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A hacking cost only one time cube per firewall, at least one per participant kid and you make all the rolls in necessary until you either fails the hack or succeeds with it.

Okay — so, players spending time to hack just indicates which kids are involving themselves in the hack effort.
e.g. if this was a three player game... but the Machine only has 2 firewalls:
1 kid hacking must spend 2 time to try and hack
2 kids hacking must spend 1 time each to try and hack, but Veronica would get +1 from the other kid's involvement.
3 kids hacking would also spend 1 time each, but Veronica would get a +2 from the other kids (provided the firewall wasn't linked to any of their weaknesses).

Do they need to spend another Time to attack each subsequent firewall, or once the Hack is initiated, they just keep moving forward to either a Success or Fail state?

A hacking cost only one time cube per firewall, at least one per participant kid and you make all the rolls in necessary until you either fails the hack or succeeds with it.

Okay — so, players spending time to hack just indicates which kids are involving themselves in the hack effort.
e.g. if this was a three player game... but the Machine only has 2 firewalls:
1 kid hacking must spend 2 time to try and hack
2 kids hacking must spend 1 time each to try and hack, but Veronica would get +1 from the other kid's involvement.
3 kids hacking would also spend 1 time each, but Veronica would get a +2 from the other kids (provided the firewall wasn't linked to any of their weaknesses).

Do they need to spend another Time to attack each subsequent firewall, or once the Hack is initiated, they just keep moving forward to either a Success or Fail state?

The kids must spend 1 time cube per firewall but at least one per kid. So if two kids are trying to hack a three firewall machine, one of them must spend two time cubes (and the other spends one). If three kids are hacking a two firewall machine, then they each must spend a time cube (technically this total will be one more than needed).

And all the kids that participate in the hacking (i.e. has spend a time cube) can make a roll or help in a roll if they can). So this is one of the reasons the kids have slightly lower traits in a 4-5 kid games (they have 4 in their strength and only 1 in their weakness), it is to balance the fact that a lot more kids can help in dice rolls than in a 2-3 kid game.

You spend the time cubes necessary for one hacking attempt. One hacking includes all firewalls.

1. School Phase
Check Diary Cards
Is a new Diary Card turned over each day?
Or, are there events that trigger a new Diary Card to be put into effect?
(It appears that the backside of the Diary Card will indicate if/when new Diary Cards are removed/added.)

e.g. B1 Erratic Behavior
Backside says to discard B1 and put B3 and B4 into play — so, more than one Diary Card can be active at one time.

Replenish Time
Pretty straight forward.

Prepare for Rumors
The rulebook says (p11)

All currently remaining Rumor Cards on the board are then slid to the right, to make space for new ones.

In the initial setup, there are 4 Rumor Cards, facedown.
If none of those were investigated during the round, how many get turned over? Just one? There are only 4 spaces, so, sliding to the right, means the card farthest to the right is discarded, right?
If only two were turned over (let's say they are in positions 1 and 3), then do we remove 1 and 3, slide 2 to the 3 position, leave 4 alone, and draw two new cards for positions 1 and 2?

There are some good youtube videos out there with playthroughs (not so many yet, but still). They can show the game quite well. It is usually easier to learn a game by watching. At least playthroughs have always helped me.

Oh great — I'll see if I can find one.
I agree, with nothing but literal interpretation at my disposal, some things that are super obvious to anyone familiar with the game, is completely hidden from the uninitiated.

Check Diary Cards
Is a new Diary Card turned over each day?
Or, are there events that trigger a new Diary Card to be put into effect?

The diary cards will tell you when to flip it (they start on the A side) and when to add more diary cards.

The Bot Amok! scenario starts with B1 (on its A side). That side say that if you spend two time cubes nearby it (location N is nearby it), you flip B1 to its B side. The B side tells you to add diary card B3 and B4 (on their A side).

Prepare for Rumors
The rulebook says (p11)

All currently remaining Rumor Cards on the board are then slid to the right, to make space for new ones.

In the initial setup, there are 4 Rumor Cards, facedown.
If none of those were investigated during the round, how many get turned over? Just one? There are only 4 spaces, so, sliding to the right, means the card farthest to the right is discarded, right?
If only two were turned over (let's say they are in positions 1 and 3), then do we remove 1 and 3, slide 2 to the 3 position, leave 4 alone, and draw two new cards for positions 1 and 2?

I don't follow your example to be honest but:

• When you explore a rumor, you always remove it (regardless if you succeed or fail).

• In step 1.1 you slide all the cards you have to the right, if you have empty rumor slots, so any empty slots will be the left-most.

• In step 1.2 you add a number of new rumor cards (not on day because you have already done that during the setup) based on the number of players (p.11). If you can't add more cards because there isn't any empty slots left, you remove the card in the slot 4 and slide all cards to right and then fill up slot 1 with a card. You continue to do this until you have added all the cards that where instructed to add. Any card that that is being pushed off the board this way will add +2 Enigma (p.5).

There are some good youtube videos out there with playthroughs (not so many yet, but still). They can show the game quite well. It is usually easier to learn a game by watching. At least playthroughs have always helped me.

Oh great — I'll see if I can find one.
I agree, with nothing but literal interpretation at my disposal, some things that are super obvious to anyone familiar with the game, is completely hidden from the uninitiated.

Some of them do some mistakes sometimes but that is how it is. The game is new to them as well.

• When you explore a rumor, you always remove it (regardless if you succeed or fail).

• In step 1.1 you slide all the cards you have to the right, if you have empty rumor slots, so any empty slots will be the left-most.

• In step 1.2 you add a number of new rumor cards (not on day because you have already done that during the setup) based on the number of players (p.11). If you can't add more cards because there isn't any empty slots left, you remove the card in the slot 4 and slide all cards to right and then fill up slot 1 with a card. You continue to do this until you have added all the cards that where instructed to add. Any card that that is being pushed off the board this way will add +2 Enigma (p.5).

Ah, okay — this makes sense!
I didn't know if a Rumor Card might exist over multiple rounds (like a mission or something) — but if they are resolved immediately and then removed... it makes sense that there will be empty spaces in the next round.
And, re-reading Rulebook, p11, 1.2 — the School Card is what determines how many Rumor Cards are drawn.

So, if players didn't investigate ANY rumors on Day 1... then, on Day 2, when they reveal a new School Card, a 2-player game would do this:

• draw a new school card. in this case, it's Updated Protocols which requires Rumor Cards == Number of players, or 2 new Rumor Cards

• remove the two furthest-right cards (in spaces 3 and 4)

• slide the first two cards (in spaces 1 and 2) into spaces 3 and 4

• draw two new Rumor cards and place them in spaces 1 and 2

• then players would adjust the Enigma counter by +2 per card removed, so Enigma = +4
  
  I think I got it. Thanks!

Doh!

Phase 1.2 = School Day
Place kids at school and draw a School Card.
draws Updated Protocols
The text on this card says:

Machines become Alert no matter where they are.

Players flip over the Response Cards to put all Machines into Alert mode.

Phase 1.3 = Machine Actions
All hacked Machines are reset.
— Remove all firewalls.
— Place Machine on starting sector.
— Set Response Card to Routine

So... what's the point of this School Card? I guess — if a machine wasn't fully hacked, it would stay Alert... but if all Machines were "Routine" at the end of last round, then were "Alerted" by this School Card, they'd all be placed back to "Routine" mode as a result of the sequence of actions...

I think the idea with that school event is that the machine become alert and stay that way for the rest of the round. This should be clarified.

I think the idea with that school event is that the machine become alert and stay that way for the rest of the round. This should be clarified.

Would it make sense to move the Machine Reset to Phase 3?
So, kids are Home for Dinner and Machines Reset for the night?