Nothing But Net
- Board's Eye View
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
For a game that on the face of it is just about getting a ball into a net, the sport of basketball has a surprising number of rules. Hafiz Printer's Nothing But Net delivers a basketball-themed card game that gives a flavour of basketball but without demanding that players have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the intricacies of the sport's labyrinthine rules.
Nothing But Net is a two-player head-to-head card game. Players always start their turn with a hand of five cards, representing the five players each team has on court during an actual basketball game. Just as the players represent either offense and defense, so too do the cards, each of which represents a different action. To score tho' you'll generally need to play a Shoot or similar card, and that will let you roll the custom twelve-sided die. You usually need to roll a '2' symbol (odds of 4/12) but certain card combos also let you score if you roll a '3' - so upping your odds to 6/12. Of course, your opponent is always trying to prevent you from scoring by countering your offense cards with their defense card.
Players have access to special 'Bag of Tricks' cards from those drafted at the start of a game. You get to add one of these when your opponent lands on or passes 3, 9 and 15 on the scoreboard. These also function as a catch-up mechanic if you fall behind by 6 points or more. Players also get to add another offense or defense card to their draw deck when their opponent hits 6, 12 and 18 points. These tweaks to your deck afford a degree of customisation and add to the excitement of gameplay. We particularly liked the fact that players are never entirely at the mercy of an unlucky draw; on your turn you can always discard two cards from your hand to roll for a '3-point shot'. This will only give you a 2/12 prospect of scoring but your opponent cannot play any cards in defense if you do succeed in rolling a '3'... Similarly, players each have a card they can use just twice per game to take a re-roll.
It may not be a basketball sports simulation but Nothing but Net is a fast fun, easy-to-play card game. You don't need to be tall to play - children can play and enjoy this game just as long as they can read the text on the cards - and you can expect to play it through (first to 21 points) in around 15-20 minutes. And a lot of thought has gone into Printer Ink Games' production of the game. The cards are good quality, with art from Leo Aquino, there are wooden basketball sneakers to mark players' scores on the scoreboard track, and the box and plastic insert are repurposed at set-up to form a dice tower for all the d12 rolls.
Nothing But Net is coming to Kickstarter on 7 October. Click here to ensure you get a notification when the campaign launches.
