Race Day Review

Introduction

I’ve been a lifelong racing fan, and it’s impossible for someone deep into car racing to not be even passively interested in NASCAR. I much prefer watching NASCAR from back in the glory days, when they were really STOCK cars…but that’s another review altogether.

After playing another game I’ve reviewed, Pirates of the Spanish Main, for a while, we decided to get into the racing game from Wizkids: Race Day. A Constructible strategy game like Pirates, Race Day lets you build real NASCAR race cars and drive them against your friends. A while back, I got Race Day out of the closet after a long hiatus, and decided to give it another spin.

The Bits

Race Day is a CSG, Constructible Strategy Game, or “Pocketmodel Game” as they call it now, just like Pirates. Each pack comes with:





2 cars
Damage counters
Rules/A Racetrack
A Very, very, very tiny little D6 (Again, do not eat.)

In Pirates of the Spanish Main, I cited the ships as the big draw to the game. However, in Race Day, I can’t make the same recommendation. Making the cars constructible from cards in this way doesn’t work aesthetically; they look like soap box derby cars made out of plywood by a sixth grader. They are blocky and clunky, although thankfully they are large enough to manipulate without breaking them; I’ve had a lot fewer snapped cars than snapped masts. They are also large enough to use matchbox cars in their place. The cards you punch them out of serve as a dashboard, just like the deck plates in Pirates; a Driver, Engine, and Body stat, along with a special ability, rarity, driver name, and team name, are listed.



The cars take damage with damage counters; each damage counter is a translucent bit that sticks onto the car, simulating the look of either a damaged fender or engine smoke. The effect is pretty cool, and they are very hard to accidentally remove. They also snap right back into their cards, so storing the damage counters is very easy. Due to the way the damage counters are added, though, it should be noted that you really do have to pick the car up to put them on. Not a big deal, but something to consider.



The race maps are interesting, if a bit disappointing. They are plain, unlaminated, unglossy paper maps, that have been AAA-Road-Map folded to fit in the card packs. They are creased and need something to hold them down after you unfold them. If you can manage to store them unfolded you’ll be much happier. One side of each map is a short track, there are a couple different ones. The reverse side is a part of a big superspeedway; you need to happen upon all 4 parts of it in different packs to create it. Movement on the short track is one die, on the speedway it’s 2.



The track itself consists of spaces a la formula de, but there is no “corner space” thing like there is in FD. It’s all one track and it doesn’t really matter how fast you take the corners compared to the straights. There is a “groove” in the track…the fastest path around, which is how real superspeedways are. The groove goes deep inside in the corners, then outside on the straights.

Start Your Engines!

Race Day is very simple to play. Players first qualify each of their cars (you can have more than one per person…in fact you should race with as many as you can to keep it interesting) by rolling a D6. Reroll ties. Lowest roll gets 1st position, second lowest gets second, and so on. Short track races last 5 laps. Superspeedway races are a bit more involved, but I won't cover that here. Go to www.rdfiles.net and get a copy of the rules for the superspeedway rules.

Players take turns, in track order. Each player selects a speed, then rolls a die. The speeds are:

Cruising speed: No modifiers to die roll.

Stand-on-It: +2 to die roll. Player must make engine check (roll equal to or higher than engine rating or take engine damage (smoke). Fail engine check 3 times, you’re out.)

Check-Up Speed: -2 to die roll. Player must make body check (roll equal to or higher than body rating. Fail this 5 times, you’re out.)

This allows you to control your speed a little, but only a little. Because you’re just adding or subtracting 2 from a D6, the die roll can still make your movement vary greatly. In fact, it’s possible to go faster pressing the brakes than standing on the gas pedal (roll a 1 in Stand On it, move 3. Roll a 6 in check-up, move 4.) So there are never any guarantees about where you’ll end up. Moving 3 spaces and having to make an engine check is not the best feeling. However, it does give you a little control, and I suppose a real speedway is kind of hectic.

Once you roll, you may move. Unlike Formula De, you may zigzag as much as you like and are not on a pre-set path through corners. This lets you bleed off a little speed if you rolled high and were headed for a wall of taillights. You must move only to spaces adjacent to your current space, and must move forward. The freedom granted you in moving somewhat mitigates the roll aspect of the roll-and-move mechanism.

If you end up crashing into a pile of cars, you take 1 damage for every space you couldn’t move. You also take damage if you fail a bump check;

Bumping occurs when multiple cars end up in the same space. All cars involved roll a d6. If 2 cars are adjacent and both rolled the same number, they take damage. This system is elegant and simple, and is the one rule in Race Day I thought was really brilliant. I wish Formula De’s system for bump checks was as interesting.

My Thoughts

Race Day is a mixed bag to me. On the one hand, I like the theme, even if NASCAR isn’t my favorite racing series. I also really like the bump check mechanism in Race Day. What I don’t like, though, is the movement rules. I think it’s far too random and chaotic, and gives the players too little control. That, combined with the fact that everything is resolved pretty much exclusively with dice, left a little sour taste in my mouth. I must say though on revisiting it, it’s not actually bad. It’s accessible and easy to teach, straightforward, and not as heavy as other race games. With a few house rules, it could become much better.

Sadly, though, Race Day is out of print. But fear not! There are buckets of booster packs available on eBay and other places. Wizkids has shut down RaceDay altogether and pretty much seems to want to forget it existed, but dedicated fans are keeping it alive at http://www.rdfiles.net/. You can find new cars, tracks, and everything else you need to play there. If anything can make a game better, it’s a dedicated community.

Comparisons

It’s inevitable that this game will be compared to Formula De. Now, I love Formula De. Race Day isn’t quite Formula De. Formula De’s dice-gear mechanism is something to be truly admired, as is their system to simulate slowing for turns, something Race Day doesn’t attempt to simulate…and really doesn’t need to on a superspeedway. In Formula De you’re fighting the game system and the other players…in Race Day, you’re pretty much fighting just the other players.

Speed Circuit is another game that Race Day may be compared to. Speed Circuit is a much different sort of thing; completely and totally luck free. If you prefer Speed Circuit to Formula De, Race Day has nothing to show you.

Pros and Cons:

Excellent collision-check mechanic
Accessible, simple rules
Cute dice (Do not eat!)
Dedicated Community at rdfiles.net

Movement rules to chaotic, too little control over car speed.
Model cars are just plain ugly
Out of Print
Folded maps like to stay that way
If you don't like Collectible games, this isn't for you.

Overall, Race Day is pretty good. It has some low points, but this game system seems to be very well adapted to accepting house rules. It’s also light enough to get non-gamers interested, and what better way than to lure them in with a sport about the most popular motorsport in the US? It’s also a great jumping-off point for Formula De, Speed Circuit, and other racing games.

I started off thinking this would be a pretty negative review, but honestly, Race Day is alright. Beer and Pretzels Racing. That’s Race Day. I rate Race Day by Wizkids a 6/10.