When you think of game designers who have most contributed to the state of modern card games, at the top of that short list has to be Richard Garfield. With games like Netrunner and Magic: The Gathering to his credit, Richard Garfield has forgotten more about making successful card games than most of us will ever know. Now Garfield aims to trade mana for espionage in a new game of secret agents and bluffing called SpyNet.

In SpyNet, between two and four players compete either alone or in pairs as undercover operatives, recruiting agents to complete more secret missions than their opponents. In order to do so, players draw cards representing operatives, missions, and funding sources from a common pool of cards. Cards may also be picked up and then returned to the center of the table, thereby offering occasional clues to what opponents may be up to during later turns.

As cards are collected, new cards are added to subsequent piles, in effect sweetening the pot. Once players have collected enough agents of a given type, they may then take on a mission by playing cards in hopes to outmatch opponents and score points.

SpyNet is being published by Z-Man Games, and while there has not yet been a release date announced, we all know that when it comes to games from Richard Garfield, the first hit almost always leads to addiction.