On the Cyberpunk Rails of the Network with Metrorunner
Ride around Mirror City to complete jobs and hack into the network within the neon cyberpunk world of Metrorunner.
Time to dive into the network and have a little fun seeing the city sights amidst lots of intriguing work! I had a new delivery recently, and Metrorunner literally ran to my solo table! The components looked awesome and I figured the solo opponent wasn’t going to be too kind about my constant hacking… Over to Mirror City to ride the Metro rails!
Game Overview
Game Name: Metrorunner
Publication Year: 2024
Designer: Stephen Kerr
Artist: Ignacio Bazán Lazcano
Publisher: Thunderworks Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Traveling from district to district, a character chooses actions centered around completing jobs and hacking the network. Each provide benefits, but balancing influence and notoriety is vital to becoming an expert. With a cool puzzle at its center, gameplay definitely feels thematic!
First Play
July 12, 2024
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 18, 2024
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
81
Game Area
40" x 24"
Low Score
29
By the Waterfront
Setup didn’t take too long, and I liked the combination of characters and home districts. Leviathan was my random starting choice, conveniently hailing from the waterfront.
I enjoyed the thematic elements throughout. My only gripe was how the cubes didn’t have names that tied them to the world. A little flavor text would have been awesome!
With that aside, it was easy to move through the rules, though I forgot where to find some information at times.
My journey as a runner was about to begin, and I had high hopes for being influential and notorious! So I hoped. Ha!
Metallic PANOP Tiles
The included components are great, but I opted for the metallic PANOP tiles. These are so cool! Even better: They glow in the dark for the ultimate coolness factor!
Hacking is a central element of gameplay, and this puzzle is situated in the middle of the board. Different entry and exit points must be achieved to gain the best bonuses.
Manipulating tiles might seem easy at first, but this is the perfect selection where not everything is possible.
Of course, unlocking the ability to complete more paths on a single card helps a lot… But what a fun little puzzle!
Hacker Heroes
Yeah, that’s right. In my world of hacking, there are literal ninjas that jump into the coding sequence and have some fun causing trouble. Enter these adorable Calico Critters!
Hacking requires tiny ninja outfits or hoodies that make you the talk of the town. I hired the right hackers. Ha ha!
Being able to see the pathways when hacking takes some practice, especially with the unique ability granted to a character. It’s often hard to do well with just a few moves.
I only had to reverse a move once or twice when I saw a better option… Thank goodness I mostly play solo!
Choosing Jobs to Take
Completing jobs for the right resources is another major piece of gameplay. A lot of these have ongoing effects, or award lots of victory points at the end of the game.
There are contracts to fulfill, which are tied to the job colors and completing them in the same player board slot.
Not all of the jobs are particularly benevolent, which might not matter to most, yet it’s an interesting look at who a character is. What’s ethical in Mirror City?
Yet I found myself focused on the puzzle of traveling to districts, balancing jobs, and improving my hacking skills.
The Benefits of Losing Terribly the First Time
There’s a real sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming a challenge and figuring out how to navigate to a victory. I’ve learned to laugh at my worst losses! Although I’ll still feel embarrassed every now and then, I mostly laugh them off and realize that I need to make some adjustments to win. For a new game, that’s the perfect mixture!
Especially for solo modes that involve scoring tiers, I find it important to have a reason to come back. I love winning, but not when I don’t feel like I’ve earned it. In my mind, being able to score really well while getting a grasp of the rules means there isn’t anywhere for me to go… Why put in the time to learn when I can win without any effort?
To be clear, this is a game that does everything right! There are nuances to understanding the solo opponent that I won’t give away, but I need to carefully consider the pace of the game. Triggering the end game too soon was disastrous! So there is a lot more to learn here and experience, and I look forward to reporting a decent score someday!
Player Pieces and Fun
Would it have been easy to use simple character pawns? Sure. But look at this! Moving around Mirror City uses some of the neatest looking pieces I’ve seen in awhile.
It wasn’t easy to plan the best moves, though, as the solo opponent blocked off random action spots. So Leviathan had to go further, spending extra resources, or adapt.
Gameplay moved along quickly, and seemed like it would typically end after just 12-16 rounds. Get it all done!
I thought I was on the right track and doing well… Until I reached the end and started calculating my score. Ha ha!
Inefficient Running
Let’s just say that Leviathan definitely did not qualify as a runner. Maybe he would be best described as a walker, or person-of-no-movement based on my final score!
What went wrong? Ah, lots, but in a good way! One of the worst things that can happen with a new game is lucking into the highest scoring tier. It’s sort of… Done.
So for me to fall into the second lowest scoring tier, one where I was labeled a Dystopian Noob, was excellent!
I even switched up my strategies for the next play, and scored almost exactly the same. Must get better!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Expansion: Metro Runner: Dropsite Mini-Expansion
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 43 & 42 (2 Losses)
Ouch! The nice part about these low scores was the fact that I could examine my shortcomings. I gave the solo opponent a lot of opportunities by gaining notoriety too quickly… Clearly, someone was not influential. Ha ha! There is a nuanced puzzle underneath it all, even the PANOP tiles, that I’m looking forward to trying out. Here’s to hoping I can graduate from noob status. Ha ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the components are excellent quality, particularly the character pieces and optional metallic PANOP tiles.
- Plotting movement is not so simple with action spaces that are blocked, often requiring backup plans.
- Balancing influence and notoriety is the key to victory, yet this involves a lot of nuanced decisions.
- Manipulating the PANOP tiles for hacking is a lot of fun and provides a neat puzzle that constantly changes.
- The play area isn’t particularly large and everything is kept within reach with large icons that are easy to see.
- Choosing which jobs to take on and complete requires some careful strategic planning, especially with contracts.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The character backstories and lore are excellent, but the different hacking abilities don’t seem all that unique.
- Triggering the end of the game can come a little too soon with the solo opponent’s multiple double icon cards.
- Lore helps set the stage, yet the different colored cubes are noticeably missing thematic descriptions.
- A few sections of the rulebook are laid out in a way that makes it hard to remember where some rules are located.
Victory Conditions
Score 60+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 83%
Goals and Milestones
Maximize influence in at least 1 game.
Maximize notoriety in at least 1 game.
Score at least 50 points.
Score at least 80 points.
Win at least 1 game.
Complete 9 jobs in at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Metrorunner? Are there any other solo cyberpunk games you enjoy? I enjoyed this one quite a lot, despite my laughable scores. Ha! There is a lot more to it, although I still have to say that moving the PANOP tiles is my favorite element! Now to just see if I can put together a better strategy and reach a more respectable scoring tier…
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