Game: Gumball Rally

Thread: Re: One of my Favorite Games

flyinghogfish — 2008-05-15T05:28:13+00:00

Nice review! Your enthusiasm for the game shines through - going to add this one to my list of games to look out for.

Thread: Gumball Rally - Session Report

gschloesser — 2008-04-24T00:14:50+00:00

Note: My full review of Gumball Rally will be published soon. What follows is an abbreviated version.

The first “gamer” I personally met via the internet was Ted Cheatham. At the time, he lived in Jackson, Mississippi, and I was living in my native New Orleans. After chatting for months via the internet, we finally met in person when he was in the Crescent City on a business meeting. Since then, we have become great friends, and get together regularly. He is still the zaniest person with whom to play games!

I’ve been very pleased to see several of his designs published. His latest creation to be published is the light, yet very entertaining Gumball Rally. Players race for the lead in this go-kart racing card game, hoping to occupy the top positions when the scoring flag is revealed.

Players randomly arrange their vehicle plaques in a row on the table. Prior to the start of the race, the deck of nineteen hazard cards is prepared by mixing three “checkpoint” into the deck. When these checkpoint cards appear, racers in the top positions will score victory points.

Beginning with the racer currently in first place and working backwards down the line, each player will play one of their three race cards beside his kart plaque and, if able, move his kart accordingly. A player will overtake the vehicle in front of his if the number of the card played is higher than the number played by that player, OR if the color of the card played matches the color of the card played by the player ahead of him. The player will continue to pass vehicles if one of these two conditions is met. So, it is possible to make a HUGE leap in the line by the play of a single card.

After all players have played one card and moved their vehicle, the top hazard card is drawn. The vehicle with the highest number race card of the color matching the hazard card has experienced a major delay and is immediately sent to the back of the line! Four of the hazard cards send ALL vehicles which have matching race cards to the back of the line. Talk about a radical change in the race positions!

When a checkpoint card is revealed, victory point cards are distributed. These range from 2 – 4 points for the first two checkpoints, and 1 – 8 points for the final checkered flag. The player with the greatest amount of victory points is the race’s winner, and may immediately do a back-flip and open a bottle of champagne! Oops … that’s NASCAR, not Gumball Rally!

The game is fast and fun, with lots of changes in positioning occurring. Truth-be-told, there really isn’t a ton of strategy here. Hold onto high-valued race cards, try to keep a good assortment of colors in your hand, and try to anticipate when the checkpoint cards will be revealed. None of these tips are foolproof strategies, however, as the game is truly one of luck. There are wild fluctuations of fate, which would normally cause me to scream in anguish, but I can accept them in a fun, light filler such as this. The game is meant to be light fun, and should not be taken seriously at all. Even with eight players, it plays to completion in 20 – 30 minutes, and like a real race, it is sure to evoke howls of despair and cheers of joy.

Kevin, Ryan and Leonard appeared to have the skills of a seasoned race-car driver, and successfully maneuvered their vehicles to the front of the pack at exactly the right time. I, on the other hand, would have fared better with a trained monkey as my driver. In the end, Kevin won the race in a photo-finish.

Finals: Kevin 10, Ryan 9, Leonard 8, Dan 5, Ruby 2, Greg 1

Ratings: Dan 7, Ryan 6.5, Greg 6, Leonard 6, Kevin 6

Thread: Leader accumulation variant

tedcheatham — 2008-03-30T20:51:18+00:00

I played Gumball Rally again this weekend with some friends. It was a close fought match and the youngest (10 years old) managed to pull of the victory. A discussion ensued with the "gamers" in the group about the luck in the game of being in the lead at the right time. My reply was that this really is a light fun family game meant to have suspense and a random event to throw you off track so that anyone can succeed anytime.

However, for you gamers out there wanting a more strategic variant, I will pass on some of my ideas for you on the Leader Variant.

Simply give a token to the person in the lead position each round after a hazard card is drawn and resolved. At the end of the game award one victory point for each token received for leading the race. Just add these to your total. This variant does give you some incentive to move to the front and rewards you even if a score card does not come up. This has not been play tested so, it may need to be one victory point for every two leader tokens....but, play around with the idea and let me know what you think.

Thread: Re: Team Variant

yudp — 2008-01-25T01:26:33+00:00

Fantastic game, Ted -- thanks for the new idea!
dale

Thread: Team Variant

tedcheatham — 2008-01-25T01:18:43+00:00

Hi everyone. I want to say thanks to those of you who are enjoying Gumball Rally. Let me share with you an idea I have had to add a team variant to the game for those of you that are playing quite often and want to try something new.

The team variant will work for even numbers of players and I suggest two players to a team. Divide into teams as you see fit. Play the game with all of the normal rules except in the end, all all the points that the team members score are totalled and the team with the most points wins.

At first you are saying, "what the heck?, that is nothing but adding up points". Here is where the team dynamic can best come into play. Take a 6 player game. The leader plays a red 8. At this point every player on the board can pass the leader if all play a red card regardless of value (assuming of course everyone had one...which happens). In these times, a player's partner can get out a high off suit card to act as a blocker to a big part of the pack depending on his play order and card mix. Again, playing order in the race will be critical to that saving play. Also, that partner may stay in scoring range if a leader is hit with a bad event.

Anyway, give it a try. The goal is to just have fun!

Thread: Re: One of my Favorite Games

Trev — 2007-12-04T17:44:20+00:00

Why?

Some of us like to contract everything to a single score, others of us find that forcing a multi-dimensional opinion into a rating is awkward and unnatural.

Flamegirl, I'm impressed with the way you have written such a competent and literate review in this generally adult forum. You do it the way you're comfortable with, girl

Edit: 15 Sep 2008: I've now bought a copy myself thanks to this review. Yet to play it.

Thread: Re: One of my Favorite Games

Sprydle — 2007-11-21T02:14:14+00:00

I'm enjoying your reviews, but don't forget to give your games a numerical rating at the bottom of each game's page as well. There's a spot for some quick comments as well. Just go to the game-page and scroll down to the bottom to find where you can enter your information.

Thread: One of my Favorite Games

FlameGirl — 2007-11-20T22:26:29+00:00

Is Gumball Rally! It's fun, it's exciting, and, of course, it's full of entertainment! I think the BEST part is finding out what the hazard is, because who's ever card matches the outlining, goes to the back of ALL the players!!!!!! I liked how if you had a pillow on your card, and the hazard was a moon, you go to the back. And the same with the sun and lunch cards. AND with the gas card and the "low fuel" and, last but not least, the fixing tools and a flat tire.

You might be wondering how to win. Who ever has the most points at the end of the game, wins! Or, maybe you're wondering how to actually PLAY. Well, after you first hear it, it seems quite simple. Choose a go cart. Then, out of the deck, find the go cart card that is the same color as your go cart. Then, take out 4 hazard cards. Next, mix the checkpoint and winner cards in with the rest of the hazard cards. Oh, you can have 3-8 players. After all of that, each player takes 3 cards. Choose who goes first. Now put your go carts, not your go cart cards, in a row on the table. The person who is going first, MUST put his/her go cart in the front. Then, the person that is going first will put down one of their cards and then draw another card from the deck, that should be shuffled. Next, the person behind the first player will also, play a card, and then draw a card. After that, the next player will do the same thing. Then the next, and the one after that, and so on.

If the number on the card is bigger than the card in front of you, you pass them. Do same thing with the person that is now in front of you, but only if your number is still higher, or if it's the same basic thing. you keep going like this until can't anymore. If your card is the same basic thing, you pass. If the person in front of you ALSO has the same basic thing, or if your number is higher, you pass again. Keep going like this until you can't anymore. If you're in the front, you will want to try to stay in the front. When you are done with all the players' turns, flip over the top hazard card onto the table. If the outlining on the hazard card matches the outlining on a card that has been played, it goes to the end of the line. If 2 or more cards have the same outlining, put the card with the highest number in the back. If the hazard has a steering wheel in 2 corners, ALL the people with the same outlining go to the back. If none of the players have the same outlining, just get on with the game. After the hazard, you do the same thing as last time. The person in front goes. Then, the next person goes. And then the next, and so on.

When you get to a checkpoint, you pass out the point cards. When there are no more point cards, or you get to the winner card in the hazard deck, you pass out the trophies. Count your points. Who ever has the most points, wins!

FlameGirl (age : 8)

Thread: Re: The best go kart game I have played

hancock.tom — 2007-11-04T19:15:46+00:00

Thats true. Although poor hand management will definitely cause you to lose GR, I'm not sure that good hand management will make you win!

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T22:04:03+00:00

Finish line cards: 1st through 4th places, plus the Winner.

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T22:03:11+00:00

Checkpoints

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T22:02:24+00:00

There are four Hazards, and each comes in two varieties: affects one person or affects everyone.

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T22:01:10+00:00

The four types of race cards.

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T22:00:23+00:00

The eight go-karts. Really nice, heavy stock.

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T21:59:11+00:00

Box Back

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T21:57:19+00:00

Lots of stuff in a small amount of space.

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-31T21:55:56+00:00

Box Front

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-29T21:57:39+00:00

4th Place Finish Line Card

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Burgelkutt — 2007-10-29T21:56:48+00:00

Sun Hazard Card

Thread: Re: The best go kart game I have played

wkusau — 2007-10-29T21:27:19+00:00

Nice review.
The only thing to add is that the scoring cards are somewhat random and come out after you play so you never know when to make the push to the front. This will make the hand management game tough for those that don't want luck involved. It doesn't hurt the light filler or kids game.

Thread: The best go kart game I have played

hancock.tom — 2007-10-28T20:24:52+00:00

And a very good racing game too! Gumball rally is a filler or kids game with a good mix of luck and skill and some really nice components.

OVERVIEW:

In gumball rally, you control a racecar, represented by a nice thick cardboard tile on the table with quality graphics. You control your position in the race by playing race cards from your hand based on their number and symbol. The goal is to be in the lead (or close) when the scoring cards get drawn, so that you can score victory points.

There are three decks of cards at work in the game: First a set of race cards with numbers and symbols on them. These cards are drawn by the players and played to move their cars in the race. More on that in a moment! The second deck is a "hazard" deck that sends certain racers to the back of the pack. This works to prevent runaway leaders and add some funny moments/random screwage to the game. This deck also contains the scoring cards that trigger scoring rounds. Scoring occurs by taking cards from the scoring deck, deck number three.

MECHANICS:

The game starts out by placing the youngest player in first place and going clockwise around the table placing the cardboard cars in order. Believe me, this isn't really going to effect the outcome of the game. After drawing a hand of race cards, the racing begins!

The player in first place places a race card from his hand. Each race card has a number from 1-10 and also has a symbol/color. The four symbols are lunch break, nap, tune up, and gas fillup. OK, so I forget what they are actually called but this is what they represent. These are easily recognized by the picture and the color of the card.

The first player plays a card and sets it on his cardboard car marker. He is already in first place, so there isn't any passing to resolve. The first player draws back up to three cards. Then, the next player places a race card. You can pass any car ahead of you if the card you play has a higher number OR if it is the same symbol. Therefore, even if the card ahead of you is a 10, you can pass it if you play the same symbol. This is really a great mechanic, and it makes this game shine. You aren't just trying to get ahead of the pack each play, you are trying to manage your hand and find good spots to use your low card, as well as chances to move ahead AND get cars right behind you with high numbers to protect your butt.

Everyone goes around the table playing a race card and resolving their passing. Sometimes this results in a big shake up of the order and sometimes it doesn't. Often, folks who haven't been managing their hand well (or just haven't been very lucky) can fall all the way from first to last in one turn.

After everyone has played a race card and resolved it, a card is drawn from the hazard deck. This card will be either a hazard card or a scoring card. If it is a hazard card, it will have a symbol corresponding to the symbols on the race cards. Whoever played the highest race card of that symbol last turn goes to the back of the pack! For example, if you played the highest tune up card and the Flat tire hazard card is drawn, you go to the back. Likewise for the other symbols, lunch break, out-of-gas, naptime, whatever. There are also major hazards that effect everyone who has played a card of that type.

If a scoring card is drawn, then cards from the scoring deck are given to the players in the first four places according to their position. They keep these, and these form the VPs for the game.

This continues until the hazard deck is gone. I think the game plays for fifteen rounds, but I could be wrong.

COMPONENTS:

The components in this game are beautiful. The thick cardboard of the car markers is perfect, as these cards get slid around the table quite a bit. The cards are large and have good quality art on them. They seem pretty durable, which is a good thing since this is a game you could play with kids. It would also be a good game if you were slightly drunk, another potential test for component durability. The art is really all first class, and it makes the game more enjoyable. Its a fairly abstract little racing game, but the great production values helps you get into the racing theme. You really get a lot of nice stuff in this little box, well worth the $15 price tag and more.

STRATEGY:

There is a lot more here than meets the eye. Sure, with all the card drawing and the unpredictability of the other players you aren't going to feel like you are in control of your own destiny very often. I still think that clever card play and hand management really pays off in a game like this. That said, you can still play the game off the cuff just slinging cards and have a pretty good time.

SCALABILITY:

We played the game with 8 players, and it actually worked and worked well! It scales wonderfully. Of course, it was probably longer then it would have been normally, but it was still a pretty short game. I can imagine that with 3-5 players it would be really quick.

THE GOOD:

Great production quality on the components here. They all have great art and seem very durable.

Great mix of strategy and luck. You can play this as a beer and pretzels goof off filler game, you can play it for fun with your kids, or you can take it seriously as a hand management/positioning game.

Very quick game, easy to teach and play.

Most of all, its just fun! There are a lot of chances to screw your opponents, chances for big comebacks, and other fun stuff. Nothing like managing your hand well and saving up several high cards for the endgame either! The game is very enjoyable.

THE BAD:

You have to supply your own gumballs.

Seriously, at the beginning of the game, there is a little bit of deck setup to rig the scoring cards in the right place. Its pretty minor, but I had to come up with something to criticize.

RECOMMENDATION:

I recommend this game to anyone with kids, anyone looking for a good filler or a beer and pretzels style racing game, and anyone looking for a light hand management racing game.

Thread: Gumball Rally shipping

Zman — 2007-10-04T02:31:52+00:00

We have started shipping Gumball Rally to distributors. It should be in stores around the 12th.

Zev Shlasinger, President
Z-Man Games, Inc.
www.zmangames.com