Netrunner

A 1996 cyberpunk card duel where one player builds secret servers and the other hacks in to steal their Agendas.

Designer: Richard Garfield
Published by: Wizards of the Coast

Two very different players, one cyberpunk showdown. One of you is the Corp, building servers out of facedown cards and guarding secret Agendas behind layers of defenses. The other is the Runner, a hacker who spends turns breaking into those servers to steal what is inside. The Corp wins by completing Agendas, the Runner by liberating them. Both sides juggle a handful of actions per turn plus a pool of bits that vanish once spent, so every turn is a small budget puzzle. The twist is that the Runner physically moves across the table as the Corp's cards go down, a bit like capture the flag with bluffing built in. This is the 1996 original by Richard Garfield, not the later Android: Netrunner relaunch, and you build your own deck.

Corp versus Runner, two entirely different sidesThe Runner physically moves through the Corp's serversActions and bits to budget every single turn

Who it's for

You and one opponent like bluffing duels and deckbuilding from a collection, and you want something Magic-adjacent where the two sides do not mirror each other.

Not for you if…

You want a self-contained game in one box with no collecting, or a casual game that needs no preparation. This one rewards knowing your deck.

Vibe's take

Tense and asymmetric. The Corp bluffs, the Runner gambles, and each turn is a tight budget of actions and bits. Half the fun is guessing what hides behind a facedown card.