Hi guys

My first game of Netrunner is this Thursday night with a friend who has also never played. Any recommendations on how to get the most from the game. I am very interested in the whole Android setting and cyberpunk theme. I am hoping they will release an RPG at some point. So it's very important that I can run an interesting Netrunner game night.

Steve.

I think it would be a very good idea to watch FFG's tutorial videos on how to play. There is a LOT of vocabulary. The first time I played this game (also with a friend who had never played), it took us 3 hours to get through one game, and even then we barely knew what we were doing. The rule book covers everything, but there are a lot of places to get confused if you're not focused on the details.

Such as:

1) no, you don't rez all the ICE on a server at once, it's rezzed one piece at a time, as the runner hits them - and only if the corp wants to.

2) Upgrades can go in any server, and in any number. Can only have one Asset OR one Agenda in a REMOTE server, can't put those into central servers (HQ, R&D, Archives).

3) The runner can jack out of a run - but only AFTER they finish dealing with the first piece of ICE. If the corp rezzes it, the subroutines fire unless you can break them. THEN, and only then, can you jack out if you don't want to see what's next in the server.

4) Do not try to learn this game while drunk.

5) let me repeat: do not try to learn this game while drunk.

6) Remember that an icebreaker can ONLY interface with a piece of ICE if the strengths match, or the Icebreaker's is higher. So in the case of the Wyrm program, the way that works is, first you have to raise the strength of Wrym to match, THEN you can start spending credits to lower the strength of the target ICE. We struggled with that card for a good 10 minutes.

7) Stick to the suggested Jinteki/Shaper starter decks for your first several games. Learn those cards, learn those decks, learn how things fit together, then go from there.

Don't let night one be discouraging. Things get better, faster, smoother, every time you play.

It's a great damned game. Good luck!

Watch the tutorials first and don't get too worried about the complexity of the rules. It will get easier.

Some tips from my first games and learning:

- if you are the runner. Make sure and run things. My first game as a runner, I hardly ran anything which meant we didn't practice the rules around ice encounters much . Learning the fundamental rules should be your goal.

- Don't get hung up on always trying to make the 'right' decision during your first games. It's too complex of a game to figure out the best strategy on your first play throughs and you'll end making your games seem really long and slow.

- I feel the Weyland starter may be easier to pick up initially than Jinteki. I love Jinteki but feel Weyland highlights the fundamentals better. This only my opinion. I used the Jinteki starter myself but typically use Weyland now when teaching new players.

Lastly have fun and welcome to an amazing game.

I guess my one piece of advice is really understand how a run works since it's the most important (and to beginners most confusing part of the game). I think the most common mistake new players make is thinking that they have to have an ice breaker in order to make a run and not understanding how the ice breakers are used to break ice. If you understand how running works I think the rest of the game becomes much simpler

- if you are the runner. Make sure and run things. My first game as a runner, I hardly ran anything which meant we didn't practice the rules around ice encounters much . Learning the fundamental rules should be your goal.

But do not underestimate the power of traps like Project Junebug!

For my first game, I had two advancement tokens on a Junebug. My friend--also his first game--made a run on that remote server with only three cards left in his hand, so he took four net damage. The game ended right away, after just 5 minutes of play...Whoops... Friend: Me:

We stared at the game for a moment, figuring we had missed something ; it seemed too easy of a win for me. We double-checked the rules and both learned very quickly how detrimental Junebug can be in the right circumstances. Fortunately, traps do not always end up being that bad.

Definitely an awesome game! And the deck building prevents it from getting stale, especially if you add expansion packs. It is now one of my most frequently played games.

I also have needed to remind newcomers many times....an ice subroutine does not end a run unless it says so! Just because you couldn't break all of the subroutines does not necessarily mean that the run ends. You might still make it all the way to stealing an agenda!

Many thank guy's. That was all sound advice I will watch the FFG tutorials and read over the rules again. I guess the real learning comes after a few games. I am really excited about getting to this system and have already collected the other card sets though I don't intend of opening them until I have mastered the very basics. I really hope FFG expands on the Android theme further as I think it's very interesting background.

My tips:

• rezzed cards stay rezzed.
• remember that the corp has to pay to install additional ice protecting servers.
• One "Region" upgrade per server, rezzed or unrezzed.

Oh, one more tip for the runner:

If the corp is running low on credits, try making a "fake" run (read: don't really care much if it's successful) to hopefully get the corp to spend credits to rez some ice, leaving your real target server defended by unrezzed ice that the corp can no longer rez because he or she has run out of credits!

But do not underestimate the power of traps like Project Junebug!

For my first game, I had two advancement tokens on a Junebug. My friend--also his first game--made a run on that remote server with only three cards left in his hand, so he took four net damage. The game ended right away, after just 5 minutes of play...Whoops... Friend: Me:

For sure! But I'm sure you'll never forget it. Too bad it happened in the first 5 minutes of the first game

Just don't be the opposite and finish your first game and still be almost clueless on how runs, rezing and encountering ice go b/c I made 1 run. Not learning the mechanics early on was a detriment... but all that unrezed ice looked too scary to me!

So, spr5858, how did your game go last night?

Never mind. Just saw your other post.