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The Rival Networks

The Rival Networks

2021·Gil Hova

2 players
30 - 45 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

From BoardGameGeek

The Rival Networks is a standalone two-player version of The Networks. Much of the original's gameplay is preserved, but streamlined so that it plays in 30-45 minutes. You and your opponent each have a display of 3 Timeslots, and at the start of the game, they show your starting 3 (terrible) Shows. There is also a Goal Card showing for the current Season, with 3 Goals available to hit (like winning a particular Timeslot, or having more Stars on your Shows than your opponent). On your turn, you will pick one new Show from a display of 3, and use it to replace one of your existing Shows, which moves to your Reruns. You'll score Ratings Points for the new Show, scoring higher ratings if you put the show in its correct timeslot. Next, you select one Star and one Ad from their corresponding display. Stars and Ads are displayed as pairs, so when you take one, you must take its matching pair. These go into your Green Room. Then, you may attach as many Stars as you want onto a single Show (usually the Show you got this turn, but not always), as long as the Star has an icon matching the Genre of the Show. Stars add to your Show's Ratings. You'll track Ratings for each of the three Timeslots independently. There are various points on each Ratings track with Viewer icons (usually between 3-5 Ratings Points). Every time you pass one of these Viewer icons, you'll score a Viewer by placing a chip into your secret bank. Ads are worth money depending on various situations - usually whether you're leading at a given Timeslot. You'll pay the Ads in order to buy Network Cards (which are now marked with costs). Network Cards are one-time use power cards, similar to the Network Cards in the original game. If you ever get at least 3 Shows of the same Genre between your Lineup and your Reruns, you'll score a Genre Bonus. Genre Bonuses are different for each Genre, but usually get you Stars or Ratings Points. The deck of Shows has one Genre of each Show per Season. Once these are all out, you'll see an "End of Season" card. A player may take this card on their turn to trigger the end of the Season when their turn is over. They won't get a Show, but they'll still get a full turn otherwise (taking a Star and an Ad, placing Stars on Shows, and buying Network Cards with Ads). At the end of a Season, the player leading in more Timeslots scores 1 Viewer for each Timeslot they're leading in; the other player draws 1 random Star. Then you'll look at the current season's Goals. The winner of each Goal gets Viewers or Stars depending on the goal. The game ends after 3 Seasons. The player with more cards in their Green Room scores 1 Viewer. Then, the player with the most Viewers wins.

The Rival Networks

Watch first

Learn to play

Snapshot - The Rival Networks10:27

Snapshot - The Rival Networks

The Tabletop Misfits

The Tabletop Misfits

Watch it played

Table Time - The Rival Networks58:38

Table Time - The Rival Networks

The Tabletop Misfits

The Tabletop Misfits

Which video should I watch for The Rival Networks?

The Rival Networks has 3 videos from 2 creators: 1 how-to-play guide, 1 playthrough and 1 unboxing. They date from 2022 to August 2023.

To learn the rules, start with "Snapshot - The Rival Networks" by The Tabletop Misfits, which runs 10 min.

To see it played, watch "Table Time - The Rival Networks" by The Tabletop Misfits.

If you like it, try Wordsy, The Networks: Primetime, The Networks: Megacorp and The Networks: On the Air, also by Gil Hova.

All videos

Inside…The Rival Networks (4K60fps)Unboxing18:49

Inside…The Rival Networks (4K60fps)

Table Talks

Table Talks

Table Time - The Rival NetworksPlaythrough58:38

Table Time - The Rival Networks

The Tabletop Misfits

The Tabletop Misfits

Snapshot - The Rival NetworksHow to play10:27

Snapshot - The Rival Networks

The Tabletop Misfits

The Tabletop Misfits

Creators who cover this

All channels
The Tabletop Misfits
The Tabletop Misfits
2 videos of this game
Table Talks
Table Talks
1 video of this game

Games like this

All games

Wordsy

2017·Gil Hova

Videos
13
Creators
11
Mostly reviews and playthroughs

1 - 6 players·20 min·Light weight

The Networks: Primetime

2016·Gil Hova

Videos
11
Creators
9
Mainly reviews

1 - 5 players·60 - 90 min·Medium weight

The Networks: Megacorp

2025·Gil Hova

Videos
2
Creators
2
Mainly reviews

1 - 5 players·0 min

The Networks: On the Air

2016·Gil Hova

Videos
2
Creators
2
Reviews and unboxings

1 - 5 players·45 - 90 min·Medium weight

About The Rival Networks

From BoardGameGeek:

The Rival Networks is a standalone two-player version of The Networks. Much of the original's gameplay is preserved, but streamlined so that it plays in 30-45 minutes. You and your opponent each have a display of 3 Timeslots, and at the start of the game, they show your starting 3 (terrible) Shows. There is also a Goal Card showing for the current Season, with 3 Goals available to hit (like winning a particular Timeslot, or having more Stars on your Shows than your opponent). On your turn, you will pick one new Show from a display of 3, and use it to replace one of your existing Shows, which moves to your Reruns. You'll score Ratings Points for the new Show, scoring higher ratings if you put the show in its correct timeslot. Next, you select one Star and one Ad from their corresponding display. Stars and Ads are displayed as pairs, so when you take one, you must take its matching pair. These go into your Green Room. Then, you may attach as many Stars as you want onto a single Show (usually the Show you got this turn, but not always), as long as the Star has an icon matching the Genre of the Show. Stars add to your Show's Ratings. You'll track Ratings for each of the three Timeslots independently. There are various points on each Ratings track with Viewer icons (usually between 3-5 Ratings Points). Every time you pass one of these Viewer icons, you'll score a Viewer by placing a chip into your secret bank. Ads are worth money depending on various situations - usually whether you're leading at a given Timeslot. You'll pay the Ads in order to buy Network Cards (which are now marked with costs). Network Cards are one-time use power cards, similar to the Network Cards in the original game. If you ever get at least 3 Shows of the same Genre between your Lineup and your Reruns, you'll score a Genre Bonus. Genre Bonuses are different for each Genre, but usually get you Stars or Ratings Points. The deck of Shows has one Genre of each Show per Season. Once these are all out, you'll see an "End of Season" card. A player may take this card on their turn to trigger the end of the Season when their turn is over. They won't get a Show, but they'll still get a full turn otherwise (taking a Star and an Ad, placing Stars on Shows, and buying Network Cards with Ads). At the end of a Season, the player leading in more Timeslots scores 1 Viewer for each Timeslot they're leading in; the other player draws 1 random Star. Then you'll look at the current season's Goals. The winner of each Goal gets Viewers or Stars depending on the goal. The game ends after 3 Seasons. The player with more cards in their Green Room scores 1 Viewer. Then, the player with the most Viewers wins.

Designer

Gil Hova

Artists

Heiko Günther, Travis Kinchy

Publisher

Formal Ferret Games

Categories

Card GameEconomicMovies & TV

Mechanics

Area Majority / InfluenceDraftingSet Collection
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