Hope all is going well for you, Roger. I still haven’t played with all of the characters. So much more to explore! I started looking at all the countermeasures at the start, too. Having those act as surprises wasn’t exactly the best experience, and it’s still easy to go back to that should things seem too simple! I doubt that will ever happen to me, though. Ha!

Very good point about needing to understand the whole system. Just when I think I have viruses and data nodes down, I see what an uplink might do to change the sitation. It takes some time to learn it all, yet it’s all worth it!

I’m sad this disappeared far too soon, too. Another theme would be nice to get the system back out there, but I agree with you: This is such a unique theme that you don’t often come across, and it feels like the mechanics mesh so smoothly with the setting and lore.

Hetty’s my favourite character on aesthetic grounds, but I often don’t manage to take much advantage of her special ability.

Richard has posted some variants on his web site, and the one where all countermeasures are face-up from the start of the game is his preferred play style. Mine too.

I’d agree with Jessica’s advice – I also usually think in terms of “red circle” and “yellow square” and so on. One point of difficulty is that you really have to grasp the whole system to see how it fits together and how each individual bit is useful.

A real shame to see this leave publication with the demise (“purchase”) of VPG – the new owners said they’d bring out a new edition some day, but it may well not have the same theme, and I rather like the theme.

It definitely feels more intuitive after a few plays! For me, it came down to understanding everything rather than getting the terminology exactly right. Lots of interesting decisions to make! Best of luck when you get it to the table!

Thanks for the response! I’m hoping to get this to the table this weekend, so I will keep your thoughts and suggestions in mind. I’m sure once I have played it a couple of times it won’t feel that complicated, it just seems so looking at the rule book.

Nice find! I would suggest using terminology that makes sense to you. If you find yourself gravitating towards “red circle” or “yellow square” to describe things, that can make everything feel a little more approachable.

Definitely take a look through the included example turns and play against the RS20-Simulator SMC. Note that the tutorial should seem generally easy, yet it’s there to teach the concepts. Once you move onto another SMC, expect the difficulty to increase a lot!

Use the back of the rulebook to help keep track of the round sequence. You may need to reference the rulebook a few times, but the back cover is useful for having most information in front of you. I found that it was all about immersing myself in the iconography and rules before I grasped everything. It may take a little time, but it’s worth it if you find yourself enjoying it even just a bit! There’s a lot of content to explore and a great sort of puzzle.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! I may not be the best at winning, but I know how to play the game… Mostly. Ha ha! Good luck!