Android: Netrunner

I've been thinking and reading a lot about board games lately.  Thinking about them to the point that I'd like to get our D&D group back together for some Pandemic, or Elder Sign.  I blame Shut Up & Sit Down for being so bloody enthusiastic and funny.

One of the games in SUSD's top 5 is Android: Netrunner, a living card game themed around hackers infiltrating huge corporations.  It's a two player game with a theme that I love, so the £20 Amazon voucher I got for xmas dutifully burned a hole in my pocket.

After dipping my toe into the world of collectible card games with Hearthstone, I've been thinking about trying something that benefits from face to face play.  Bluffing, misdirection, or just grinning at your opponent over the top of a hand of cards: they're largely missing from online CCGs.  Netrunner, it turns out, has these things in spades.  Both mechanically and thematically, the game is all about information.  The corporation plays most cards face down, the runner has to build their rig in the open.  Gradually, the balance of power shifts towards the runner; their rig gets stronger and more flexible, able to rip through the corp's defences.  It's compelling stuff, and incredibly fun within a game or two of getting started.

Speaking of getting started, I'd heard that the best way to learn Netrunner is to have two or more people starting from scratch and learning together.  Suffice to say that co-op nights are going to be getting a touch more competitive.

I'm gravitating towards playing the corp more often but I'm kind of bad at it.  I've been told that as a corp player you should be more aggressive than your gut tells you to be.  I was definitely trying to build a huge pile of money, and an impenetrable server before starting to work on advancing my agendas, the turtling instinct returning from my RTS days like an old friend.  The one that taught you all those bad habits. I've only tried a couple of the corporations so far, so I'm sure there are decks that will suit my style.  I'm also going to try to play plenty of games as the runner, just to keep myself reminded of that early game fear.

I can already tell that I'm going to love this game.