Game Theory

Breaking into a computer is so much more alluring than rebooting one. Which must be why hackers are always portrayed as studly and brilliant guys, like Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) in ''Swordfish,'' whereas real-life techies resemble Jimmy Fallon's smarmy, disheveled ''Saturday Night Live'' character, Nick Burns: Your Company Computer Guy (''He'll fix your computer, then he's going to make fun of you'').

Actually, your company computer guy or girl probably IS a hacker. But you won't need their help to take part in the pseudo password-cracking game that is a centerpiece of the promotion for ''Swordfish.'' Your mission: to find a series of keycodes and use them to gain access to secret areas of the official movie website.

The codes, which are all well-known words, can be found in small type on the film's print ads, on billboards, and by sending an AOL instant message or e-mail to Gabriel Shear -- the name of John Travolta's character in the movie. Find all of the keycodes and you can enter a contest to win an SUV or a laptop computer. You'll still look and act like dorky Nick Burns, but at least you'll have wheels.

And that will come in handy this summer, since scavenger hunting is becoming the trendlet of the microsecond among Web movie promoters. The murder mystery unfolding around Steven Spielberg's ''A.I.,'' for example, has players delving into Greek mythology, thumbing through dog eared copies of ''Alice in Wonderland,'' and gathering for mock ''Anti-Robot Militia'' rallies looking for clues. Visitors to ''Planet of the Apes'' are taking part in the 21st-century sport of geocaching, in which a set of GPS coordinates are released and fans race to find a prize at the hard-to-find location.

As part of BMW's short films project ''The Hire,'' ''Boiler Room'' director Ben Younger has created a series of subplots that include working phone numbers and websites. Following the trail will lead to an encounter on a Manhattan street corner this August.

Unfortunately, Operation Swordfish packs about as much payoff as watching a bus fly. Even if Project Ape's geo-scavengers don't find one of the $1,000 props, they'll at least unglue their butts from the office chair long enough to go on an adventure. All that the secret ''Swordfish'' keycodes give you access to is run of the Web movie stills, behind-the-scenes footage, and soundtrack samples. Besides, some computer whizzes at Hackers.com and Rotten Tomatoes discovered a file containing most of the passwords back in April. Someone page Nick Burns -- I think there's a problem with ''Swordfish'''s computers.

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