Objective of the Game

Welcome to the high-stakes world of **Android: Netrunner**! This is a thrilling two-player asymmetrical card game where one player takes on the role of the powerful, monolithic **Corporation**, trying to advance their secret agendas, while the other player is the cunning **Runner**, a hacker determined to expose and steal those agendas. Your ultimate goal? To be the first to accumulate **7 agenda points** in your score area! The Corporation scores points by successfully advancing and scoring their agendas, while the Runner snatches them from under the Corporation's nose. It's a constant cat-and-mouse game of deception, defense, and daring raids.

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, let's get this cyberpunk showdown ready! Here's how to set up your game:

1. First things first, decide who's playing as the **Runner** and who's the **Corporation**.
2. Each player takes their chosen **identity card** and places it faceup in front of them. This is your central hub!
3. Next, grab your corresponding deck (Runner's deck for the Runner, Corporation's deck for the Corporation).
4. Gather all the **tokens**: **credits**, **advancement**, **brain damage**, **tag**, **bad publicity**, and **generic tokens**. Put them in neat piles, forming the bank.
5. Each player takes **5 credits** from the bank. Money makes the world (and the net) go 'round!
6. Now, both players **shuffle their decks**. Be a good sport and offer your deck to your opponent for an extra shuffle – it's good netiquette!
7. Once shuffled, each player draws **5 cards** as their starting hand.
8. **Mulligan Time!** First the Corporation, then the Runner, can decide if they want a new hand. If you take a mulligan, shuffle your current hand back into your deck and draw a new 5-card hand (you *must* keep this one).
9. Finally, place your shuffled deck facedown in your designated play area.
10. The **Corporation always takes the first turn**. Get ready to build your empire!

Understanding Your Play Area

Your play area is crucial for keeping track of your cards and strategies:

Corporation Play Area

• Central Servers: You have three main servers, each with a **root** for upgrades.
  • Headquarters (HQ): This is your hand of cards. Cards here are inactive. You start with a maximum hand size of 5. Your identity card represents HQ for installation purposes.
  • Research and Development (R&D): Your draw deck, kept facedown. Cards here are inactive.
  • Archives: Your discard pile. Cards trashed or discarded go here. Some enter faceup, some facedown (facedown cards are horizontal so the Runner can see them). You can look at faceup cards anytime, but only the Corporation can look at facedown cards.
• Root: The area below a central server where **upgrades** are installed.
• Remote Servers: You start with none, but you'll create them by installing cards. These can hold agendas, assets, or upgrades. There's no limit to how many you can have!
• Ice: These are your defenses, installed horizontally in front of servers to protect them. They can be **rezzed** (faceup/active) or **unrezzed** (facedown/inactive).
• Score Area: Where you place your scored agendas.
• Click Tracker: Keep an eye on your actions!

Runner Play Area

• Grip: Your hand of cards. You start with a maximum hand size of 5. Cards here are inactive.
• Stack: Your draw deck, kept facedown. Cards here are inactive.
• Heap: Your discard pile. Cards trashed or discarded go here, faceup and inactive. Both players can look through it, but maintain the order.
• Rig: This is where you install your cards, separated into three rows: **programs**, **hardware**, and **resources**. Cards in your rig are active.
• Score Area: Where you place stolen agendas.
• Click Tracker: Essential for managing your actions.

The Turn of Play

The Corporation and Runner take turns alternately, spending **clicks** to perform actions. You can only spend clicks during your own **Action phase**, and you *must* spend all of them! The Corporation starts with 3 clicks, the Runner with 4. You can perform actions multiple times and in any order, as long as you can pay for them.

Corporation Turn Sequence

1. Draw Phase: Draw 1 card from **R&D**. This doesn't cost a click! If R&D is empty, the Runner immediately wins.
2. Action Phase: Spend your 3 **clicks** to take actions.
3. Discard Phase: If your hand (HQ) exceeds your maximum hand size (usually 5), discard cards one at a time until you're at your limit. Discarded HQ cards always go to Archives facedown.

Corporation Actions (Spend 1 [click] unless otherwise noted)

• Draw 1 Card: Take the top card of R&D and add it to HQ.
• Gain 1 Credit: Take 1 credit from the bank.
• Install Cards:
  • Install a single **agenda**, **asset**, **upgrade**, or piece of **ice** from HQ. Place it facedown. You can trash existing cards in a server before installing a new one.
  • To create a **remote server**, install a card facedown in a new location.
  • Agendas and **Assets** can only be installed in remote servers (one per server).
  • Upgrades can be installed in any server (in the root for central servers). No limit on upgrades per server, but only one "region" subtype upgrade per server/root.
  • Ice protects servers. Install it in the outermost position in front of a server. The install cost for ice is equal to the number of ice already protecting that server. You can trash existing ice to reduce this cost.
• Play an Operation: Play an **operation** from your hand, pay its cost, resolve its effects, then trash it.
• Advance a Card: Spend 1 [click] and 1 [credit] to add 1 **advancement token** to an installed card. Agendas can always be advanced. Other cards only if their text allows.
• Trash a Runner's Resource: If the Runner is **tagged**, spend 1 [click] and 2 [credits] to trash one of their resources.
• Purge Virus Counters: Spend 1 [click] to remove all virus counters from play.
• Trigger Abilities: Use abilities on active cards with a [click] icon in their cost.

Runner's Turn Sequence

1. Action Phase: Spend your 4 **clicks** to take actions.
2. Discard Phase: If your hand (Grip) exceeds your maximum hand size (usually 5), discard cards one at a time until you're at your limit.

Runner's Actions (Spend 1 [click] unless otherwise noted)

• Draw 1 Card: Take the top card from your Stack and add it to your Grip.
• Gain 1 Credit: Take 1 credit from the bank.
• Install Cards: Install a single **program**, **resource**, or piece of **hardware** faceup in your rig.
  • Your **programs** have a combined **memory cost (MU)**. You start with 4 MU. If you exceed this, you must trash programs until you're within your limit.
  • You can only have one **hardware** with the "console" subtype installed.
• Play Events: Play an **event** from your hand, pay its cost, resolve its effects, then trash it.
• Remove Tags: Spend 1 [click] and 2 [credits] to remove 1 **tag**. You can repeat this.
• Make a Run: Initiate a run against one of the Corporation's servers to steal agendas and trash cards.
• Trigger Abilities: Use abilities on active cards with a [click] icon in their cost.

Making a Run: The Core of Netrunner!

This is where the Runner tries to break through the Corporation's defenses.

Phases of a Run

1. Initiation Phase:
   • Declare the server you're attacking.
   • Gain 1 **credit** for each point of **bad publicity** the Corporation has (these credits are only for this run).
   • If there's ice, proceed to Confrontation. If not, go to Access.
2. Confrontation Phase (if ice is present):
   • Approach each piece of **ice** one at a time, starting with the outermost.
   • Before approaching each ice, decide to **continue** or **jack out** (end the run unsuccessfully). You cannot jack out when approaching the *first* piece of ice.
   • If you continue, the Corporation can **rez** the approached ice (by paying its rez cost) and any other non-ice cards. The Corporation can *only* rez ice when it's approached.
   • If the ice is rezzed, you **encounter** it. If not, you pass it.
   • When encountering rezzed ice, you can use your **icebreakers** to **break subroutines** (abilities on the ice). Unbroken subroutines trigger. A subroutine that says "end the run" ends it immediately.
   • After breaking subroutines or resolving unbroken ones without ending the run, you pass the ice. Continue to the next ice or, if all ice is passed, go to the Access Phase.
3. Access Phase:
   • You have one final chance to **jack out**.
   • If you continue, the Corporation has one final chance to **rez** cards.
   • The run is now successful! Access cards based on the server type:
     • R&D: Access the top card and any upgrades in its root.
     • HQ: Access 1 random card and any upgrades in its root.
     • Archives: Turn all cards and upgrades in its root faceup, then access them. Steal all agendas.
     • Remote Server: Access all cards in the server (not installed ice).
   • If you access an **agenda**, you *must* steal it, placing it in your score area.
   • If you access a card with a **trash cost**, you may pay credits to trash it.
   • Access cards one at a time. After accessing all required cards, return any not stolen or trashed to their original states. The run ends.

Traces and Tags

• Traces: The Corporation initiates a trace (Trace X). The Corporation spends credits to increase their trace strength. The Runner spends credits to increase their link strength (base link + spent credits). If trace strength > link strength, the trace is successful.
• Tags: If the Runner has at least 1 **tag**, they are considered tagged. While tagged, the Corporation can trash the Runner's resources (1 [click], 2 [credits]). The Runner can remove tags (1 [click], 2 [credits] per tag).

Damage

The Runner can take three types of damage:

• Meat damage & Net damage: Randomly trash 1 card from your Grip for each point of damage.
• Brain damage: Randomly trash 1 card from your Grip for each point of damage, AND your maximum hand size is permanently reduced by 1. Take a **brain damage token** to track this.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately when any of these conditions are met:

• A player has **7 agenda points** in their score area. That player wins!
• The Corporation attempts to draw a card from an empty **R&D**. The Runner immediately wins!
• The Runner takes more damage than cards in their Grip, or their maximum hand size falls below 0 at the end of their turn. The Runner is **flatlined**, and the Corporation wins!

Tips for Winning

Ready to dive into the net? Here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. Corporation: Prioritize Early Defense on HQ and R&D! These are your most vulnerable central servers, representing your hand and your future draws. Protecting them with some early **ice** can buy you crucial time to develop your remote servers and advance agendas without constant Runner interference. Don't leave your secrets exposed!
2. Runner: Scout Before You Commit! Don't just run blindly into servers. Use your actions to **draw cards** and **gain credits** to build up your rig, especially your **icebreakers**. A well-equipped Runner can break through most early ice, but a reckless one will quickly find themselves out of credits or flatlined. Sometimes, waiting for the right moment and the right tools is more effective than an immediate, desperate run.
3. Both Players: Manage Your Credits Wisely! Credits are your lifeblood. For the Corporation, they pay for rezzing ice, installing cards, and advancing agendas. For the Runner, they fuel icebreaker abilities, installing programs, and removing tags. Always think a few turns ahead about your credit economy. Running out of money at a critical moment can be the difference between victory and defeat.