Manila 2076 is a card game set in an imaginary cyberpunk future, where mega-corporations rule with impunity and control the population.
Every decision is made for you, from where you live, which school you go to, to what you will do for work. Obey and survive. A small group of renegades defies them, preferring to carve out their own destiny. One of them is you.
There has been a resurgence of cyberpunk in pop culture with the release of shows like Blade Runner 2049, Altered Carbon, Ghost in the Shell, and the game Cyberpunk 2077. Most of these are set in popular sci-fi locations like Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Fred Tay, the creator of the game Manila 2076, wants to explore what it will be like if Manila is set in such a dystopian future.
We have a lot of interesting locations for a cyberpunk adventure in our own city. Imagine walking down the crowded alleys of Neo-Divisoria as you look for your black market fence, or browsing bootleg wares in the tiangge of Neo Virra Mall!
There is an abundance of stories to tell in our very own city. Fred wants to use tabletop games to bring these stories to life. He believes that with a great game and awesome artwork, players can be fully immersed in the worlds that they are playing in.
In the card game, Manila 2076, players are mercenaries going on a mission to infiltrate a Megacorp’s data centers and steal valuable data. The player who gets the most data wins.
This is a hidden bid card game for 2 to 4 players. Each round, players will be facing different threats. They must carefully strategize whether they want to go in guns a-blazing, risking their safety to get precious points. Or they can choose to be more stealthy, be a bit more safe, but get less points.
The life of a renegade is full of danger. Good thing they have a couple of tricks up their sleeves. Players have a variety of abilities that they can use to gain an advantage over their opponents.
It’s exciting to try to imagine what Manila will actually be like in the future. Will it be a utopian world of flying cars and abundant resources? Or will it be a miserable cyberpunk dystopia?
We’ll never know. But it won’t hurt to try and steer our future to a brighter one!
That is why all proceeds from this game goes to AHA Learning Center, an award-winning non profit that provides the best education to those who have the least in life. If we want a shot at a brighter future, providing quality education to our country’s youth is going to be critical.
For those interested in getting a copy, you may purchase them at Board Game Express on Facebook and Shopee.
About the designer
Fred has been designing games ever since he was introduced to Magic the Gathering back in the ’90s. After being given a starter set by his parents, he was instantly hooked.
Unfortunately, it was an expensive hobby and his grade school allowance is nowhere near enough to buy a lot of them. That’s why he just designed his own cards on index cards that he and his friends would play before and after classes!
Ever since that time, Fred always had a passion for game design. Manila 2076 is the first game that he released. It features card art by Filipino artist Borg Sinaban, the cover designer and illustrator for the Janus Silang book series. Borg also worked on the sci-fi graphic novel, Mythspace. The Manila skyline cards are designed by Kit Stark.
Fred plans to tell more stories through his games set in Manila 2076. The night is young and the renegades are on the prowl. What adventures await them next? Follow Manila2076 on Facebook to find out. You can also follow them on Instagram @manila2076thegame.