Cardboard Corner: Review of Android: Netrunner

There are a few holy grail albums on my music shelf. In a strange paradox, however, they rarely get play time. I resist listening too often in order to prolong my enjoyment—at least so I tell myself. What are likely unfounded fears (or perhaps an unwillingness to postpone the inevitable), I think that by listening to these albums again and again they will lose what makes them special. Weird, but true. The medium of this review is table top games, so you're probably wondering why I'm waffling about music. The reason is I've put off writing the review of my favorite game for some time for the same reason. By dissecting Android: Netrunner (2012) I'm afraid it will lose its luster. But by doing so, perhaps it brings new players to the table?

Android: Netrunner is cyberpunk card play for two players. An asymmetrical game for two players, one player takes the role of the Runner—a computer hacker trying to infiltrate and steal from a corporation, while the other player takes the role of the Corporation, a shady business entity trying to protect its assets and implement its devious agendas. If the Runner is able to steal seven agenda points, they win. If the Corps scores seven agenda points, they win.

While Netrunner is asymmetrical, gameplay for both players boils down to card engines, resource management, intelligent decisions, and a touch of luck. The Corp needs to deploy servers in order to play and score agendas. Once deployed, the servers can be protected with Ice: security programs which prevent the Runner from easily accessing the servers. On the other side, the Runner has a variety of programs and hardware to hack through Ice and servers. With the right tech they can infiltrate the Corp. But danger still lurks. The Corp has traps at their disposal, and Ice can be deadly if the Runner is unable to penetrate. Credits critical, both players need to efficiently and effectively manage their money to be able to afford the tools needed to accomplish their goals, as well as protect them.

Adding layers and layers of fun to gameplay are the varieties of Corp and Runner. The Netrunner core box comes with four different Corps and three different Runners. Each has their own play-style, and supporting cards can be mixed and matched. Prior to the game, players builds decks (within certain limits), creating their strategy in the process. This element of customization allows players to put something personal into the game, and thus engage more strongly with it. Winning with a pre-built deck of cards provided by the designers just doesn't feel as good as winning with one you've constructed yourself—after multiple losses, natch. (For first-time players, designers do provide suggestions for deck building to help them get into their first games).

And the art, oh the art... Art is one of the prime pillars expandable card games are built, meaning there are many such games with great art. Netrunner is phenomenal. Capturing a William Gibson, dirty neon Neuromancer vibe, it's got the goods visually. It deftly captures that gritty, near-future edge of alt-culture cybperunk. Another way of contextualizing this is, many games use a fantasy motif of dwarves, knights, elves, princesses, and such, and nobody accuses them of plagiarism. It's ubiquitous. If anybody tried to create a cyberpunk card game, however, there would be immediate comparisons to Netrunner. It's that archetypal.

Building custom decks, salivating at the artwork, and engaging with the mechanisms' representations of theme—these are all part of the fun of Netrunner. But the real hook, the thing that has me (and thousands of others) in an unbreakable grasp, is the cat-and-mouse nature of the game. Bluffing, setting traps, playing sneaky cards, taking risks in big moments, and the tension of entering the unknown—these are the places the game's rubber really hits the road. It feels great as the Corp to set a trap in your Ice and watch the Runner fall into it. Likewise, it feels great as the Runner to hone in on where the Corp are hiding their agendas and get one infiltrating that server. Anybody who has played the game will tell you there is nothing like the dopamine rush of hitting an agenda, just as there is nothing like the tension and subsequent relief of hiding an agenda in plain sight, round after round, then scoring it as the Corp. The mind games inherent to this back and forth is the true soul of Netrunner, and why it is so loved.

To put a tip on this point, many table top card games are largely exercises in math: You have those units, I have these, let's attack, count the damage, count the hit points, clean up, and do it over. Android: Netrunner does not fall into this category of game. Math certainly plays a role in the game, particularly in resource management and Ice breaking, but that is just Netrunner 101. What lies beyond is where players actually spend their mental RAM—the deeper mind games of estimating, guesstimating, making educated guesses, and taking risks as to how to both get into your opponent's head while accomplishing your goals. Simply put, there are enough unknown variables to prevent the game from being wholly mathable. Not only does this make Netrunner amazingly replayable, it likewise makes the game something that can never be mastered. Experts and champions exist, but the winner will always be the person who plays the best mind games and who understands the game and card pool the best. A tiny pinch of luck always helps, too.

Before this hype-fest flies off the rails, there are a couple of points bringing Netrunner back to Earth. First is that Netrunner is an expandable card game. The out-of-the-box experience is perfect for casual gamers to play infinite games. I would take it to the desert island. Those taking Netrunner more seriously, however, need to be aware that 10x the content has been released beyond the core box reviewed here. Expanded, expanded, and expanded, there are literally dozens and dozens of additional products which can be purchased to enhance and complement the base game. Again, these expansions are not necessary, but for people who really get into the game, heart and soul, this may become a money pit.

A problem related directly to expandability is availability. Netrunner was officially discontinued in 2018, meaning it may be difficult to track down products, and if found, could be expensive. The game has been revived in the private sphere (acalled “Nisei”) and it's possible to print your own proxy cards. But those are still costs. Core sets (like the one reviewed here) typically start around $100-$150 used on ebay (as of the writing of this review). This may not be an issue if you have cash lying around, but for people with money concerns, you may need to search or save, or both, or neither. (Maybe just find a friend?) The expansions, while released in much smaller boxes, sit on a spectrum of costs. The early expansions are still reasonably available and can be purchased, not cheaply, but neither for an arm or leg. It's the later, more rare expansions which get into arm and leg territory. I saw the last expansion (“Reign & Reverie”) on ebay for $800 the other day. And there are people selling whole collections for $1500+. This is all a long winded way of saying be aware what you're getting into. Find a friend, store, TTS, or board game convention to try it first before jumping in.

Beyond availability, there is nothing negative to say about Netrunner. It's a deep game with card driven tactics, resource management, and mind games at its core. Representing its theme100%, games are full of cyberpunk flair in the manner which mechanisms interact. When you flip an agenda as the runner, you get a pleasure hit. As the Corp, it feels great when the Runner falls into your traps, taking damage and preventing the theft of agendas. I would be lying if I didn't say there is a bit of the Vegas rush inherent to these pleasures of Netrunner, which likewise says something about its replayability—looking for that dopamine hit again, the big score!