// KOTAKU — GAMING
The Cyberpunk TCG That Crowdfunded More Than $7.5 Million In Just A Couple Of Hours Is A Blast To Play
CD Projekt RedCyberpunk 2077Cyberpunk TCGTCGweirdco
TCGs (Trading Card Games) can be a dime a dozen and it’s not uncommon for a game to come out and have its popularity die out immediately. Although it’s still unreleased, the Cyberpunk 2077 TCG, developed by WeirdCo and based on the game of the same name, looks like it might be here to stay. I’m not saying that only because it was one of the fastest-backed Kickstarter campaigns, but because I got a hands-on preview of the upcoming game. From what I played, I was immediately drawn into what it has to offer.
With so many different card games on the market, why did CD Projekt Red decide that now was a good time to release a TCG? The short answer was the team’s success with Gwent.
“We’ve always had more ambition when it comes to card games because we love them at CDPR. We have a lot of TCG fans within the studio,” Pawel Burza, senior communication manager at CD Projekt Red, tells me.
The game is rather quick: a standard deck has 40 to 50 cards, no more than three copies of any single card, and a maximum hand size of six cards, with you going against one other opponent. That said, it does take some inspiration from other TCGs like Magic: The Gathering; it has its own version of Commanders that are called Legends, and instead of having one, you have three.
At the start of the game, you put your Legends face down in their own zone and roll a die. The game uses one D4, one D8, one D10, one D12, and one D20. What’s unique about this game is that a large part of the mechanics are built around rolling dice, and oftentimes it doesn’t matter if you roll high or low.
The second a die is rolled, the clock starts ticking. The second you reach round seven, the game concludes unless you reach sudden death. In that case, it’ll end at round eight.
“We’ve really tried hard to prioritize having a speedy game experience while still feeling like your skill expression is the most important part when determining who wins the game of Cyberpunk,” Richard Zapp, head of game design at WeirdCo, tells me. Burza echoed that statement, explaining that the plan also aimed to ensure that big tournaments, such as regionals, could be played as quickly as possible.
Zapp goes on to explain that this is one of the main things that set the Cyberpunk TCG apart from other games in the space. Right off the bat, players know when the game will end, and, on top of the dice (gig) system, it adds a certain chaotic flair not seen elsewhere.
The dice are also supposed to represent Night City itself. Each time one is rolled, it tells you how many gigs are available to you. At the start of the game, you’ll have three eddies (resources) that can be used to play cards. If you want more, you can sell a majority of your cards and use them to play more cards as the game goes on. So, oftentimes, it’s in your best interest to sell a card if you have two in your hand. This feature mimics the game by allowing you to sell gear you’re not using to vendors.