game for the classroom where students learn as they play. For more information on how to play, download the rulebook or watch a game in action.

Goal

In Cyber Threat Guardian, the goal is to build a network and protect it from your opponent. While building up a network of assets, each player must also work to defend their network from their opponent’s attempts to disrupt their system from cyber threats. Players quickly learn that for every attack there is a specific defense. The player with the most complete set of security defenses will be the one to protect their critical systems and emerge victorious.

There are two primary objectives to consider when playing:

  1. Each player lays down as many blue asset cards as possible while protecting each asset with a green defense card.
  2. The player with the most asset and defense cards at the end of the game is the winner.


However, the rules and game setup vary for three different age groups: Grades K-1, Grades 1-2, and Second Grade and up. Choose the game option that best fits your needs.

Setup

Regardless of the game option you choose, blue asset cards should be placed closest to the player. Green defense cards are place above the asset cards. Red attack cards are place above the defense cards. If players are using a CTG game mat, cards will be placed in their respective areas as identified on the mats.

Below is a sample layout of how cards should be placed. Note that the cards demonstrate how cards align with their icon categories, which supports game play for grades 1-2 and grades 2 and up.

Icon Categories

In Cyber Threat Guardian, there are four category icons. For grades 1 and up, players must use the icons to matchup their cards when attempting to play them. These categories are represented by the following four icons:

The house icon represents the private information that can be found on computers and devices.

The lock icon represents the hardware used with computers and devices.

The shield icon represents software used with computers and devices.

The wireless icon represents wireless applications with computers and devices.

How to play

The game setup and rules vary for three different age groups. Select the game option below that best fits your audience and/or interest. Enjoy!

Note to Security Professionals

In developing this game, we recognize that we have taken some liberties with how things actually work. We have attempted to keep true to the spirit of computer security, but for playability reasons have slightly modified how things might actually work in reality. We believe, however, that the game is close enough that individuals playing the game will be able to gain some understanding of basic computer security concepts.