Edinburgh to host world's biggest card game championship
The non-profit Null Signal Games is now in talks with Dovecot Studios to expand capacity to fit the legion of gamers keen to visit Scotland's capital from October 17 to 19.
Android: Netrunner was a card game produced by Fantasy Flight Games between 2012 and 2018 but their licensing agreement on the IP expired.
A group of volunteers and engaged fans took up the game's mantle and have been successfully running tournaments and releasing new content as Null Signal Games, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the continuation and management of the game.
READ MORE: John Swinney urged to put 'country before party' and join Independence Summit
Null Signal Games' organised play manager, Jeff Pruyne, said: 'This is our fourth in-person world since the pandemic, and it's on track to be the largest gathering of Netrunner players ever.
'We've been expanding the event every year, and we're excited to offer learn-to-play events on Sunday, along with support for all kinds of involvement, including cosplay, trivia and alternative formats.'
Netrunner is an asymmetrical duel where one player takes on the role of a nefarious corporation determined to advance their agenda, and one player acts as the Runner, a hacker who is trying to stop them from controlling or destroying the world.
Mike Prosser, a player from Glasgow who has been part of the community since 2015, said that the model of the game made it more accessible to him in the beginning: 'It doesn't feel like it wants to financially punish me.'
Unlike other competitive card games, Netrunner does not demand that players shell out money on randomised booster packs. Instead, it operates more like a traditional board game – players buy each set in its entirety when released, with no luck or trading required.
(Image: Null Signal Games)
Prosser continued: 'The really tight integration between the Cyberpunk themes and the game's mechanics instantly sold me on the game.'
Chris Dyer, a veteran player and former world champion, said: 'Netrunner instantly felt very refreshing and different to every other card game I'd played, which are inevitably variations on creatures beating each other up.
'By contrast, Netrunner is vividly imaginative; an asymmetrical cerebral duel where one player constructs an elaborate puzzle for the other to try to solve. The core mechanics and structure of the game are brilliantly designed, so the success or failure of both players is constantly on a knife edge, and it's the decisions that you make rather than the cards in your deck that will determine the result. It's endlessly deep, relentlessly skill-testing and incredibly strategic.
'I couldn't be more excited to go to the world championships in Edinburgh. The UK has always had a very enthusiastic group of players that have travelled all over the world to play competitive Netrunner, often with great success, so it's fitting that the most prestigious event on the calendar is finally on home soil.
'Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, and it's home to a lot of great friends that I've met through Netrunner, so I can't wait to spend a weekend catching up with them and playing my favourite card game in a city that I love to visit!'
Edinburgh-based player and former vice-president of engagement for Null Signal Games, Ed Fortune, was part of the team that brought the world championships to the UK for the first time.
'With the UK having one of the largest player bases in the world, it felt like the right time for it to be held here,' he said.
'I had previously helped organise the 2023 world championships in Barcelona, and what struck me was the importance of being able to visit such a fantastic host city.
'Hosting in a culturally significant city that is welcoming to all was really important to me. Scotland has historically been a hub of Netrunner players, with a fantastic community known for putting on great events.
'This made my adopted home city of Edinburgh the obvious choice, and the Scottish community put forward a compelling case for the world championships to be hosted here.
'Accommodation is abundant, good food is everywhere, and the city is on many people's bucket lists to visit.'
Dundee-based player and local organiser Ronan McGarry added: 'Edinburgh is well-suited for the event, a dense city that will encourage locality in the attendees. It's a great city – beautiful, friendly and accommodating. I'm really confident that all the attendees will have a great time at worlds.
'As a local organiser, I've seen the level of excitement that worlds in Scotland has generated among both newer and veteran players. Our community chats have been busy, turnout to weekly events is up and interest is at a high. It's really a joy to see so much interest in the game after so long.'
Pruyne highlighted Edinburgh's range of amenities and tourist attractions that visitors can easily walk to, adding: 'Edinburgh had a ton of ways for people to travel into the city, along with a strong local scene to help us find volunteers, venue scouts and evangelists for the city. Scotland was an obvious choice for us in terms of selecting a city we thought people from around the world would be excited to travel to.'
The tournament will be happening in Dovecot Studios, an arts and heritage site in the city centre. Pruyne said that working with an arts venue suits the organisation well: 'A big part of our community includes artists making custom card arts, game components and artwork that we're looking forward to displaying during the event,' he said.
The 2022 and 2023 world champion William Huang, who is based in Toronto, is looking forward to coming to Scotland to reclaim his crown: 'I'll definitely be coming to Scotland to try to win a third time. It's an exciting time for the game after a big rotation and I look forward to competing.
'I've never been to Scotland before but I've heard great things about the community there so I'm sure it'll be a great time.'
The event is almost sold out but players can join the waitlist for tickets at Null Signal Games' website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Scottish Colourists attract record visitors 100 years after their first exhibition
Record visitor numbers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh this year highlight the power of popular exhibitions to attract audiences, support tourism, and even raise revenue. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 2025 marks a century since the four Scottish Colourists, FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, GL Hunter, widely recognised as Scotland's most pioneering artists of the early 20th century, exhibited together as a quartet for the first time in London. Dovecot's exhibition to mark this centenary shows the Colourists enduring appeal. With building visitors pegged at over 90,000 in the past 12 months, Dovecot has increased its annual pre-pandemic footfall by over 50%*. Celia Joicey, Director of Dovecot Studios says, We are absolutely thrilled by the phenomenal response to The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives exhibition — expert curation from the Fleming Collection, has attracted new audiences and supported deeper public engagement with the Colourists' work. Creating an exhibition programme with wide appeal, which includes forthcoming exhibitions on IKEA design and 20th century fashion, is crucial to our survival as a 21st century arts organisation and we are grateful to our visitors for its success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dovecot's increased footfall is distinctive. It has been recently reported that UK galleries are suffering from a decline in visitor numbers due to Brexit, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis (I Paper, 2025; Art Plugged, 2025). By contrast, Dovecot's landmark show on The Scottish Colourists is now the most attended in the organisation's history, surpassing the highly successful Grayson Perry show in 2019. Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists Bucking a slow start to the year for many museums and galleries, with a sector report citing visitors are still 10% down on pre- pandemic numbers (Association of Cultural Enterprise and Museum & Galleries Edinburgh, 2025), the exhibition has resonated with new and local visitors. 35% of those surveyed said they were first time visitors to the gallery. Dovecot cites the quality of its public programme and curating as a factor in this success. The exhibition places the Scottish Colourists alongside their European and UK contemporaries for the first time, challenging conventions around who should be considered the leading radical painters from 1905 to the outbreak of war in 1914. The exhibition is also supported by talks, events and workshops. James Knox, Exhibition Curator and a Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, says, The critical reassessment we've undertaken in this exhibition has allowed us to show these artists in a new light, demonstrating how their work remains deeply relevant today. It's inspiring to see these iconic Scottish artists being celebrated 100 years on since their first exhibition and how this international generation of radical painters forged a new language of colour in the early 20th Century. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Knox believes the appeal of the exhibition highlights the vital importance of championing Scottish art through fresh critical reassessment. For example, for the first time the exhibition sees the Colourists work shown alongside Fauve painters Henri Matisse and André Derain. Major institutional loans include Derain's renowned Fauvist work, Pool of London, lent by Tate, key works by Bloomsbury Group innovators Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as well as major examples from Walter Sickert's more nuanced Camden Town Group. It also shows many Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists works held in private collections not seen by the public before. Thanks to the support of so many lenders, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is an opportunity to mark a key moment in the ongoing revival of Scottish art, and its relevance on a global stage. Due to the higher-than-anticipated attendance to date, Dovecot Studios have extended the exhibition by a day, until Sunday 29 June 2025, to ensure as many visitors as possible have the opportunity to see the work of the Scottish Colourists displayed alongside their better-known European contemporaries. * 58,353 Dovecot building visitors 1 June – 31 May 2019 compared with 88,774 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 (i.e. 52% increase)
Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Scottish Colourists attract record visitors 100 years after their first exhibition
Record visitor numbers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh this year highlight the power of popular exhibitions to attract audiences, support tourism, and even raise revenue. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 2025 marks a century since the four Scottish Colourists, FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, GL Hunter, widely recognised as Scotland's most pioneering artists of the early 20th century, exhibited together as a quartet for the first time in London. Dovecot's exhibition to mark this centenary shows the Colourists enduring appeal. With building visitors pegged at over 90,000 in the past 12 months, Dovecot has increased its annual pre-pandemic footfall by over 50%*. Celia Joicey, Director of Dovecot Studios says, We are absolutely thrilled by the phenomenal response to The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives exhibition — expert curation from the Fleming Collection, has attracted new audiences and supported deeper public engagement with the Colourists' work. Creating an exhibition programme with wide appeal, which includes forthcoming exhibitions on IKEA design and 20th century fashion, is crucial to our survival as a 21st century arts organisation and we are grateful to our visitors for its success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dovecot's increased footfall is distinctive. It has been recently reported that UK galleries are suffering from a decline in visitor numbers due to Brexit, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis (I Paper, 2025; Art Plugged, 2025). By contrast, Dovecot's landmark show on The Scottish Colourists is now the most attended in the organisation's history, surpassing the highly successful Grayson Perry show in 2019. Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists Bucking a slow start to the year for many museums and galleries, with a sector report citing visitors are still 10% down on pre- pandemic numbers (Association of Cultural Enterprise and Museum & Galleries Edinburgh, 2025), the exhibition has resonated with new and local visitors. 35% of those surveyed said they were first time visitors to the gallery. Dovecot cites the quality of its public programme and curating as a factor in this success. The exhibition places the Scottish Colourists alongside their European and UK contemporaries for the first time, challenging conventions around who should be considered the leading radical painters from 1905 to the outbreak of war in 1914. The exhibition is also supported by talks, events and workshops. James Knox, Exhibition Curator and a Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, says, The critical reassessment we've undertaken in this exhibition has allowed us to show these artists in a new light, demonstrating how their work remains deeply relevant today. It's inspiring to see these iconic Scottish artists being celebrated 100 years on since their first exhibition and how this international generation of radical painters forged a new language of colour in the early 20th Century. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Knox believes the appeal of the exhibition highlights the vital importance of championing Scottish art through fresh critical reassessment. For example, for the first time the exhibition sees the Colourists work shown alongside Fauve painters Henri Matisse and André Derain. Major institutional loans include Derain's renowned Fauvist work, Pool of London, lent by Tate, key works by Bloomsbury Group innovators Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as well as major examples from Walter Sickert's more nuanced Camden Town Group. It also shows many Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists works held in private collections not seen by the public before. Thanks to the support of so many lenders, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is an opportunity to mark a key moment in the ongoing revival of Scottish art, and its relevance on a global stage. Due to the higher-than-anticipated attendance to date, Dovecot Studios have extended the exhibition by a day, until Sunday 29 June 2025, to ensure as many visitors as possible have the opportunity to see the work of the Scottish Colourists displayed alongside their better-known European contemporaries.
Scottish Sun
21 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Scotrail backtrack after new train announcements 'stole woman's voice'
The train provider previously said they won't be removing the new robot voice AI TOLD YOU SO Scotrail backtrack after new train announcements 'stole woman's voice' SCOTRAIL is "fixing" an AI train announcer after claims it uses a woman's voice without her permission, the First Minister has said. John Swinney said there had been some "controversy" over the case, after Scottish voiceover artist Gayanne Potter claimed the publicly-owned rail operator based its AI announcer - who is known as Iona - on recordings she made in 2021. 3 ScotRail is 'fixing' its AI train announcer after claims the voice was stolen from a real person Credit: Getty 3 John Swinney said at Holyrood today that the AI voice would be 'fixed' Credit: Alamy 3 Gayanne Potter, the voice actress who accused ScotRail of stealing her voice Credit: Supplied But after prompting from Fiona Hyslop, he said: "The Transport Secretary tells me they're fixing it, so they will be fixing it." Ms Potter has welcomed this commitment as a "meaningful step forward". The issue was raised at First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, with Scottish Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane asking if it is how the Scottish Government - which took ScotRail into public ownership in 2022 - "supports actors". The Tory pressed the case with Mr Swinney after Ms Potter, in a widely shared Facebook post, accused ScotRail of dismissing her concerns. She said Iona came from voice data held by Swedish-based company ReadSpeaker, who she did recordings for in 2021 - adding that by using her voice in an AI model the company had acted outside of the terms of her agreement with them. Ms Potter spoke of her "distress" at discovering Scotland had "installed the ReadSpeaker model 'Iona' that contains my biometric voice data as their new announcer on all their trains". She insisted: "I did not know. I was not asked. I did not consent." Mr Swinney said he is "sure" the rail operator will be "engaging constructively with all concerned". He added: "I think sometimes these things do indeed need careful handling and I am sure ScotRail will be doing exactly that." Following the First Minister's comments, a spokeswoman for Ms Potter told the PA news agency: "We welcome the fact that the First Minister acknowledged the issue at hand and confirmed that ScotRail 'will be fixing it'. "While the language may not be definitive at this stage, this public commitment is a meaningful step forward for Gayanne, and other artists in her position. "That said, this case isn't just about hiring Scottish actors. It's about the use of a real actor's voice without her informed consent, and the broader need for ethical standards in the deployment of AI voice technology. "We now hope that 'fixing it' will include direct engagement with Gayanne, proper accountability from those responsible, and a clear commitment to ensuring that consent, transparency, and fair treatment become non-negotiable in the use of AI by public bodies. "The public sector needs to be rigorous in their procurement of AI solutions and the commercial partnerships they strike with AI companies." Ms Potter's representative said the voice actress had been told by ScotRail earlier this week that the matter was between her and ReadSpeaker. She said they would request that ScotRail cease using "Iona", adding: "Any use of Gayanne's or anyone else's voice through AI must be based on her full, informed consent and agreed upon under fair conditions." ReadSpeaker has said it has a contract to use her voice and its legal team has "comprehensively" addressed Ms Potter's concerns.
