An Inclusive, Cyberpunk Future Is (Still) In the Cards

February 2, 2022 10:05 AM

Netrunner was flatlined, but the game is still thriving under the stewardship of a fan-run volunteer collective.

Set in a cyberpunk future, Netrunner is a two-player asymmetric card game, where one player takes on the role of a megacorp using "ICE" to protect servers hiding sinister agendas (like Nisei Mk II and Hostile Takeover), while the other plays a hacker or "runner" trying to steal them.

The game was originally designed by Richard Garfield in the 90s, who described it in 2011 as his "best board game design", intending it to be a "rich game" with bluffing and skill "more like Poker." It was rebooted by Fantasy Flight Games in 2012 as a Living Card Game, using rules very similar to the original Netrunner (which still has its fans, even among A:NR players). But it was discontinued in 2018. Today, the game is being kept alive with the support of Project NISEI.

While FFG was publishing the game, a "selling point was its inclusivity" and "out of dozens of playable characters, there are two white men. Gender is fluid in a world where body modification is the norm." NISEI is the fan-run volunteer collective who have continued this tradition. They are releasing new cards compatible with the FFG game, supporting organized competitive events (played online the past couple years, on the browser based Jinteki.net, which automates much of the game rules and upkeep), managing card pool rotation and ban lists, and maintaining and streamlining the rules. (NISEI is a backronym of Nextrunner International Support and Expansion Initiative, a reference to the use of Japanese culture in the FFG fiction, not to be confused with 二世)

Choose from four megacorps and three runner factions and get started with NISEI's System Gateway, a beginner-focused introductory set released last year via print on demand (and pay-what-you-want PNP). Once you're ready for more, check out NISEI's Startup format which includes reprints of classic FFG cards with new art, and get excited for NISEI's next set Midnight Sun.

Beginners might want to learn some important jargon, watch some System Gateway games, try out deck-building, or practice against an AI. If you just want a little taste, Why I Run is a text-based game (some NSFW language) that captures the essence of running (previously) and Always Be Running are a series of NR themed albums by Tripp Mirror. For the returning players, catch up on NISEI's rules clarifications, or watch the 2021 world championships. The community is still lively: Discords, weekly Twitch streams, custom tokens and alt arts can all be found on Near Earth Hub.

Scorched Earth has rotated since the previous post, but clear those tags anyway because BOOM! is still in play for now.

(this is my first post, I hope I did it right. I'm unaffiliated with NISEI, just a huge NR nerd who missed out on it the first time round, and so it seemed like a fitting post for the Doubles Jubilee)

posted by okonomichiyaki (16 comments total)

this is my first post, I hope I did it right.

Sure looks that way to me.
posted by mhoye at 10:43 AM on February 2, 2022 [6 favorites]

I was intrigued and wanted to check out Netrunner when it first really crossed my radar... which is when Fantasy Flight announced they were discontinuing it. So I figured I'd missed my chance. But this is very cool and I will definitely check out their starter set. Can't wait to dig into these links when I have some time later, thanks!
posted by Roommate at 10:50 AM on February 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Glad to see the fan projects are still keeping things going. It's hard to match the thrill of the bluff, and the asymmetry of the available information is great fun.
posted by Lykosidae at 10:54 AM on February 2, 2022

I haven't played Netrunner in a few years but it seemed like a cool game.
posted by one for the books at 11:12 AM on February 2, 2022

I absolutely adored Netrunner when it was still being published, and was shattered when Fantasy Flight stopped making it (I think Wizards of the Coast pulled the license).

I’d love to get in to NESI with my old Netrunner mates, but none of us have any interest playing online, nor with flimsy print-and-play cards. DrivethruRPG isn’t currently shipping to Australia, and when they were the shipping was prohibitively expensive.
posted by BeesLikeMe at 12:24 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

My niece bought me a box of the base game and almost every expansion - 5 bucks at Goodwill. This was shortly before they announced they were going to release a v3.0 and then promptly said "nah" (licensing I think? probably says more in the article).

We tried to play once but I got flustered with distractions and we ended up shelving it. So I've never had a chance to play it since like 2017 or whatever. Bummer it's really interesting but I don't have the social life I used to that would enable playing it and learning it that it deserves.
posted by symbioid at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

An excellent first post, thank you okonomichiyaki!

While we're collecting Netrunner memories, here's that time it was played on the show Billions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8brE4RrvU.
posted by peakfrivolity at 3:40 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

So one of the theories runnning around is that Wizards took back their license so they could do something on their own. This rumor was fueled on by the MtG Kamigawa set, which is cyberpunk themed. Even as recently as last week someone posted an angry rant about it.

The more credible theory is that negotiations failed because FFG sold to Asmodee and the new management failed to come to an agreement with Hasbro, over money. The Borg continued to assimilate gaming properties and sold to a publicly traded firm last year for like 3 billion euros.
posted by pwnguin at 6:26 PM on February 2, 2022

A few challenges to NR's success:

1. The terminology and symbology. It's a complicated game to learn, on par with MtG, with little to no knowledge transfer. The term cards use for your opponent's hand, deck and discard has a different name than the terms for your own. There are also a lot of symbols. MTG also has many symbols but mana has a 5 way symmetry, whereas a credit is different mechanically than an MU is different than link, recurring credits, subroutine etc.

2. The metaphor for the game is lost; theme does not inform mechanics. Most CCGs are just a duel between players. Fundamentally, NR is a fortress assault game. You push through layers of walls, locked doors and sentries, until you encounter the wizard's plan to resurrect a chaotic evil demon. But the theme doesn't match this, like at all. What exactly is a wall in cyberspace? Why don't sentries die when you beat them? Why can't you trash ice? How does a trace fit in thematically and mechanically? Novices have little sense of objective, pacing, and risks -- hidden information doesn't pair well with 'you might instantly lose'.

3. The game (much like this comment) is too long. MtG took off because you could play a quick match while waiting for your RPG table to get back from break, during recess, etc. Proper NR matches last an hour, playing two games. This also shows up in competitive play, where tourneys start at 9am and run past midnight. The obvious fix is to reduce victory from 5 to 7 points (basically from 3.5 to 2.5 agendas) but this also dramatically heightens the threat of multi-access so you have to redo the card designs a lot, and can't just fix it by with a rules tweak.

A:NR tried to innovate and find a niche, but:

1. The most likely converts were Mtg players, who gave few shits about inclusive design, and already had mtg. I don't need to detail how toxic mtg can get but suffice to say the community of comic book stores and hobby shops is not particularly inclusive, and for some folks this means going into enemy territory just to buy and enjoy a game. It's an uphill battle and the noble fights, the ones worth fighting -- are rarely the profitable ones.

2. The Living Card Game model is different than CCGs, putting a cap on sales / store profits per customer. It's popular with a set of cost conscious players but not really conducive to heavy spenders dropping a few hundred dollars every time a new set ships, or wasting your allowance on a loot box booster to beat your study hall rival. Even the biggest retailer boosters of LCG often pitched more sales: "the great thing about LCGs is they are cheap enough you can afford to buy into three or four of them." It doesn't help that online retailers routinely undercut MSRP (this is something the private equity team pushed to change to much BGG outcry).

3. They tried to fix #2 with a drafting format, but the one benefit of a draft game is taking cards with you win or lose to build decks with, and because the random draft decks used a different printer, they were actually inferior product (banned with clear sleeves because the backs have noticeably different color gamuts). And you can't even draft a rare to break even since a full set is cheap ($15 bucks) and there are no rares. They eventually started doing alt-art prize kits but without chase cards theres no singles market a store can use as a differentiator.

4. FFG seemed a bit surprised by the success, and failed to retain talent. With no set rotation, the 'buy in' to the game grew steeper and steeper, and retailers wouldn't have old but tourney legal sets in stock. They reassigned the lead designer to a different product, who was later poached. I seem to recall the new lead throwing the old one under the bus about power creep, ultimately banning cards that saw use in virtually all top tourney decks.

5. The "legacy" style product Terminal Directive that sort of taught new players the ropes of deckbuilding came way too late.

6. No digital products. A game about computer warfare without any digital options for solo gaming, and pretty hostile to the fan creations. The big threat to MtG isnt another card game, but all the digital games on your phone. Lots of popular board & card games now have digital implementations. Sometimes digital sales encourage physical sales but FFG behavior across the board indicates they think the opposite.

All of which is to say I like the game and think there's room to improve on the concept, but probably one should avoid trying to dethrone MtG on its own turf.
posted by pwnguin at 9:20 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a set of the base Netrunner and never managed to pull it out - generally when we do physical boardgames, enough people turn up that 2-player games aren't really viable. But the idea was incredibly cool, particularly in how the theme shakes out in an asymmetric design so that you have fundamentally different goals to your opponent. I figured that the fan revival would just sort of taper off and I'm thrilled to see that, years later, it's organised enough to think about on-ramping new players.
posted by Merus at 10:40 PM on February 2, 2022

I find you criticisms a little weird pwnguin. I mean, netrunner was extremely popular. It wasnt more so than Magic but I dont know that that was the plan. It was popular enough that it has a fan continuation while out of print!

And there are online implementations... Ive played them. At the time netrunner came out, magic did not have a good digital implementation.

Finally, I think critisising it based on theme is odd in comparison to magic. All the points you make about the clash between mechanics and theme could easily be applied to basically any ccg ever made; thats just the nature of the beast. I actually found the theming of netrunner much more engaging than magic when I played both for the first time (and to be clear, Ive played much more magic than netrunner).

I would have got into netrunner but at the time it was out I didnt really have a group to play with. Maybe I will try again if this continuation keeps going!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 12:08 AM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm a playtester for NISEI and was lucky enough to introduce a ton of new people to the game at PAX Unplugged this year. The game is still going strong; we had our first non-FFG World Tournament in Rotterdam in 2019 and a couple online due to pandemic since then. Cards are still coming through our development/playtest pipeline with a whole new cycle to be released this year.

If folks want to learn more, you can join the Green Level Clearance Discord or jump right in and play online at Jinteki.net.
posted by themadjuggler at 8:39 AM on February 4, 2022 [2 favorites]

I find you criticisms a little weird pwnguin. I mean, netrunner was extremely popular.

Yu-gi-oh was popular. Pokemon was popular. Netrunner was me and the only black geek in town getting kicked out of the play area to make room for a weekday MTG tournament.

It was popular enough that it has a fan continuation while out of print!

So did the original. NISEI follows in a grand tradition.

And there are online implementations... Ive played them. At the time netrunner came out, magic did not have a good digital implementation.

I specifically mean FFG efforts not fan creations. OCTGN and one of the early card db sites had a lot of trouble with cease and desists. As fun as Jinteki is, theres no android version, no iOS version with amazing AI, or trailers on Youtube.

And to be fair to them, FFG has two purposes: launch new editions of Twilight Imperium, and fund developing TI by shipping old games with new licensed branding. Being based on old designs good enough that they bought the rights, those rebranded games are typically quite good, but as we saw play out, they can easily lose licenses to things, so making long term investments is not wise, and I wonder if they were contractually barred from expanding into digital markets.

Oh, and I guess a certain search engine would see issue with the entire Android branding in their play store, which is rather unfortunate.
posted by pwnguin at 6:14 PM on February 4, 2022

I think if you compare netrunner to incredibly successful ccgs whose design is specifically structured to encourage an endless cycle of sales, then yeah, fair enough, it was marginal.

But compared to all over products FFG were selling, it did very well. See https://icv2.com/articles/games/view/26213/top-10-card-dice-games-spring-2013 for instance.

I just think its odd to position something as a failure if it doesnt meet some of the most succesful products out there! Is a board game a failure if it doesnt sell as much as monopoly?
posted by Cannon Fodder at 8:52 AM on February 6, 2022

odd to position something as a failure

Note that I listed these as barriers to success, rather than declare it an outright failure. It did well (especially if you exclude all the other things that did better like that "Hobby Channel Card/Dice Game" table does). I just think that, especially for physical 2 player games, part of building a successful player community is having spaces available satisfy the dual coincidence of wants -- finding players, basically -- and supporting that financially. It doesn't have to outcompete Friday night magic, but the long match format makes running a GNK on weeknights harder.

And of course, the pandemic has done a number on all this. The store I'd go to every week closed down. FFG Organized Play has been halted for like two years now, and even AGoT's last expansion pack shipped Jan 2020, so even if the license wasn't lost it COVID would have ended things. In a way, it's highly thematic that a community of coders liberated intellectual property from warring megacorps, recruiting new followers via cyberspace.
posted by pwnguin at 3:58 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I loved O:NR and played the heck out of it, especially after it was discontinued and cheap to get.

I maintain that what made it less successful than Magic was the same thing that made it a better game. You could have 75% as much fun with a single starter deck as with a giant collection. I kept a well-matched, generic corp/runner deck pair with no more than one of each card. Great fun.
posted by dgr8bob at 10:20 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]