Android Netrunner v1

Last year Fantasy Flight Games relaunched this acclaimed assymetrical card game, originally designed by Richard Garfield in 1996, and it immediately became a big success. The theme—slightly jigged to fit FFG’s Android universe as seen in the games Android and Infiltration—seems a bit dated to me now; cybercrime, cyberpunk—anything with ‘cyber’ in it, really—seems to firmly belong to the 90s, the birth of the internet, William Gibson, and an unfortunate film with Keanu Reeves in it (Johnny Memnonic of course, not The Matrix). But perhaps that’s why it appeals to gamers so much, for the retro or nostalgia value depending on your vintage.

Quite apart from the theme however, this is a very original game of hacking and corporations and ‘jacking in’, and monthly extension packs enhance the endless possibilities for those who enjoy deckbuilding.

I haven’t yet had the opportunity to play it, unfortunately. Last year at the Boardgames By the Bay event in Hamilton, New Zealand, several people including myself were put up for the night by a kind gamer, and though I went to bed relatively late, two guys stayed up to play this game. One had to teach the other, and as I drifted off to sleep I could hear the sounds in the next room of what seemed to be a pretty complicated set of rules and terminology being explained, followed by, later, the laughter and shouts of a really enjoyable game being played. I was tempted to get up and join in the fun but it was probably 3am and I’d been travelling and playing games all day. It sounded like a great game though, and I filed it away as one to get.

So, in short, this summary and reference doesn’t yet have the benefit of personal experience behind it. If you have some suggestions for its improvement, please let me know in the comments on the Netrunner page!

Oh and by the way, this marks the first new addition to the Game Library listings for the new site. Champagne all round!