Starting the game (the first playtest) ...
Halfway to the Edge!
Trish Wins!
About:
Oct 27/23 - first idea
Oct 30/23 - first b&w prototype and play tests – Dean and Trish (winner both times!)
Game:
First player to reach the other side of the table with their car after laying road tiles, and have the most points (least amount of penalty points taken off once you finish).
Game Mechanics:
Competitive, Tile placement, Hand Management, Resource management, Luck of the Draw, Take That.
Components:
- Race car token (actual metal or plastic car), for each player
- Playing square tiles, with various road types (gravel, paved, highway) and directions/intersections/bridges, monuments (parks, canyons, lakes, mountains), start/finish pieces and starting spacers. A complete set per player, each with a different colour back (same fronts)
- Gas & speed tracker
- 3-spot measuring piece
- Space holders for the monuments
Game Setup:
Decide on whether to play a shorter game (race across the shorter side of the table), or longer game (go the length of the table).
To decide who goes first, everyone flick their car across the table. Closest to the edge (without going over) wins. Winner gets to place the first Start tile in the middle of the edge of the table and place their car there.
Each player draws 3 + the number of players worth (minimum 6) of tiles from the Deck. Set the gas & speed to 0 on their tracker. Next player to the left does the same, placing a spacer and their start piece to the left or right of the other Start(s).
Add one extra Start at the opposite end of the last player to go. When it gets back to the 1st player, the game starts.
The Play:
- Draw Tiles
- Place & Score Tiles (subtracting any Penalties), changing the Gas & Speed tracker
- Place up to 6 Tiles face up in their Planning Area
- Discard unused Tiles (subtracting any Penalties), changing the Gas & Speed tracker
- Move car along Roads, using some or all of your Gas & Speed tracker
They place all but 3 of their Tiles in their hand by the end of this phase of their turn. At the beginning of their turn, they can draw up to the number of players worth of Tiles (all at once, not looking at them until they stop, deciding first how many to draw).
Each Tile type has a Value from 0 to 4 and is used to get you gas/speed for moving your car.
Score points in their gas & speed tracker by adding the Tile value total to their tank (max of 12) or speed (max of 12). Tiles have to work with any around them (no Dead Ends), but can lead off the sides of the table (the 3 sides that are not the Finish Line side).
You can place Tiles on top of other ones placed, for a penalty of the value of that Tile (minimum of 1) and the one that is covered up. Roads still need to work when doing this.
If they have too many tiles at the end of their turn, they can be discarded by placing it in front of them and ask if anyone would like them, starting from the left. If the 1st player takes it, there is no penalty. For each subsequent player it goes to, the penalty goes up by 1.
If no one wants it, it goes to the discard pile and you pay the highest penalty amount. The Penalty comes off your gas/speed tracker, which can’t be less than 0.
Finally, if they can, they may decide to move their car along a road by using up gas/speed they have accumulated. They can move along ANY road, not just the ones they built. Gravel roads take a speed value of 1, paved 2 and highways 3, and each Tile takes 1 Gas.
Passing other cars takes an extra 1. (You can only pass on straight sections). Reversing direction counts as the same value as a move (1, 2 or 3).
The Tile Deck:
Once the number of players has been set, shuffle that number of coloured decks together. Once the deck is empty, shuffle the Discard pile to make a new deck. If there are no Tiles left, players can start picking up Tiles from the table, starting with a Start/Finish Tile
(They can only have 1 in their hand). Then they can pick up the next available one(s), not skipping any.
Tiles:
There are sets of Tiles for each player in the game. For example, for 4 players, there will be 4 decks used. They have coloured backs, just for sorting out to set up the game. After that, the colours don’t matter. Once the number of decks is decided,
give each play 1 Start/Finish Tile and then shuffle them all together.
Tiles are of many different types:
- Road tiles that have different directions, intersections and bridges, and different types: gravel road, paved road and highway. They have values ranging from 0 to 4.
- There are also Monument Tile sets: parks, canyons, lakes, mountains. They have values ranging from 1 to 6 plus a bonus of up to 3 for completing a monument. They are placed 3 spots ahead of a Road. They take up 1, 2, 4 or 6 spots, causing Roads below them to detour around them. Place the template down (for 2, 4 and 6 sizes) to hold where they will go.
- There are Gas Station Tiles (equal to the number of players +1) that allow for a fill up or max speed (not both) if you move your car to them. They are placed 3 spots ahead of a road. Players can forgo their turn to pick that Tile into their hand. The first one is worth 1 point when placed and go up from there.
Winning:
The winner is the 1st player to reach the other edge of the table. On their last turn, they need to play their last 3 cards, including the Start/Finish Tile. No other Tile should be able to fit after the Start/Finish Tile.
You can use the measurement tool to judge distance beforehand. If you have unused cards, they have to be discarded first, otherwise the player will have to pay the penalty in Gas/Speed before moving their car to the Finish line.
Contact:
dbrown@netsell.com