Sponsored.  Shadowrun players love the setting.  It’s an alternate future fifty years from now with all the cyberpunk trappings one might expect from a dark future.  Merciless cities run by massive corporations that cast long dark shadows on the streets below.  These companies employ "shadowrunners" to advance their hidden agendas.  Shadowrunners break into secure facilities, assassinate rival executives, and hack fatally protected databases if the price is right.  These jobs are called shadowruns and they change the world in subtle ways every time they happen.

The twist of adding fantasy to this setting is what really gives Shadowrun a unique flavor.  The CEO isn’t just a rich and powerful human.  They are an ancient dragon sitting atop a virtual treasure hoard.  Many runners have modified their bodies with cool gadgets but a few sling spells with the same deadly accuracy as a cybernetic hand gun.  Deckers may be virtual ghosts but there are those who can astrally project to get into places nobody wants to see.  And who could forget monokatana wielding biker elves seeking the truth of where all this magic came from?

Shadowrun has been around since 1989, and in that time, it’s been explored through role-playing games, novels, video games, and other media.  The nature of its breaking and entering game play make it an excellent choice for a dungeon crawler board game.  Shadowrun Takedown brings this idea to life and features cooperative gameplay against the game with a twist.

Catalyst Game Labs primarily explored this world through Shadowrun: Sixth Edition, but recently announced a new way to step into this unique setting.  A second RPG, Shadowrun: Anarchy, offers a narrative-friendly system.  Shadowrun: Takedown offers a board game that focuses on the heart of every shadowrun: the heist where the colorful crew of criminals comes together to earn their illicit cash and expand their nefarious reputation.

Each mission for the game sets up a map full of traps, enemies and challenges.  The players have to choose the right characters, gear, and opportunities to overcome the opposition.  One player plays the mastermind who knows what challenges await the crew and directs the team from a place of safety.  However, if things go south, they can hop into the job and help out at a time when the rest of the criminals are worn down.  This ability comes at a price; all of the information on unexplored rooms gets discarded and from that point forward the mastermind is as blind as everyone else.

The cooperative nature of the game also leaves space for fans who want to roleplay, a chance to banter as they work on their challenges.  The game also supports campaign play as players gain better skills and better equipment after every successful job. Missions can also be played as one-night sessions with modifications to starting players for each job.  Fans can use this game to show off why they love Shadowrun to new players without getting bogged down in building characters or thinking about a campaign.

Shadowrun Takedown launches on Kickstarter on August 3.