A group of five adults has gathered for a game session and a meal. I have connections with two of the other four through separate means but all of us currently share a common workplace. They are all non-gamers that I have coaxed over time, both individually and collectively, into casual gamer status. For one player this transition extends back a bit over two years while the most recent arrivals were attracted just six months ago.

A game of longer duration was the focus of the afternoon. Dinner and conversation followed. A limited time period remains such that we can either disperse now or introduce something short and I planned ahead expressly for this circumstance by bringing this particular game which they have never seen before.

I’ve been very careful at our sessions to avoid mentioning a classification that I consider to carry negative connotations – “filler”. Even in gatherings without the meal such as included today, I have instead consciously taught them an alternate designation for something light and tasty after completing the main event – “dessert game”. I’m pleased that someone says it aloud even before I remember to do so myself

None of the other participants is any kind of race fan so I anticipate the possible reaction to a motor racing theme to at least be one of caution, if not outright dismissive. In my mind I’m prepared for the dispersal option still to be a possibility but I also report how the game has entertained my family jointly across all ages and interests. So I am allowed to continue with my presentation.

I give an extremely short explanation of what is on the cards and how the cars move. Only a sample of cards gets presented, thus leaving the new players with something less than a full perspective of the inventory provided in the deck. There is initial hesitation in gameplay from not knowing whether particular moves are necessarily wisely chosen. Questions get asked about how to interpret some of the cards. Frequent reminders are prompted by failure to bring along the drafting car when executing a pass.

Confidence grows in the second half of the race. A couple cars fall out the lineup completely after crashes or mechanical failure. At race end I give additional tutorial on how to score the finish positions, how that plays into cumulative scoring, and how starting lineup is determined for successive races – by doing nothing to the finish order.

Remarkably, there is not a single player who expresses dissension when another race is suggested so cards are indeed shuffled to continue with another hand. This despite the rapid approach of the time of intended departure.

Learning has taken place. The action at the table this time around includes plenty of speech that indicates animation and exhilaration. There is mock displeasure at one’s own car being sent back in the field, astonishment at big come-from-behind advancements by others, and dismay in getting betrayed by a player to whom one had just finished giving assistance. Even more cars have dropped out of the running in this race, and each one of them generated signs of pleasure on someone’s face.

Soon enough it comes to pass that a second winner is produced, although in consideration of this as an introductory practice session no real scoring gets recorded. The clock has already gone slightly past the appointed end-time for the day and this was too short an exposure to declare it beloved, but this simple little game has successfully entertained educated adults to a level such that as they retreat they freely declare that they would welcome it back another day.