Android: Netrunner - A Study in Static Card Spoilers

The next Netrunner Data Pack, A Study in Static,  is due out this week, but the cards have been leaked on Board Game Geek. This appear to be legit.

Check out this post for the pictures of all the cards (scroll down a bit).

A easier way to view the Study in Static cards at CardGameDB.

First Deluxe Expansion for Android: Netrunner

Update: More Card Spoilers in this thread.

The first expansion for Android: Netrunner was just announced in this Press Release from the Fantasy Flight website.

Called Creation and Control, this expansion adds three new Shaper and HB identities, such as this one for  HB:

Custom Biotics and the Effects of Influence

Would your business plan benefit from extra influence with outside corporations? Haas-Bioroid’s Custom Biotics division believes that influence is the key to success. More open to the exchange of corporate data than other Haas-Bioroid divisions, Custom Biotics leverages its influence within the industry to gain access to the most powerful and efficient ice, upgrades, assets, and operations developed or implemented by NBN or The Weyland Corporation. However, the division’s work in fields that approach Jinteki’s areas of expertise have led to a tense rivalry, and the two are not currently exchanging data or ideas.

And "Kit", a new Shaper identity:

Rielle “Kit” Peddler, the Puzzle-Solver

Each piece of ice is built differently, but most fall into one of three archetypes: sentry, barrier, or code gate. Accordingly, runners learn how each of these strings of code tend to function and develop proper counter measures. Sentries are the most aggressive of ice, and runners typically develop icebreakers that permit them to slip past the sentries or “kill” them. Barriers stand between runners and their goals and must be broken or “jumped.” Finally, code gates work like miniature puzzles. They modify a runner’s approach toward a server, and unless a runner can “solve” the puzzle, the run is wrested away from the runner’s control. But what if you could see the underlying puzzle in any piece of code? Then, like Rielle “Kit” Peddler, you might be able to use fewer tools to successfully navigate corporate servers, thus limiting the amount of time spent building your rig and increasing the amount of time you spend running.

The expansion is to contain 55 new cards with three copies of each for a total of 165 cards.

In addition to the identities, that leaves 49 other new cards, twenty-seven of which will be neutral. Interesting additions to an excellent game.

Release date: Q2 2013

New Upgrade for HB from Creation and Control

New Shaper Program from Creation and Control

Noobs and Noob Play - Session Report - Android: Netrunner

This session report is for two games played on 26 Feb 2013. Both players were new to the game and these are the first games using our own built decks and with a proper understanding of the rules. Each player has only one Core set and we each took a turn playing the Corp and the Runner.

First game: Kate vs NBN (Me)
Second game: Noise (Me) vs Weyland

I will describe the second game first as it was a bit of a blowout, while the first game was very close and could have gone either way a few times. At the end of this session report, I will also put out some lesson I learned so that you, gentle reader, will not make the same mistakes.

Session Report - BSG Exodus - Aborted 7 Player Game

This 7 player game was played on 16 February 2013. From the Pegasus Expansion we used Pegasus but did not use New Caprica. From the Exodus Expansion, we used the Conflicted Loyalties and the Cylon Pursuit board, but not the Ionian Nebula. We played without a Cylon Sympathizer.

The players, in turn order:

Baltar (President)- Nate
Anders (CAG) - Kyle
Helo - Cody
Cally - Dimetrios
Leoben (Cylon) - Tim
Dee - Mike
Tigh (Admiral) - Me

Just as in the show, I am one of the Final Five. Finding this out will result in the other player being executed. 

Android: Netrunner

I recently decided to get into the card game Android: Netrunner. Card games are popular at my FLGS, with Magic: The Gathering being the obvious choice. Anyone familiar with the collectible card game scene will know that M:TG is so popular that it has laid waste to all the other collectible card games, some with very popular IP's, that have tried to compete with it. For those not in the know, if you want to play some type of collectible or limited card game, if it is not Magic, it might be difficult to find other players. 

While I do play some Magic, (I have to, it is so popular) I don't like the way collectible card games are designed to milk the customer. Constant releases of cards, new decks every 3-4 months and the random nature of what cards you get make it more of a pay to win type of game.

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #14

With 5 days to go, the Hegemonic Kickstarter has reached its $55k stretch goal.

If you enjoy 4x Space Board Games and want to be one of the first to play this game, head over to their Kickstarter page and make a pledge.

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #12

With nine days to go, Hegemonic Kickstarter has hit the $50k+ mark. This means that the Arbiter button will now be included. This is the first of the exclusive goals.

For me, the most important stretch goal was the $45k one, which is the layered board that prevents the movement of tokens on the player board. This is a big pain in Eclipse, so that goal is appreciated.

The next goal I am eager to see met is the Fringe Houses goal. this should add additional character to the game. This goal is met at $55k, and should be met quite easily.

The next goal I want to see is the locking hexes (you can tell, I don't like pieces to move). This is the $100k and the final goal. I don't think this is likely to be met in 9 days.

If you like 4x space board games, go give the Hegemonic Kickstarter a look. Except if you are in my game group. I am hoping for this to be another one of my "great finds".

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #7

Here is the latest update from one of the games I am supporting on Kickstarter.

Yippy! We've made our next stretch goal of player aids added to the game! Thanks for the support. Now we need to push for the VERY important double-layered player boards to keep those damn tokens from sliding all over the place by mistake.

We're still waiting on the review videos but that should give this campaign a kick.

We are still projecting meeting at least 50K and maybe hitting plastic at 80K if everyone helps with the push.

While player aids are nice, I really hope they meet the $45K goal. I think the layered board is going to be the most handy stretch goal (although the plastic pieces and the locking board are also pretty neat).

If you are interested in Kickstarting Hegemonic there are only 18 days left.

Another Kickstarter - Battle for Souls

Here is another Kickstarter project I have been considering throwing my support behind: Battle for Souls.

It looks interesting and there are some game mechanics that I find interesting for my own projects.

Using Kickstarter

Lately I have been looking into Kickstarter. I am thinking about using it for a project I am working on, so I thought I would check it out first. 

I decided to support a few projects, both of which are board games. Games are one of my areas of interest and the subject of this blog, so it would be natural for me to look in that area. I did not find anything in the area of video games I was willing to support. 

The two boardgames I am supporting both look very complete and are, I think, a  safe bet to be published. I am a little more cautious about video games. Even a well known video game studio, at the peak of its popularity and with all the money in the world, can screw up a great franchise at the last minute (I am looking at you Bioware and Mass Effect 3). So I will be very cautious about supporting video games.

I will update the projects I am supporting on an irregular basis.

One is already completed but there is still time to support the other:

Tomorrow: an apocalyptic nightmare

Hegemonic

Check them out.

Session Report - Eclipse: Rise of the Ancients - First Play with Expansion

This 7 player game of Eclipse: Rise of the Ancients was played on 12 January 2013 and was our first play with the expansion, although every player had at least one game with the original. We used the simultaneous turn order and added a house rule of extending the game by one turn, making a total of ten turns. The players were:

Planta – Green

Orion – Black
Mech – White
Rho Indi Syndicate – Gray
Yellow – Draco
Eridani – Red
Exiles – Purple (Me)

The guy who bought the expansion originally put it on layaway last week because his wife said their budget could not afford it so soon after Christmas. As I predicted, he couldn't wait and took the hit with his wife, probably taking the money out of the kid's college fund or some other equally unimportant area, in order that we could enjoy this game. Needless to say, most of us were keen to give it a try.

We set up the board using the 9 player third ring, placing 2 of the new ancients to fill in the gaps of the two missing players. Starting with Planta and going clockwise around the board, the player order was as follows: Planta, Orion, Mech, Rho Indi, Exiles, Draco, Eridani.

Thunderstone Impressions – After one play

I had the opportunity to give Thunderstone a try the other day. Thunderstone is a deck building game similar in play to the most well known deck building game, Dominion. There is the similar game mechanic of buying cards and building your deck. Thunderstone is difference in that it has a fantasy theme, where players use their cards and heroes to go down into the dungeon and kill various monsters. Each monster is worth a certain number of points and the player with the most points when the Thunderstone is revealed is the winner. The artwork is good and the components of suitable quality, similar to Dominion.

A Few Good Boardgame Links

Here are a few interesting links all related to boardgames:

3 Player Eclipse Session Report - A nice report with pictures.

6 Player Battlestar Galactica Session Report from Japan

Tomorrow: An Apocalyptic Nightmare - A Kickstarter board game project

Moral Conflict 1941 - What Axis and Allies should have been?

Session Report - BSG Exodus - I Make A Big Mistake

This 6 player game was played on 1 September 2012. From the Pegasus Expansion we used Pegasus but did not use New Caprica. From the Exodus Expansion, we used the Conflicted Loyalties and the Cylon Pursuit board, but not the Ionian Nebula. We played without a Cylon Sympathizer.

The players, in turn order:

Cally - Mat

Tigh - Garrett

Baltar (President) - Justin

Tory - Me

Cain (Admiral) – Brendan

Boomer (CAG) - Charlie

I am not a Cylon.

Another game with a few new players. Perhaps an easy game for us humans to identify the Cylons since we have 2 of 6 players having an extra chance to be a Cylon.

Eclipse Impressions - Updated

I am a fan of science fiction and have been looking for a good sci-fi themed, conquer the galaxy board game for some time. The obvious first choice was Twilight Imperium (3rd edition). Typical game length for TI is 1+ hour per player. In our first game of TI it took us three hours to get through 3 turns. Getting the time and the players together for such a long game was a chore. Twilight Imperium is not a cheap game, so I held off purchasing it as I really wanted to be sure it was something I would get a lot of use out of before I bought it.

Then last year along came Eclipse. I missed the first order (they ran out of copies) and had to wait for the second printing which came out around May, to get my copy. Although approximately the same price as TI, the reviews for Eclipse were very good and it maintains a high rating on Board Game Geek. The group I regularly game with has been running a Warhammer tournament for the last few months, but last week I finally got a chance to try out a short 2 player game. We did a test game, reading the rules as we played, getting a feel for the game before introducing it to a full 6 players.

Session Report - BSG Exodus - Party in Sickbay with Anders

This 7 player game was played on 3 March 2012. From the Pegasus Expansion we used Pegasus and had one Cylon Leader but did not use New Caprica. From the Exodus Expansion, we used the Conflicted Loyalties and the Cylon Pursuit board, but not the Ionian Nebula. We played without a Cylon Sympathizer.

The players, in turn order:

Cain (Admiral) – Jeff

Starbuck (CAG) – Brandon (again)

Tori (President) – Matt

Cally – Geoff

Anders – Me

Tigh – George

Six (Cylon Leader) – Will

I am not a Cylon.

This is the first game I have played a pilot. I am really looking forward to getting out there and blasting some Cylons. Brandon, who always plays Starbuck, seems to get a kick out of blasting them, so I am keen to give it a try.

Settlers of Catan - Impressions

When I first got back into board gaming, over a year ago, this was one of the first games I bought. Love it or hate it, Catan is one of the most well known board games of recent memory. I would even argue that Catan revived mainstream board gaming in the late 1990's and early 2000's similar to Trivial Pursuit in the 1980's.

That said, I was disappointed. I bought the game without trying it, and found it one dimensional. I like my games a bit more complicated, and Catan seemed too dependant on lucky die rolls.

However, yesterday at our FLGS gaming day, I got roped into trying it again, but this time with the Seafarers and the Cities & Knights expansions. I was pleasantly surprised.

Session Report - BSG Pegasus - Despair and Executions in Deep Space

This 7 player game was played on 25 February 2012. We used New Caprica and Pegasus, with one Cylon Leader and no sympathizer.

In turn order

Admiral Adama (Admiral)– Fiona

Caprica Six – Matt

Tom Zarek (President) – Me

Saul Tigh – Glenn

Chief Tyrol – Garrett (BSG Virgin)

Apollo – Will

Helo – Jonroy

Choices for characters were a bit questionable. We had 3 military leaders with only one of each other type. Adama offered to switch to a pilot. She chose first, so she should be the last person to have to change. We let it go. The humans may regret it.

I am not a Cylon

Adama plays first. With Cylon ships on the board, Adama elects to go to the research lab to draw cards. I immediately suspect him of being a Cylon. His crisis is Build Cylon Detector and Adama decides to give up a nuke. Neither choice is good, but as this is not Exodus, there is no opportunity to get back nukes, so this may be another indicator of Cylonhood. Not a good start. Caprica Six is next, and I am quite curious to see what she will do. Knowing the player, I figure Six will indicate if she is for us or against us right off the bat. If she tries to infiltrate and claims she is for the humans, she is either has human win conditions or is sneaky. If she stays with the Cylon fleet, she is likely against the humans. She stays with the Cylon fleet and draws a crisis card, Food Shortage. I choose to lose 1 food and skill cards.

Session Report - BSG Exodus Expansion - Fate Favours the Cylons

This game was played on Saturday, 4 February 2012. This was our first game using the Exodus Expansion. We used all the Pegasus rules except New Caprica, and used the Exodus final five cards (no personal goals) and the Cylon Basestar board (no Ionian Nebula). Six players were present, most having experience with the game. 

Cally - Matt

Dee- Mike

Boomer - Charles (BSG Virgin)

Baltar - Nate

Starbuck - Brandon

Gaeta - Me

I am not a Cylon.

We are pretty keen to give Exodus a try. Most of us have about 10 plays of BSG but it has been off our game radar for a few session (due to fatigue). We stick with only a few rules from Exodus for our first game.

Nate is Baltar (again) and I inwardly groan. He has never been a Cylon in any game he has played (statistically unlikely for a guy who plays Baltar a lot) but he tends to make wild, unfounded accusations, making me think he is a Cylon trying to sow paranoia. It can be dangerous for him to be president. However, the games are always interesting.

My Strugggle with Twilight Struggle

Long long ago, back before the weight of the world crushed my spirit, I was an avid gamer. Back before BGG, before Magic, before the Internet, I played games regularly. But my gaming group grew up, went off to school and work, got married and had kids. I had given up on gaming, until about a year ago when I dusted off a game of Junta, got together a group and had a great time. I decided I would get back into gaming. I found a group starting up near my house, found BGG and reconnected with my hobby.

I spent a lot of time surfing BGG and marveling at the many new and innovative games. We had been limited to the Gamemaster Series and various role playing games. Since my golden years in the 1980's, there has been an explosion of new games.

I decided I would jump right back in, and after much research, I purchased Twilight Struggle. I am a bit of a Cold War buff, so the theme appealed to me, and the two player aspect of it might enable the wife and I to play.

I bought it from a local store and quickly opened it up, surprised at the high quality of the components (remember, I grew up on typical 1980's quality). I could not wait to give it a try and dove into the rule book.