''Netrunner'' is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) designed by

Richard Garfield Richard Channing Garfield (born June 26, 1963) is an American mathematician, inventor and game designer. Garfield created '' Magic: The Gathering'', which is considered to be the first collectible card game (CCG). ''Magic'' debuted in 1993 and i ...

, the creator of '' Magic: The Gathering''. It was published by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidi ...

and introduced in April 1996. The game took place in the setting for the '' Cyberpunk 2020''

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

(RPG), but it also drew from the broader

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...

genre. In 2012,

Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions. History Fantasy Flight Publi ...

released '' Android: Netrunner'', a new card game based on ''Netrunner'', under license from

. The new game uses Fantasy Flight Games'

Living Card Game Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions. History Fantasy Flight Publ ...

release format (as used in their '' Warhammer: Invasion'', ''

A Game of Thrones ''A Game of Thrones'' is the first novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both ...

'', '' Call of Cthulhu'', and '' Lord of the Rings'' games), and shares the cyberpunk setting of their '' Android'' board game.

Gameplay

''Netrunner'' depicts

cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday re ...

combat between a global mega-corporation (the Corp) and a hacker (the Runner). The Corp aims to complete its secret agendas before the Runner can hack in and steal data. It isn't easy, though, as the Corp has strong defensive ''data forts'' protected by malevolent computer programs known as ''ICE'' (short for

Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (ICE) is a term used in cyberpunk literature to refer to security programs which protect computerized data from being accessed by hackers. Origin of term The term was popularized by William Gibson in his s ...

). Runners must use special programs of their own, called ''icebreakers'', to break through and steal the hidden plans. All this is paid for in the game by ''bits'' (representing currency), which are earned and spent during the course of play. An interesting feature of ''Netrunner'' is its

asymmetry Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...

: each side has different abilities and uses completely different cards distinguished by alternate card backs. This contrasts with most other CCGs, which usually depict a "battle between peers" where each opponent draws upon the same card pool. While a player does not have to play both sides except in tournament play, many players believe that a firm understanding of both leads to better overall player ability. The ''Cyberpunk 2020'' supplement ''Rache Bartmoss' Brainware Blowout'' featured rules on using ''Netrunner'' cards instead of the RPG's existing system to simulate netrunning during game sessions. It also gave conversions to the RPG of some of the cards in the base set (the rest having been mentioned in one book or another).

Expansion sets

* ''Netrunner'' base set (aka Limited, v1.0) - 374 cards - Release Date: April 26, 1996 * ''Proteus'' (v2.1) - 154 cards - Release Date: September 1996 * ''Silent Impact'' - Never released, development halted by WotC. However, a series of six cards labelled 'v2.0' were issued as promotional cards for a planned, but never released, Netrunner 2.0 core set. Even though originally appearing in Netrunner 1.0, these six cards have been revised for 2.0 and feature new artwork as well as revised game text. The six cards in question are Forged Activation Orders, misc.for-sale, The Shell Traders, Pacifica Regional AI, Bizarre Encryption Scheme, and New Galveston City Grid. These cards are extremely rare. * ''Classic'' (v2.2) - 52 cards from the Silent Impact set. Release Date: November 1999 Several fan-made expansions have been created for ''Netrunner'' and released online. Many of them have been sanctioned for tournament play.

Webrunner

''Netrunner'' launched with a proto-

alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by inten ...

called ''Webrunner: The Hidden Agenda'', which cast players as hackers against the evil Futukora corporation. Players broke through seven puzzle-themed "gates" to get the secret data ("agenda"). The popular game was the first online game tied into a product release, making the front page of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' technology section. A sequel, ''Webrunner II: The Forbidden Code'', followed on release of the ''Proteus'' expansion. In this, players were cast as security chiefs beset by hackers.

Online gameplay

The ''Android: Netrunner'' community plays o
Jinteki.net
a free and open source web platform with rule implementation. ''Netrunner'' was playable online through CCG Workshop in the past, but it was shut down by Wizards of the Coast. It is now possible to play ''Netrunner'' online usin
Magic Workstation
o
Runners' Net
a site which also holds IRC chats and forums to discuss the game. Players may also use other CCG engines such as

LackeyCCG LackeyCCG is a computer program used to play virtually any collectible card game (CCG) against online opponents or for building and testing of CCG decks offline in a solitaire mode. It also allows for the searching of cards within each CCG. La ...

or Gccg, which allows players to build and share

plugins Plug-in, plug in or plugin may refer to: * Plug-in (computing) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. ** Audio plug-in, adds audio signal processing features ** Photoshop plugin, a piece of software t ...

for different card games and play the games online. This game can now be played on the OCTGN online game system.

Product ownership

Zvi Mowshowitz Zvi Mowshowitz is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player who also held a developer intern position at Wizards of the Coast Magic R&D. He is known for having created innovative and sometimes game-breaking decks TurboZvi and My Fires. H ...

, a well-known '' Magic: The Gathering'' Pro Tour player, attempted to purchase the license for ''Netrunner'' from

after the company stopped producing the game. Negotiations, however, fell apart without any revival of the game or transfer of ownership. In 2012,

announced that they were releasing a modified version of ''Netrunner'', under license from Wizards of the Coast, called '' Android: Netrunner''. In 2018, Fantasy Flight Games announced that their partnership with Wizards of the Coast to license development of the game was concluding. Starting October 22, 2018, Fantasy Flight no longer sells ''Netrunner'' products. In August and September 2021, Wizards of the Coast renewed trademarks for both physical and digital ''Netrunner'' goods and content. However, as of February 23, 2022, Wizards of the Coast filed a Notice of Abandonment for the trademark application.

Reception

Andy Butcher reviewed ''Netrunner'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 9 out of 10 overall. Butcher comments that "''Netrunner'' is almost without fault. It's certainly the best new card game in the last year, and arguably the best since ''Magic'' started it all. Richard Garfield has done it again." ''Netrunner'' was lauded by critics, such as ''

InQuest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a co ...

'' magazine, for its balanced game play and impressive artwork. In 1999 ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrila ...

'' magazine named ''Netrunner'' as one of "The Millennium's Most Underrated Games". According to editor

Scott Haring Scott D. Haring is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Scott Haring began working in the adventure gaming industry in 1982. Haring had a long career with Steve Jackson Games, having worked at the company five d ...

, "among the connoisseurs of the card game design art, ''Netrunner'' is considered to be one of the best-designed games ever."

References

External links

Top Runners' Conference
- The Official ''Netrunner'' Player Organization

- Online magazine
The Short Circuit

Runners' Net
- Play ''NetRunner'' online with MWS and discuss about the game. *
Fantasy Flight Games (Android: Netrunner The Card Game)
- Android: Netrunner Official Website