My 2 cents: I love the terminology and in my opinion it is very well suited for the theme. It's logical and well known for people in IT (in case of runners) or corporate business (in case of corps). I am aware that not everybody knows what Heap, Rig or Stack are, but I just want to point out that it's not random and it's not something created for the purpose of this game.
I've been pouring through a ton of reviews on this game and yours has the most insight, charm, and polish! I got the game today and watched your review again. Your mini-tutorial was invaluable as we waded through the first turn of play. All your points, pros and cons, are spot on. Thanks!
I love your reviews because they are short, precise and clear. While the objectivity is important here, the only thing I am missing is more emotion from you two.
We've been considering it -- it's just that new, shiny things tend to jump the priority sequence for us. It's certainly not out of the question, though.
Ha, I was just on the shop site this morning wishing you had a review of Netrunner... *closes eyes and wishes for all the games and a new motorbike*. My wife and I are trying to decide between Netrunner, Race for the Galaxy and Warhammer Invasion for our next purchase :)
Best card game of its kind....EVER. The terminology just adds to the soaking wet theme. It is drowning in theme. Love it. I did however play quite a bit of Cyberpunk 2020 back in the day which the original iteration is based off of so the jargon was nothing new to me.
Yes. Android, Infiltration, and Netrunner all take place in the same universe. Fantasy Flight Games has a habit of doing this with their board games -- the Twilight Imperium universe also includes Rex; and Descent, Runebound and Rune Wars all take place in the Terrinoth setting.
Sort of? Joanna is an actress, and so these kinds of presentations are very much up her alley. I run the warehouse/customer service end of an online board game retailer, so games are my day job. The reviews are part of our marketing work, and so writing and presenting them falls under my responsibilities here at work.
Thanks to Kaja for making the jargon the first thing she mentioned. I felt my mind glazing over during the rules overview trying to remember all the new terms. I'm glad to know its not just me, and that the game is easier to understand while playing.
Thanks :) I think we'd pretty much eliminated Netrunner, so this review (and friendly people giving their opinions) really helped us make the final decision...
Hi - out of those, I would vote Race as your best bet. It's a REALLY deep game for one small set of cards, and the first three expansions add to it significantly (they were "in mind" and planned for when the base set was made). It also can play with up to 4 (or more with exp.) in addition to a special 2-player. I love Netrunner, but Race is a neater game IMNSHO! X
It's always interesting to me when I hear people complain about the Runner being OP. You're correct, it definitely isn't, but I think people come to that conclusion so often because it requires far less finesse to be a successful Runner than a Corporation. Runners are very straightforward most of the time (barring NoiseShop decks), whereas Corps generally have to be deceptive and VERY forward-thinking to be successful. Just one of the many reasons why I LOVE this game!
If you look at the number of crew involved in tabletop I would guess that their budget for food is more then the cost of an entire review for Starlit. (looks to be over 20 people for Tabletop)
+MrTaylork1 Indeed. It's not everyone's cup of tea; I get that. When I played the original Netrunner back in the mid-1990's, I already had a good amount of R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk RPG under my belt. Personally, I don't think the terminology is that much worse than MTG, but I think the theme can be a little intimidating. If you know the difference between a "library" and a "graveyard," you can figure out the difference between "R&D" and "archives."
You are incorrect. You can normally only rez ice when it is approached. You're correct in that it IS important for advanceable ice... but most advanceable ice can be advanced prior to being rezzed. The few that can't well... they kind of suck, but if you ARE using them, well... consider using an Amazon Industrial Zone as well.
I have to disagree on the randomized carddraw part. In contrast to other card games, ANR has many cards that deal with drawing more cards, restructuring the order of your stack or searching your stack for a desired card. Which gives you some sort of control and lessens the impact of random carddraw.
What I was thinking is what is the point of making a bunch of remote servers? Isn't it just better to make 1 or maybe 2 remote servers and putting a bunch of ice on it, so you can score your agenda? Or is the point of making a bunch of remote servers for the purpose of being used as a bluff trying to confuse your opponent between which is agenda or asset?
I can't help but notice the Android part of the logo is very similar to the logo from Android. Are these games taking place in the same universe, or otherwise related?
Also Tabletop poses a number of limitations on the game they play, such as complexity (which must be low), number of players (must be more than 2), and game duration (which must be short), to make the show interesting. This is why you're never going to see a game like Netrunner played on Tabletop, and why a demo game would most probably be very boring.
Bacillus Infernus no you aren't forced to use a deck. And you can certainly build more decks from the basic core set, though it is more a bit difficult.
+Bacillus Infernus You will probably want to get expansions if this game clicks with you. I don't have any particular recommendations, since so much of it is dependent on how you play and what you personally like, but there are "data packs" geared towards particular factions on either side. The more you get into A:NR, the more it will make sense.
+Bacillus Infernus Also worth mentioning, there are rules regarding something called "influence." Your identity card belongs to a certain faction, and most cards in your deck will also belong to that faction -- but they don't all have to. Cards that belong to factions outside of your identity card have an "influence" count, and your identity card itself will determine how much influence you can use in this manner. For instance, Weyland corp identities often have strong tag & bag themes that work quite well with NBN operations that leave runners with multiple tags. Within the confines of an LCG, you'll find lots of little theoretical combos like this that are quite fun whether or not you end up winning a lot of games with them. And then there is the fact that A:NR games move much faster when both players are quite experienced. In official events, players play both sides every match and total agenda points to determine a winner. I've seen matches finish in this fashion in under an hour -- and that's with both games.
I feel like the game is good, I give it a C. One thing I didn't care for was the inability of players to determine the offensive and defensive capability of each other. Ice is hidden from the runners, and the offensive power of the runner depends on their money, which is wildly random considering the resources they could draw. This could be due to my lack of experience with the game, but as a first impression, I felt like even my most rock solid defense was easily passed by the opponent, when they went from 5 or 6 bucks to 14+ in a single turn.
Jay Shepherd hi there. I do agree that at first u might feel overwhelmed by this issue. Having played Android Netrunner and really dived into it, I must say that you need to incorporate a different mindset. ICE aren't just a sure shutdown to prevent runners from coming in. They are taxing the runner. Runner will, eventually, have all icebreakers online and can breakthrough any servers. The job of the Corp is to force runner into hard decisions and carving out your scoring window. Setting up which ICE on which server is important. Stacking up Barrier End The Run ICE is probably a bad choice as they don't tax the runner out. Meanwhile, as the Runner, your task is to find ways to disrupt the Corp's plan and sail on the pressure to their servers, which will eventually net you points. There are many more things you can learn from this beautifully designed game and I would suggest if you have time, I could be your sparring partner @ Jinteki.net, the Netrunner global online game platform.
Jay Shepherd to add something on top of it, the attacking and defending mechanism isn't obvious to some because it's not your "cast dudes and hit" game. How the Corp attacks is by declaring score windows when the runner is unestablished or bluffs to score or pressuring the runner to make unsound runs. How the Runner defenses themselves is to apply constant pressuring , economically and run decisions, while building up the attack. Different factions may approach this differently, but they are share the same basics. Let me share to you. Corp: Attack: Open score windows. By forcing a score during the time when Runner is not stabilized or scoring behind a strongly protected server. Defense: Economically prepared and install correct ICE in the right server to maximize their value to tax the Runner. Runner Attacking: Applying pressure and snowball with economic advantage Defending: Setting up, econ gathering, patience waiting. You'll find that the Corp is actually the attacking side who's trying to dictate the pace of the game while the runner is trying to prevent that and taking over the lead.
Played it. Didn't like it near as much as Thrones or even Star Wars LCG. How this is in the BGG top 10 is a travesty. Almost as much as Eclipse being there... I am not saying this game is horrible. It is just pretty average (bar the art) and the Runner is way overpowered!
Josh... For someone who hasn't "played it that much" you have no clue as to what you are talking about. The runner is not OP, neither is the Corp. This is a very balanced game even at 4 expansions in. I think you have it confused with MtG where there are very lopsided decks. Also... I'm glad this won BGG Award. :) it deserved it over those boring and long drawn out cube pusher games...
My 2 cents: I love the terminology and in my opinion it is very well suited for the theme. It's logical and well known for people in IT (in case of runners) or corporate business (in case of corps). I am aware that not everybody knows what Heap, Rig or Stack are, but I just want to point out that it's not random and it's not something created for the purpose of this game.
Kvarnholmen *cough*nerd*cough*
I've been pouring through a ton of reviews on this game and yours has the most insight, charm, and polish! I got the game today and watched your review again. Your mini-tutorial was invaluable as we waded through the first turn of play. All your points, pros and cons, are spot on. Thanks!
I love your reviews because they are short, precise and clear. While the objectivity is important here, the only thing I am missing is more emotion from you two.
We've been considering it -- it's just that new, shiny things tend to jump the priority sequence for us. It's certainly not out of the question, though.
It'd definitely be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the time required and the production costs to do it our usual quality is prohibitive at the moment.
you guys do the best reviews. keep up the good work!
Ha, I was just on the shop site this morning wishing you had a review of Netrunner... *closes eyes and wishes for all the games and a new motorbike*.
My wife and I are trying to decide between Netrunner, Race for the Galaxy and Warhammer Invasion for our next purchase :)
Best card game of its kind....EVER. The terminology just adds to the soaking wet theme. It is drowning in theme. Love it. I did however play quite a bit of Cyberpunk 2020 back in the day which the original iteration is based off of so the jargon was nothing new to me.
Not in the near future -- we've got our videos until the end of June planned out, and it's not on that list. Perhaps later in the year.
Yes. Android, Infiltration, and Netrunner all take place in the same universe. Fantasy Flight Games has a habit of doing this with their board games -- the Twilight Imperium universe also includes Rex; and Descent, Runebound and Rune Wars all take place in the Terrinoth setting.
Sort of? Joanna is an actress, and so these kinds of presentations are very much up her alley. I run the warehouse/customer service end of an online board game retailer, so games are my day job. The reviews are part of our marketing work, and so writing and presenting them falls under my responsibilities here at work.
Thanks to Kaja for making the jargon the first thing she mentioned. I felt my mind glazing over during the rules overview trying to remember all the new terms. I'm glad to know its not just me, and that the game is easier to understand while playing.
Thanks :) I think we'd pretty much eliminated Netrunner, so this review (and friendly people giving their opinions) really helped us make the final decision...
Hi - out of those, I would vote Race as your best bet. It's a REALLY deep game for one small set of cards, and the first three expansions add to it significantly (they were "in mind" and planned for when the base set was made). It also can play with up to 4 (or more with exp.) in addition to a special 2-player.
I love Netrunner, but Race is a neater game IMNSHO!
X
It's always interesting to me when I hear people complain about the Runner being OP. You're correct, it definitely isn't, but I think people come to that conclusion so often because it requires far less finesse to be a successful Runner than a Corporation.
Runners are very straightforward most of the time (barring NoiseShop decks), whereas Corps generally have to be deceptive and VERY forward-thinking to be successful.
Just one of the many reasons why I LOVE this game!
Love the trance music in the background. Great game, too!
Also, we love your reviews :)
Will we see a review for the Star Wars LCG in the near future?
Another great review, thank you for doing it!
We just launched our trailer for a netrunner webseries!
If you look at the number of crew involved in tabletop I would guess that their budget for food is more then the cost of an entire review for Starlit. (looks to be over 20 people for Tabletop)
There are playmats you can purchase.
@dimitrisasp watch the video before commenting. They specifically say it's challenging to teach because of the terminology.
+MrTaylork1 Indeed. It's not everyone's cup of tea; I get that. When I played the original Netrunner back in the mid-1990's, I already had a good amount of R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk RPG under my belt. Personally, I don't think the terminology is that much worse than MTG, but I think the theme can be a little intimidating. If you know the difference between a "library" and a "graveyard," you can figure out the difference between "R&D" and "archives."
This certainly looks good! Is it hard to teach?
You are incorrect. You can normally only rez ice when it is approached. You're correct in that it IS important for advanceable ice... but most advanceable ice can be advanced prior to being rezzed. The few that can't well... they kind of suck, but if you ARE using them, well... consider using an Amazon Industrial Zone as well.
I have to disagree on the randomized carddraw part. In contrast to other card games, ANR has many cards that deal with drawing more cards, restructuring the order of your stack or searching your stack for a desired card. Which gives you some sort of control and lessens the impact of random carddraw.
Great video. Cards without sleeves is painful to watch lol.
What I was thinking is what is the point of making a bunch of remote servers? Isn't it just better to make 1 or maybe 2 remote servers and putting a bunch of ice on it, so you can score your agenda? Or is the point of making a bunch of remote servers for the purpose of being used as a bluff trying to confuse your opponent between which is agenda or asset?
Is it possible we will see an older LCG like A Game of Thrones? (=
you guys do amazing reviews! may i ask if this is your day job? lol
Netrunner is an amazingly fun game, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a new card game!
What the heck are you doing riffle shuffling those cards?
I can't help but notice the Android part of the logo is very similar to the logo from Android. Are these games taking place in the same universe, or otherwise related?
There are a lot of demo games on youtube. Netrunner is one of the most popular games currently.
Also Tabletop poses a number of limitations on the game they play, such as complexity (which must be low), number of players (must be more than 2), and game duration (which must be short), to make the show interesting.
This is why you're never going to see a game like Netrunner played on Tabletop, and why a demo game would most probably be very boring.
are you forced to use "starter decks" specific to your corp / runner, or is there room to build decks without buying expansions?
Bacillus Infernus no you aren't forced to use a deck. And you can certainly build more decks from the basic core set, though it is more a bit difficult.
Thanks! Probably going to pick this one up when I can
+Bacillus Infernus You will probably want to get expansions if this game clicks with you. I don't have any particular recommendations, since so much of it is dependent on how you play and what you personally like, but there are "data packs" geared towards particular factions on either side. The more you get into A:NR, the more it will make sense.
+Bacillus Infernus Also worth mentioning, there are rules regarding something called "influence." Your identity card belongs to a certain faction, and most cards in your deck will also belong to that faction -- but they don't all have to. Cards that belong to factions outside of your identity card have an "influence" count, and your identity card itself will determine how much influence you can use in this manner.
For instance, Weyland corp identities often have strong tag & bag themes that work quite well with NBN operations that leave runners with multiple tags. Within the confines of an LCG, you'll find lots of little theoretical combos like this that are quite fun whether or not you end up winning a lot of games with them.
And then there is the fact that A:NR games move much faster when both players are quite experienced. In official events, players play both sides every match and total agenda points to determine a winner. I've seen matches finish in this fashion in under an hour -- and that's with both games.
is it just me or can they not say resources.
5 people like corporations..
~laughs~
I feel like the game is good, I give it a C. One thing I didn't care for was the inability of players to determine the offensive and defensive capability of each other. Ice is hidden from the runners, and the offensive power of the runner depends on their money, which is wildly random considering the resources they could draw. This could be due to my lack of experience with the game, but as a first impression, I felt like even my most rock solid defense was easily passed by the opponent, when they went from 5 or 6 bucks to 14+ in a single turn.
Jay Shepherd hi there. I do agree that at first u might feel overwhelmed by this issue. Having played Android Netrunner and really dived into it, I must say that you need to incorporate a different mindset.
ICE aren't just a sure shutdown to prevent runners from coming in. They are taxing the runner. Runner will, eventually, have all icebreakers online and can breakthrough any servers. The job of the Corp is to force runner into hard decisions and carving out your scoring window. Setting up which ICE on which server is important. Stacking up Barrier End The Run ICE is probably a bad choice as they don't tax the runner out.
Meanwhile, as the Runner, your task is to find ways to disrupt the Corp's plan and sail on the pressure to their servers, which will eventually net you points.
There are many more things you can learn from this beautifully designed game and I would suggest if you have time, I could be your sparring partner @ Jinteki.net, the Netrunner global online game platform.
Jay Shepherd to add something on top of it, the attacking and defending mechanism isn't obvious to some because it's not your "cast dudes and hit" game.
How the Corp attacks is by declaring score windows when the runner is unestablished or bluffs to score or pressuring the runner to make unsound runs.
How the Runner defenses themselves is to apply constant pressuring , economically and run decisions, while building up the attack. Different factions may approach this differently, but they are share the same basics. Let me share to you.
Corp:
Attack: Open score windows. By forcing a score during the time when Runner is not stabilized or scoring behind a strongly protected server.
Defense: Economically prepared and install correct ICE in the right server to maximize their value to tax the Runner.
Runner
Attacking: Applying pressure and snowball with economic advantage
Defending: Setting up, econ gathering, patience waiting.
You'll find that the Corp is actually the attacking side who's trying to dictate the pace of the game while the runner is trying to prevent that and taking over the lead.
amen.
Also, as much as I enjoy these reviews this one I found a lot of the cons invalid.
Nice review, but I have to stealth watch them, cos the wife gets cross at the way my jaw drops and eyes mist over when watching you two girls
"I take issue with having to draw random cards in card games."
My brain hurts a bit after that.
Played it. Didn't like it near as much as Thrones or even Star Wars LCG. How this is in the BGG top 10 is a travesty. Almost as much as Eclipse being there... I am not saying this game is horrible. It is just pretty average (bar the art) and the Runner is way overpowered!
this is not extemporaneous speaking
I look forward to the Bond movie in which a penguin-suited 007 takes on the fluffy cat-stroking mega-villain at this game.
The constant camera panning makes me dizzy. Don't do it.
Josh... For someone who hasn't "played it that much" you have no clue as to what you are talking about. The runner is not OP, neither is the Corp. This is a very balanced game even at 4 expansions in. I think you have it confused with MtG where there are very lopsided decks. Also... I'm glad this won BGG Award. :) it deserved it over those boring and long drawn out cube pusher games...
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