Cy-Run is now available as an experimental Webapp.
Link Below
I’ve tested this version thoroughly. Everything works as it should, but I had to make some compromises to get it to work on mobile (read on).
You can play it through a desktop PC browser, or even on mobile. I’ve added a zoom function and a magnifier lens that can be activated by holding right click, or holding your finger on the screen. The game will select whatever button your magnifier lens is currently displaying. You can now toggle the equipment on and off with a button I placed to the side of the equip card area. If you want to see the full artwork of your weapon, this comes in handy. When toggled on, you can view and scroll other weapons in your hand and magnify them with the long press lens to check values.
You can run it on Android and Iphone as an app as well. After clicking the link, wait for the game to load, then hit the “share” icon > View More > Add to home screen. There will be an icon on your phone screen that now directly loads the game without any browser bar cluttering the top. Go ahead and try it out.
Cy-Run is a cyberpunk themed, rogue-like playing card game that I created. I designed it to be accessible for anyone. You can even play it with a standard deck of playing cards. There are links below that will take you to the full rulebook, as well as all of the card designs. Beneath that, I will discuss the game, how it was inspired, and why I created it. Now take a look at the Rulebook. P.S. you can screenshot the stat tracker on the last page and use markup mode on your smartphone to tick the boxes while you play. Thanks for checking it out!
The funny thing is that I didn’t set out to create this game. As a matter of fact, had one deck of playing cards been in stock for me to buy, this game wouldn’t exist. The idea first started when I found a rogue-like playing card game named SCOUNDREL, created by Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg around the year 2011. I loved the game, but found a regular deck of cards to be boring. There were apps online and decks of physical cards that could be bought, all with a “fantasy” style element. So in the rules for Scoundrel, Spades and Clubs are enemies, which in these decks were represented by monsters, such as ogres, skeletons, wraiths, dragons, etc… and so on. The Diamonds which served as weapons were represented by progressively bigger and more ornate swords, axes, bows + arrows, as the number on the suit grew larger. And the Hearts, health items, were red potions in progressively larger bottles.
Still, I enjoyed the game for what it was, but one day I wondered why it always had to be based on “fantasy” creatures and items. I thought, “Is there a Science-Fiction version, with spaceships and beam weapons… Or a CyberPunk version, with neon weapons and robot arms, street scoundrels and cyberware?” That would be cool. Well guess what? I couldn’t find anything like that. As I searched I came across a deck of physical playing cards that looked just good enough to serve as my proxy when playing scoundrel. There were a few drawbacks though. First, there were no creatures or weapons represented on the cards. It was just a very detailed, holographic, cyberpunk themed, set of playing cards with traditional layout, numbers and suits. Sure, they were foil, the suits were different colors, and the design was great, but the second issue was that this deck was sold out without any indication of when it’d be available.
So, I thought, I’ll just make the cards myself. Yes, Cy-Run initially began as a project where I would simply create a CyberPunk themed Scoundrel Deck. I got setup on inkscape and photoshop and began making cards. For those that know, Scoundrel doesn’t use any of the face cards for weapons or health potions. You only have access to cards 2-10. Well, when I was doing all this work, my deck felt incomplete without them. So I made CyberPunk versions of the Hearts and Diamonds all the way from Jack to Ace.
That was when I started wondering to myself how I could modify Scoundrel rules to allow for the new cards I created. And then the cards started becoming more of a theme of upgrades instead of better weapons. I incorporated that into the artwork. After completing the deck and ordering physical copies of it online, I knew at that point I wouldn’t stop at just playing Scoundrel.
It only took me about a day to outline the rules, and then about a week to fine tune them (Including adding even more content). While the core of the game is Scoundrel at it’s heart, the rules and scenarios I’ve added make the game much more complex. This isn’t a “sit down and play a quick game ” type of activity. It is more like the type of game you set up and get into the theme and the characters and play for the journey that you make up as you draw and advance.
But, if you’re wondering to yourself… Yes, you can play a pretty badass game of CyberPunk Scoundrel with these cards. You just have to take some of them out of the deck. If you want to leave them all in, check out the Official Cy-Run Rulebook in the link above. Enjoy.
