Game: Daytona 500

Thread: Re: Long-lasting Daytona 500 Money

Great_Mazinga — 2008-10-15T14:38:45+00:00

Sharp Shooters has the exact same denomination of chips 10, 50, 100, in tan, black, and red colors. Last Chance has the exact same chips (also called Yahtzee Poker Deluxe but chips are 100,500,1000 with different sculpts) , and both versions have nice dice trays. They're worth picking up, if you find them laying about used cheap. You get 32 19mm dice, tons of chips, and a great dice rolling tray with Shooters, and similar bits from the others. The included game is also a quality thought out game on it's own (haven't tried Last Chance). Much rather play than something like vanilla Yahtzee. The chips are plastic, but they look much better than typical generic plastic "poker" chips. This is the best pic of the shooters chips, but you can see the similarity. Here are some comparison shots. Sharp Shooters ]]> Yahtzee Texas Hold'em ]]>

Thread: Re: Longer tracks anyone?

wyldeoak — 2008-08-16T03:32:56+00:00

I made some track pieces so that i could make my own track set up. They are in the file section:

http://boardgamegeek.com/file/info/16932

Thread: Re: Longer tracks anyone?

chris1nd — 2008-06-12T16:01:45+00:00

Also, use of longer tracks can have other things that keep game times short:
-fewer laps
-more turbo cards
-fewer races

Trust me, those boards were lots of fun. We would run 1 race on each board, with orignal as is and the two B2 alternate boards at 1 fewer laps each.

Thread: Re: Longer tracks anyone?

chris1nd — 2008-06-12T15:57:39+00:00

Our races take less time than that.

And the thing about the increase number of tight corners was that it added LOTS of tactical decisions as there were more times to lose squares going around in the passing lane, not being able to go around because one didn't have enough move remaining, or even just getting boxed in.

Made it feel like it was more based on my decisions than what cards the other players did or did not play.

But yeah, the auction thing is good too.

Thread: Re: Longer tracks anyone?

Daddys_Home — 2008-06-12T02:39:30+00:00

Really? This game takes a hour and a half already. You want it to go longer? I think this game is more about balancing the bidding on the cars than just the actual race. Although the race is fun, I just wouldn't want it to last any longer than it does, but that's me.

Thread: Re: Toy cars

Daddys_Home — 2008-06-12T02:34:33+00:00

My copy came with the stickers and look pretty cool. I know a lot did not and I would want to find something to replace the plain cars. I think somewhere in the Formula Dé forums there was a link to some miniatures. Good luck.

Thread: Longer tracks anyone?

chris1nd — 2008-06-11T21:01:12+00:00

Does anyone know of any longer tracks for this game?

I recall in Lake Geneva Brian Bloom had drawn 2 larger tracks on a CAD program. One you got two turbos and the other used 2 decks.

Were very cool (neat turns), but my laminated copies burnt in a fire over a decade ago.

So anyone have anything they use?

Thread: Toy cars

chris1nd — 2008-06-11T20:59:08+00:00

Anyone ever found a line of toy cars that work well for this game and look a little cooler?

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

saminurmela — 2008-03-26T11:01:14+00:00

We sometimes just let the sixth car run itself without owner, and play its "9" card at the start. If a player finishes the game last, he ends up being sixth in a five player game (and that is humiliating).

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

tcomfort — 2008-03-26T00:18:44+00:00

Adam,

We've played this with five, and we simply removed one white wildcard. Also, we let a player have two cars, but then no one else could have two. That way, everyone can have a dog in each race.

Playing with five and six adds more luck, but we found it actually lowers the playing time since each person has fewer cards to ponder over on their turn.

-Tim

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

Daddys_Home — 2008-03-26T00:02:24+00:00

I would think with 6, you should still be able to buy 2 cars.

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

Ninjabob — 2008-03-25T22:41:06+00:00

I have also played with 6 and enjoyed it. The only downside with 6 is that if a person never bids he essentially gets the last car for a bare minimum bid--and if that just happens to be the color he anted anyway....
But that doesn't bother us much, we just enjoy playing.

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

Daddys_Home — 2008-03-25T14:17:11+00:00

Sometimes luck makes it more fun. This game screams fun to begin with. I would think 3 or 4 would be the ideal number for this for a "pure" game. I am still wondering what you did with the extra card when playing with 5. Thanks.

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

qzhdad — 2008-03-25T11:21:46+00:00

We've played up to six and enjoyed it. I agree that the more players, the more luck is involved.

Thread: Re: Anyone ever play this with five?

TVis — 2008-03-25T10:47:26+00:00

It's not that you can't do it (afterall, there are six cars).

Besides the issue of that extra card, though, you also reduce everyone's handcount by two cards. That crimps your ability to select a good card for play each turn, and hinders your ability to judge a best car to buy at the start.

Fewer calculated choices means the balance tips more towards luck.

Thread: Anyone ever play this with five?

Daddys_Home — 2008-03-24T22:01:03+00:00

I recently was lucky enough to find this at the thrift store. Anyway after playing it with 4 players and 2 players respectively, I am now wondering how or if this might play with 5. I would think the rules would be the same as 4 (no player could own more than 2 cars). The only issue I see would be what to do with the extra card. I see three solutions. First, bury the card, second play it first or after everyone has gone once and the last option I see would be to auction it off either face up or face down. If you've ever played it with 5 please share how you did it. Thanks ahead of time.

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:32:58+00:00

A wild wreck in turn three

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:32:02+00:00

Drafting down the back stretch

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:31:07+00:00

The final finish

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:30:10+00:00

Is that Tony Stewart crossing in first place?

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:29:03+00:00

Sample of some of the cards

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:28:10+00:00

Sample of some of the cards

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:26:44+00:00

Front of the rules

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randywilburn — 2008-02-23T16:25:46+00:00

Box insert

Thread: Re: Two Rookies take to the Track – along with one Past Winner.

davido — 2008-02-21T03:56:32+00:00

Nice writeup. D500 has become a quiet regular at our Sacramento meetups. It *is* a Wolfgang Kramer design, so despite being put out by a 'mainstream company' (Milton Bradley) it is one of those games that is 'better then you'd expect' and is fun 'tweener' (e.g. 30-45 minutes) that is more than filler, but just right when you don't want a meaty game.

Thread: Two Rookies take to the Track – along with one Past Winner.

TVis — 2008-02-21T00:39:23+00:00

I have been invited to the home of two sisters with whom I am acquainted by way of a former employer. This is a return visit because they have found pleasure in an assortment of games I have brought in the past for entertainment purposes. Masons was one of the more successful.

I have packed several new (to them) titles for them to select from. I have also brought along Daytona 500 partly because I would like to play it again after a long absence but also because this is the night before the REAL Daytona 500. Even though one of the sisters shares my interest in NASCAR I do not have any special expectation of having it selected. Nonetheless they readily agree without ever viewing the other options.

Dinner is part of the program for the night, so it is determined useful to have a short session of game explanation prior to the meal, and then a proper game afterward.

I demonstrate what is on the game cards, and how to execute movement. I deal out the cards in a normal manner so we can give things a run through. I bypass the auction and simply oversee distribution of two-cars-each according to a quick glance of the makeup of the hands. My plan is to break once some cars complete the first turn.

Action in the first turn brings exactly what I had hoped for. There is a demonstration of the outside lane rules, of drafting, and even some blocking. They're learning how to select an advantageous card.

So now, YES we are ready to break, consume the meal, and then restart the proper game. Except that NO they do NOT want to restart.They have become INVESTED in the action taken thus far and ardently wish to carry on with what they already have.

The game continues once the meal is completed. Questions are raised while going down the backstretch about strategic use of the 9 card. I am somewhat non-committal in my answer. They quickly give priority to the obvious usage to cross the finish line, but a chance does come up for one of them to spend it for making up ground before heading through the track's final turns. A worthy lesson is thus obtained through direct experience rather than my speech.

The race ended with a wonderful example of something I had spoken of, but did not expect to see: one of the sisters has run out of fuel. Good lessons throughout, we're ready to try again with a proper start.

Bidding for cars in the follow-up game creates befuddlement for them. They know how to play but not how to gauge smart bidding values. They lack perspective even though I point to prize money shown on the board and make it plain: the game is not about winning the race - it's about making the most money.

Prices paid were low and a minimal factor in the outcome because there was little variance. Perhaps the particular cars successfully obtained were not wisely chosen, though. At race end there is a wide range of payoffs. My $280k prize is bracketed by their $400k and $150k. I stress that this is why I encourage a multiple-game series when playing with my family. We do this over a weekend venue, not necessarily all in one consecutive sitting.

My presentation is meant more to assure that the loser does not become discouraged about future play than to advocate playing again right now. Amazingly, though, playing again right now is immediately undertaken even without a refreshment break.

The bidding is still awkward. Players are sometimes handed cars for which they had made bids solely to hamper an opponent. This may explain why one car has a lead that extends the entire straight-away in the backstretch. Both of the sisters are playing cards that push it along, but only one is the owner - the one who did poorest in the previous race. I make use of my 9 card to zoom into the final corner ahead any others besides that leader, successfully positioning myself to later secure a 2nd place finish.

My second car was neglected, though. I am going to be the latter part of the final pair of cars on the track. Cards in my hand tally up short of the finish line, except that the final card of the first player to complete both cars nudges me one extra space forward. My remaining opponent and I play two cards each such that we both are now at-but-not-across the finish line. The ultimate useful card in my hand can move me exactly that single space when my turn comes.

Yet for this final inch of pavement, she gets to move first so I comment that I am dismayed at the loss. She has better knowledge of the situation and suggests the dismay is hers alone, for the card that will send her across the line includes my car higher on the list, so mine gets priority. Coming out on top in this photo finish for last place surpasses my excitement about taking second several moves earlier. I do enjoy this game.

Luck balances out for the two races fully scored. My bank balance of $760k after purchasing cars is bracketed by theirs of $750k and $800k. I pack up the transporter for the ride back to the shop and preparation for the next race.

Thread: Re: Review - Daytona 500

craniac — 2007-12-28T03:19:57+00:00

Nice review. My family consistently asks for this game and I like it as well.

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saminurmela — 2007-12-02T15:52:19+00:00

Original cards vs. Micro Machines replacements

Thread: Re: Predicting All Six Placings

pete284 — 2007-11-14T10:51:48+00:00

I am still around on these boards and have been reconsidering this variant.

I think maybe the original point system was as others explain flawed. So here is another suggestion. You predict the order of the race as first stated but then give the one you wanted in 1st place 6 points, 2nd 5 points etc down to 6th place 1 point:

e.g. You guess the final places as Green=1st (6pts), Black=2nd (5pts), Blue=3rd (4pts), Red=4th(3pts), Orange=5th (2pts) and Yellow=6th (1pt).

When the race is over you give the cars in turn order their points for 1st to 6th as the same point system e.g.

The final placings are Green=1st (6pts), Orange=2nd (5pts), Blue=3rd(4pts), Red=4th (3pts), Yellow=5th (2pts) and Black=6th (1 pt).

Now each players score is calculated by multiplying the actual points value by the predicted points value thus:

Car (Actual x Predicted) = Result
Green (6x6) = 36
Orange (5x2) = 25
Blue (4x4) = 16
Red (3x3) = 9
Yellow (2x1) = 2
Black (1x5) = 5

Total Score = 78

This way you gain maximum points if all your cars are in the correct order (91 points). The car you predict last is not going to score many point even if it comes first (max 6 points). Your first car the higher he ends up nearer the front the better his score.

Also if a car doesn't finish a race you could say either:
a) Calculate its position in the race from the finish line
b) It scores 0 points for not finishing

This is unplaytested!

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TVis — 2007-08-19T19:34:53+00:00

box bottom

Thread: Re: Bidding for cars - the last car

Migmeister — 2007-06-06T21:09:05+00:00

We play the Top race version of that game. Much nicer to look at in our opinion. And, the way we play it, and i think it's in the rules, if a car is for sale and nobody else bids on it, the lowest price you can pay is 30,000$.

Makes it a little bit better.

Thread: Re: moving other cars

sedjtroll — 2007-06-06T20:42:11+00:00

The rules say that the active player moves each car, in order. However I think the game would be better (or at least, I'd like to try it) where each player moves their own car. This seems like it would (a) take care of all the "can I move an opponents' car so it's blocked" questions, (b) make for more drafting, which is a cool, interactive mechanic, and (c) keep each player involved during each turn.

Anyone have an opinion on that? Anyone played that way before?

- Seth

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

sedjtroll — 2007-06-06T20:34:57+00:00

After playing just once, I had a hard time deciding what a car was worth - we all did. As a result, the auctions were uninteresting - all the cars went for $30k or less, and noone really cared to have the same car as another player that bad.

The gameplay was pretty cool though, I liked it. If you're looking for something more strategic, maybe try this:

Play the cars in order, but allow the cars owner to move the car.

This would result in less silly/athematic "I'll drive the blue car up behind the red car, but rather than draft, I'll go caddy corner to it" types of plays, and would allow for more drafting, which is a cool mechanic.

- Seth

Thread: Bidding for cars - the last car

TVis — 2007-06-06T20:00:43+00:00

as written:

"If one player is still without a car when the last car comes up for sale, that player must purchase the car for $10,000."

our House Rule:

That player matches the lowest price previously paid for any car.

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

Razmus — 2007-06-03T19:27:25+00:00

jayjohnbeach wrote:
Also, are you allowed to move a car into a position where it can be blocked and not finish its full movement?

Robrob wrote:
Yes, you can move a car in a legal fashion to a point where it can move no further.

Legal is the key there. If there is a way to move a car its full amount, it has to move to its full amount. Just to be clear.

Thread: Long-lasting Daytona 500 Money

krackelman — 2007-06-01T02:36:00+00:00

I just discovered something really cool this evening. I had bought a brand new Daytona 500 a while back and we played it for the first time the other night using the paper money (great game by-the-way). I realized that it would not take too long for the paper money to become beat up real quick. So I was thinking it would be nice to save the paper money somehow.

I thought about just using paper and pencil to do the scoring, but then I had another idea. I remembered that I had a Yahtzee Texas Hold'em game that I had been taking the dice from for other games, but had not used the chips for anything yet. I thought to myself that maybe I could use the chips for Daytona 500. Lo and behold, when I checked the denominations on the chips they matched perfectly to the Daytona 500 money (except the 1000's are dropped). Not only that, but the colors almost matched perfectly too.

Daytona 500 money has...

100,000's (red)
50,000's (green)
10,000's (yellow-gold)

Yahtzee Texas Hold'em has...

Chips with 100 on them (burgundy)
Chips with 50 on them (green)
Chips with 10 on them (tan)

It seems like there are plenty of chips for 4 players. I am going to try using the chips the next time I play. I'll see if it possible to play with the chips from just 1 Texas Hold'em game. I think it will work okay.

So if you are in a Thrift store or see this at a yard sale, pick it up as the chips will make an almost perfect substitution for the paper money in Daytona 500, thus preserving your paper money or replacing paper money in your game that has seen better days.

Thread: Re: Predicting All Six Placings

smykwb — 2007-05-26T18:43:04+00:00

When I first read this variant, I also thought the variant 'probably' needed 'tweaking' ... but I am not so sure after really thinking about it.

ON the plus side, this really turns the game on its head.... As the prior poster mentioned, it is more important to guess who will be last then who will be first... i.e. The 6x6 correct pick for last is 'better' then the 1x1 correct pick for first... but the cards in your hand can only help you move cars forward... So you are almost picking the potential placement of cars based upon what you can't do as opposed to what you can do. (an interesting twist.)

Now my initial gut reaction to this was not so positive, it is grounded in my believe that in general 'Games' are about maximizing your situation (playing the cards you are dealt) To me this variant seems to be based upon valuing what you don't know as opposed to what you do know... And the most important decisions in this variant are who will finish 4,5 and 6... of which you have little information to base a pre-decision.

Now this lack of information is a double-edged sword. Since everyone is in the same boat, this puts a premium on the play of cards particularly at the end of the round.. When in the normal play of 'Daytona 500' after the first couple of cars have crossed the line the rest of the round is pretty much an after thought.. only really interesting if looks like there is chance that one of the cars is not going to make it.

This variant really identifies a way to retain interest until the last car crosses the line... as everyone has some stake in where all the cars finish!

My concern:
(Since this post is a couple years old, I don't know even if the original guy is 'active' anymore to address these)
- In the game there is quite a bit of board layout and rules that surround the 'loss of movement' but they are really based upon the assumption that a players 'generally' want to avoid these situations.
(backstabbing the guy who stole your car not-withstanding) How does the play of the game 'hold up' if we have a number of players actively trying to slow cars down?...)

My suggestion:
My only concrete suggestion is that points are not to be granted to cars that fail to finish... (This might actually be implied within the scope of the original variant posting... but if not... it should be!)

Thread: Review - Daytona 500

CliffRo — 2007-03-16T01:16:51+00:00

Daytona 500 (Milton Bradley 1990) is a combination gambling game and resource management game. This is a true gem, and you don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to enjoy it.

I am a fan of gambling games like Manila and The Really Nasty Horseracing game and I put this game on par with them. There is a really interesting mechanic where all the cards you get for the round you have at the start and then you bid on the car or cars you own for the race. You have to really decide how valuable a car is and plot revenge of someone who stole “your” car. Those types of emotional attachments are near and dear to gaming for me and Daytona 500 does that well.

The game begins with a board depicting the famous Daytona 500 race track being laid out. Each player then receives $300,000 from the bank as starting capital. Separate the 6 Bidding Cards, and the “9” Movement Cards from the rest of the deck of cards. Then the deck of 36 movement cards is dealt to the players. All the cards are dealt, being that it is the magical 36 card deck with 2-4 players in the game. Each of these cards has from 1 to 6 of the cars in the game represented on it or a white “Wild Card”. The number for each of the colors indicate how many spaces that car will be moved when the card is played. Once all players have their cards, the bidding for car ownership begins.

The dealer takes a deck of 6 cards, each with a depiction of one of the colored cars in the game and shuffles them. The dealer then turns over the top card, revealing the first car up for auction. Beginning with the player to the right of the dealer, bidding begins. Bidding can be of any amount as long as the bid is at least $10,000 and is not more than the bidding player can afford. A player can pass on the bidding, but that player is then out of the bidding for that car for this round. The bidding progresses to the next player to the right. The highest bidder wins, pays the money to the bank, takes the colored car model of the car they bid on and places it on the #1 Pole Position on the Start/Finish line, and places the Bidding Card they just won face up in front of them to show which car they own for the round. The player also takes the “9” Movement Card of the color of the car they just won. The next Bidding Card is turned over and bidding begins, starting with the player to the right of the last winning bidder. This card will placed in the “2” spot of the Start/Finish Line. Bidding continues like this until all 6 cars have been auctioned, and all 6 spaces on the Start/Finish line have been filled. If a player is without a car when the last car comes up for auction, that player must purchase the car for $10,000. In a 3 or 4 player game, a player may not own more than 2 cars; while in a 2 player game, no player may own more than 3 cars. If for a reason no one wants to purchase a car and is not forced to buy a car as stated above, the car is still placed in the numbered spot as normal. The “9” car for this car is out of play for this round. It still participates in the race.

Once the auction is over, the race begins. The player who owns the #1 Pole Position Car, plays first. Play will continue in a counterclockwise fashion after that. A player must do the following on their turn:
Play a Movement Card: The player must play a Movement Card from their hand. The cards depict from 1 to 6 of the colored cars in the game on them or a white car which is effectively a “Wild Card”. Each of the cards also has a number in a circle of each of the cars depicted. This is the number of spaces that the particular color of car must move. On a card with multiple cars on it, the order from top to bottom of the cars is the order that the cars must be moved. If a white car is on the card, then any color that is not depicted on the card (or just any car if a single white car card is played) may be moved.
Move each of the Cars: Following the order on the cards, each car is moved in turn. Each car must always move the full number of spaces, or as many as possible if blocked. Cars may move diagonally and must always move forward in a counterclockwise manner, never directly to the side or back. A block occurs of a car cannot move forward (either straight forward or diagonally forward). In this event, all remaining movement points are lost and the next car on the card is moved if any. If a white car is on a card, the player MUST pick a car that can move the full amount if possible. If no cars can be moved, then the white car is ignored and the next colored car is moved. On corners, the track shrinks form 3 lanes into 2 lanes. The outside lane on the corners is also divided into 2 smaller spaces with a red line through them. No car can end its turn in the Red Lane; they are only used for passing. The final rule of movement is drafting. Drafting occurs when a car is moved with a car directly behind it. The car directly behind it is moved straight forward 1 space. If a car was behind that car, it is also affected by drafting as well as any cars directly behind that one and so on. Drafting only occurs once a car has crossed the Starting Line.

The first car to cross the Finish Line is placed on the “1st Place” position. The next car to cross goes on the “2nd Place” and so on. As soon as all the cars a player owns cross the Finish Line, that player discards the rest of their cards. They are not played in this round. Keep playing until all cars have crossed the Finish Line or all Movement Cards have been played and/or discarded. Any car that hasn’t crossed the Finish Line after all cards have been played has “Run out of Gas”. These cars do not collect any cash prizes. Cash prizes are: 1st - $300,000, 2nd - $200,000, 3rd - $150,000, 4th - $100,000, 5th - $80,000, 6th - $50,000. The game ends after 3 races have been completed. The player with the most money is the winner. In a 4 player game, any player with over a million dollars is considered a Champion Driver.

My thoughts on this game:

Components: The components to Daytona 500 are good. The cards are on a glossy cardstock of good quality for the time this game was made. The ones I have are from a thrift store game so I don’t know how many times they were played b y the time I got to them, but they are holding up perfectly. The money is your standard money like you would find in Monopoly. They plastic cars in the game are not very detailed but they look good none-the-less and are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. The game board is a nice rendition of Daytona and is on your usual bi-fold board common of the era.

Rules: The rules are not very long, but they don’t need to be. They are well written and have very good examples so there aren’t any grey areas to the rules. This game is very easy to teach as well, but reading the rules would take less than 10 minutes maximum.

Car Bidding: Some people don’t like bidding/gambling games. You could still enjoy this game even if you don’t but the car bidding is a major part of Daytona 500. Your basic strategy is based around which cars you have and how much you paid for them. This adds a lot of the “Take that!” element to the game. You can up bid a player making them pay extra for cars they really want or sometimes you get stuck with a car you don’t want while attempting to up bid. The bidding isn’t totally blind as you have all your movement cards before bidding so you know which cars you most want to avoid. The movement isn’t random and that should appeal to those who don’t like “chaos” in their games.

Fun Factor: This is a really fun game. It is light enough that non-gamers could enjoy it and fast enough to use as filler for heavier games. There is a lot of player interaction and virtually no down time as usually table talk is being conducted by players when it is not their turn. I have yet to see any angry tantrums during a game of Daytona 500. I could imagine that someone could conceivably turn one of the cars into a tantrum missile, but I haven’t experienced that yet.

Daytona 500 is a well done game. Not usually what I would expect from Milton Bradley in the terms of content. The mechanics are solid, the play is quick and easy, and the gambling element is omnipresent. Playing 3 races also evens out the luck factor of the draws and makes for a satisfying game all around. Daytona 500 will most definitely being seeing a lot more table time in the future for both the hardcore gamers and non-gamers I play with.

Clifford Roberson

Thread: Re: Money Count

ed95005 — 2007-02-28T22:15:17+00:00

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14865

BoardGameGeek has everything!

Thread: Money Count

Christine Biancheria — 2007-02-28T15:33:34+00:00

Hi, all. I have this game for trade, and would like to know if I have the right amount of money, but that's not listed in the components. Anyone know the correct amount for the three different bills? Thanks.

Thread: Re: One more question about movement....

SybotCB — 2007-01-23T21:26:37+00:00

This is not what I get from reading the rules. It's so easy to finish the game anyway, And so hard to get blocked on this track, that the blocks set up by cars seem natural to me.

I've played this game many times over the years, and we've always played where it was possible and desirable to set up blocks, and run cars into the back of those blocks to waste their movement.

Makes the races much tighter, and IMHO more strategic, but I suppose really it could be played either way with no problem as long as you were consistent.

Thread: Re: Game Pieces

lamplite — 2006-12-03T09:01:43+00:00

I use Micro Machines and the mini-size Racing Champions cars.

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

treece keenes — 2006-11-29T02:00:31+00:00

if you took the indented design and rotated it 180 degrees then it would line up with the graphics of the track. maybe we have several versions of indentation and that is lending to confusion?

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

sisteray — 2006-10-15T09:42:09+00:00

I have them as well.

I don't get it.

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

LordBobbio — 2006-10-12T13:40:38+00:00

treece keenes wrote:
i noticed the lines on my board would probably line up with the graphics of the track if it wasn't pressed backward. Meaning it seems like it should have been reflected to the other side. Big goof by the printers?

Not sure I understand your question... what is pressed backward? Are you referring to the way the board folds, or to the incised lines themselves?

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

treece keenes — 2006-10-11T23:57:12+00:00

i noticed the lines on my board would probably line up with the graphics of the track if it wasn't pressed backward. Meaning it seems like it should have been reflected to the other side. Big goof by the printers?

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

LordBobbio — 2006-10-11T22:22:11+00:00

tool wrote:
Not all copies of the game have this, so whatever the reason, MB either came up with it after the first print run or changed their minds after the first print run.

Yeah, I thought I had played on a board without it, and your input confirms this...

I wonder if anyone knows which ones came first...

Thread: Re: Incised lines on the board

tool — 2006-10-11T22:14:19+00:00

Not all copies of the game have this, so whatever the reason, MB either came up with it after the first print run or changed their minds after the first print run.

Thread: Incised lines on the board

LordBobbio — 2006-10-11T21:33:31+00:00

Anyone understand why the lines are scored into the playing board? For those of you not familiar with the game, the track lanes are normally surfaced, but the rest of the board has a grid of scored, incised lines it...

Could this be to avoid warping?

Thread: Re: One more question about movement....

Robrob — 2006-10-08T05:04:32+00:00

Us too, if you can move you must move - but remember that you are completely allowed to end an opposing car's movement in a blocked position (that is, behind a two car wall).

Thread: Re: One more question about movement....

Verkisto — 2006-10-07T20:12:04+00:00

That's what we thought, too. Thanks for confirming!

Thread: Re: One more question about movement....

qzhdad — 2006-10-07T19:06:49+00:00

We always played with Isamadi's interpretation.

So you can play cards with numbers that cannot be used (except white cards), but when that color car can move that far, it must be.

Thread: Re: One more question about movement....

lsamadi — 2006-10-07T18:04:25+00:00

I haven't played that much and it has been a while, but I am under the impression that if there is an available route a given car can take to go its full movement, it must take that route. Therefore, if you wanted to somehow block it's movement, you have to position other cars first.

Thread: One more question about movement....

Verkisto — 2006-10-07T17:52:24+00:00

If I'm moving my opponent's car, and I can either move the car its full movement, or strand it behind other cars so that ir's blocked, do I HAVE to take the option where it can move its full distance? Or can I be mean and block him in behind other cars? I know it's possible to move cars into a blocking position, but I'm unsure what to do if there's an available option to move the entire distance.

Thanks!

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

Robrob — 2006-10-05T05:27:56+00:00

A gem of a game and one still easily obtainable at a reasonable cost.

Wouldn't it add more strategy to move them in any order you like?

I think this would defeat the designrt's intent which was to move the faster cars first. If you can move the slow cars first you would just end up choking the track. One of the main ideas of the game is that even a car in last place can come out ahead by playing a fast card. Choosing play order would just add more randomness not more strategy.

Also, are you allowed to move a car into a position where it can be blocked and not finish its full movement?

Yes, you can move a car in a legal fashion to a point where it can move no further.

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

Ramito — 2006-10-05T05:20:46+00:00

I do think theres WAY more strategy playing the cars in the order of the card... and I played choosing my own order for many many years.

You CAN move cars to blocked positions as long as those positions are within maximum movement allowance on the card.

I've been able to prevent oponents stealing an almost sure first place by taking all this consideration into account... great game indeed!

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

ssmooth — 2006-10-05T04:43:47+00:00

While moving the cars in any order might hypothetically "add more strategy," it would certainly add way too much time to the decision-making, and anyway there is strategy there already in abundance merely in choosing which card to play.

If there's any way for a car to get all its movement points, *once it is time for that car to move,* it has to get them all. Sometimes you can achieve a very pretty block by moving the top car or two into a side-by-side position just in front of a later car on the card. More often, you will simply create blocked positions which you can hope the player following you will take advantage of by getting rid of a good card for a common opponent.

We have tried some variants (particularly in an attempt to let more than four players into the game), but we keep coming back to the game as written because it is just so darned good. The published variations on the system -- Top Race, Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix, etc., with magical cards, choke points instead of the big curves with the passing lane -- also disappointed us since we so thoroughly enjoy the more subtle challenges of the straightforward racing in Daytona 500.

Stick with it -- a very tasty range of strategy will emerge as your familiarity grows.

Thread: Re: Multi-card movement question...

Windopaene — 2006-10-05T04:08:14+00:00

No, I disagree. Choosing the order you would choose to move the cars in would result in the removal of the tough choices. You would move your cars first, then use the others to block out as many of the other players cars as you could.

point 2, yes, you can move cars to create blocks for others. You cannot move a car into a blocked position if another unblocked position exists.

There may be more strategy than you first may see. And the aucton is very important as well. Great game.

Thread: Multi-card movement question...

jayjonbeach — 2006-10-05T03:59:35+00:00

The rules state you must move the top car on the card first, then the next one down and so on until you move the bottom car on the card last.

Wouldn't it add more strategy to move them in any order you like? Has anyone tried yet?

Also, are you allowed to move a car into a position where it can be blocked and not finish its full movement?

The rules seem to say that a car has to move its full movement if it is able which isn't to say you can't hinder it, ergo it is not clear in this sense.

Has anyone tried to spice this up a bit with some variants? I was hoping for a little more strategy and I might try to create a variant.

Thanks in advance for any replies. J

Thread: Always bet on black

jostrand — 2006-09-28T17:02:01+00:00

I love Kramer games, and I had heard a lot about this one. The simplicity of the race combined with the clever auction at the beginning made me search out the game on ebay. I found one in good condition for cheap (missing money only) and picked it up.

Well on Tuesday (only a few days after receiving the game) I got to play with my family. I only had to come up with some money which "The Game of Life" was happy to supply!

Charlie - Dad
Rachel - Sister
Joshua - Me

The first auction went by without out much trouble. Most cars went for less than $50,000 and we all ended up with 2 a piece. Then we were off, Dad started by pealing out with the pedal to the metal (9 card) and all of us followed suit. We couldn't stand having our cars left in the dust. We slowly made our way around the track conserving our gas and timing the turns. In the end the Black car (Dad's) was the first across the line. Rachel was second and my 2 cars were 3rd and 4th. All the cars finished and we thought that it wasn't too bad.

This next auction the prices were much higher with no car going for less than $50,000. I wanted to see what would happen if I got 3 cars this time so I bought a bunch. Dad got the Black car again and Rachel had 2 cars. The race stared out pretty much the same with the Black car speeding way ahead but Rachel and I held back our 9's to use to get by the turns. Since dad had only 1 car to focus on he easily made it about half a lap in front of us, in the 2nd turn while many cars were just exiting the first. Black easily took 1st place, and a bit early which meant less help from his cards. I was starting to worry that my cars were not even going to finish, but with some help from Rachel my three cars made it across all at once. Unfortunately for her the green car ran out of gas right before the finish line and failed to place. She promptly fired her pit crew!

Final auction, I have about 4 wilds so I am thinking of going for one car and finishing 1st. As I try to build up the prices on the cars, I end up with a car I don't want! But at least I get the blue one which I felt strongly about. In the end we all end up with 2 cars again. The race is off guess who has the black car for the third time? Dad speeds off again, still not changing his strategy. I try to take advantage of drafting but I just can't keep up with the cars in front. This race is a strange one because all the cars spread out. Black makes it across the finish line 1st once again! I finish somewhere in the middle of the pack, and Rachel's pit crew lets her down for the second time. One of her cars did not finish the race.

Final Scores
Dad - $1,300,000
Josh - $780,000
Rachel - $600,000

Overall the game was a lot of fun and a bit long, but well worth it. I think this is a perfect family game, and it may even make it out to one of our game nights.