Game: Ben Hurt

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jpsharp — 2007-09-04T07:22:03+00:00

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Ravsitar — 2006-09-04T05:25:27+00:00

Simulated Game Play

Thread: Dice value too random?

Xlyce — 2006-04-10T19:01:41+00:00

I was thinking about this after reading the reviews and wouldn't a variation that used either the d6 from Formula De or even change it that you cannot gain or lose more speed then +/- 2 without a special card. This will smooth out the highs and remove the chance of someone rolling 1-6-1-5 all the time. Granted it will not beat someone that is rolling 6-6-6-6-6 but it still will change the average somewhat

Thread: Chariot Racing Done Right!

The Bellman — 2006-02-24T23:11:56+00:00

In normal chariot racing games, it's all about who crosses the finishing line first. But in Ben Hurt, it's all about who own the most money after all the racing is done. Of course, it helps if you win the races as well ('cos the winner gets half the pot), but it is strictly speaking unnecessary.

Each player is a gambler with one hundred ducats burning a hole in their pockets (provided by you in the form of matchsticks, jellybabies, poker chips, whatever). Each also gets a chariot to race (you have to provide the chariots yourself – each player needs a six-sided dice to represent their chariot and a similar-coloured marker to show which lap they're on). Before each race (a game consists of a series of races between one and six laps each), the players must ante up (put two ducats per lap into the pot), and get some cards. Also, there are a larger number of cards placed in the 'auction pile'. Players may buy or bid for these cards (making the pot even larger). The longer the race, the more cards are up for auction; so the larger the pot gets.

The cards themselves consist of various good things for you (chariot upgrades, better drivers, high movement cards) and nasty things for everyone else (low movement cards and events). Each card clearly states when it can be used and exactly what it does (with one exception, but an e-mail to Mr. Ernest cleared that up for us straight away – see below). Some of our favourite and most useful cards are the Hook (each time another chariot passes your chariot, your speed is increased by one), the Plow Handle (play when you are passing another chariot, any Driver on that chariot is retired, and its speed becomes one) and our all-time favourite, the Well-Aimed Cat (play when another chariot passes you, it must stop, and you can move it three spaces in any direction – then they get this card!). These cards are what make the game so much fun.

Movement is fairly unique. Each turn, your chariot (a six-sided dice) has a number showing on top. This is it's speed. You roll an extra dice (don't accidentally roll one of your opponents by mistake), and add your speed. Move that many spaces, and t your speed becomes whatever you rolled for movement. What this means is that if you roll a one, not only will you have a crap move this turn, but your bad dice roll will come back to haunt you for your next turn as well.

You can play cards to alter the roll (changing it completely or amending it by adding one, etc). But so can everyone else. The last card played takes precedence, so save your really good 'Move 8' card until you're fairly sure no one can top it.

The only possibly unclear point about the whole game (and the one that causes the most arguments whenever we play) is passing. The rules do give a definition of what exactly passing is, but for some reason we still end up arguing over it. I e-mailed Mr Ernest to clear it up for us, and his reply was this :-

"You are 'passing' another chariot if

1: you are moving (including starting or finishing your move)

2: the space you are on is next to the other chariot, not in front or behind

3: your space's leading edge is forward of, or at least even with, the other chariot's space.

'Being passed' means you're the inactive player, and someone else is passing you."

Which kind of puts an end to all the arguments.

This is a great game that everyone enjoys whenever we play (even the guy who loses all of his cash and can't even ante-up for the last race – it happened!). And for the money, it's an absolute bargain (in the game, you get the oval racing track, 80 cards, and a four-page rulebook). Basically, if you want a board game in which the object is to screw over your friends and take their money (Monopoly money, of course!), then you should get Ben Hurt.

PS The ambiguous card I mentioned is 'Caesar's Ghost', and says something like "Move 4 spaces. Your speed becomes 4." When I asked James Ernest, he said that this is played at the beginning of a player's turn, and after playing it, that player gets his normal turn as well.

Thread: Re: Session Report

craniac — 2005-12-17T03:29:34+00:00

I bet James Ernst plays this with real money.

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Nekura — 2005-09-28T15:43:18+00:00

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Nekura — 2005-09-28T15:43:18+00:00

Thread: User Review

MUKid — 2005-02-14T17:44:09+00:00

When I first discovered Cheapass Games, I thought they were great. I loved the funny text and the clever instructions -- I frequently laugh out loud while reading them for the first time. The premise of the company is a good one, too. Why pay so much for slick game components when the gameplay is what counts?

My first Cheapass Game was Kill Doctor Lucky. Ben Hurt was my second. Alas, the more I've played them, the less I enjoy them. I've come to learn that the components do make a difference, and the ability to hold the various pieces in my hand, survey a well-designed full-color map board, or roll specially-made dice add a lot to my gaming experience. It's my opinion that with plastic chariots, a color board, and higher quality cards, this game would be a lot more fun. But hey, you get what you pay for, and I'll try to stop editorializing on the company and just describe the game.

Components
In the little white envelope, you get a deck of smallish cards and six mapboard pieces that fit together to make a chariot track. There is also a one-sheet set of rules. It's up to the gamer to provide 100 Ducats (we use pennies) for each player, a six-sided die for each player that functions as a chariot piece, and a lap marker for each player.

Gameplay
A game consists of several chariot races with an auction phase between each. The standard game has three races -- the first is one lap, the second two, and the last is four laps long.

Before each race, an auction occurs. Each player gets a few cards to add to their hand, and then a stack of cards to auction off. In turn, each player turns over one of their auction cards. Each card has a "Quick Sale" price which the player can immediately put into the pot (which will be the prize for the race) and add the card to their hand. Or, the player may start an auction for the card.

Auctions in Ben Hurt are pay-to-stay affairs. Starting with the person on the auctioneer's left, each player decides if they'd like to stay in the auction. If so, they contribute 1 Ducat to the pot. During the second round, everyone must contribute two... then three... then so on. The auctions can be a bit vicious since even if you don't win the card, you've still put a sum of money into the pot. It's easy to spend ten or twelve Ducats and get nothing in return.

The cards might be improvements to a chariot like Wheel Knives or Caesar's Blessing; they might be die roll modifiers that can be played during the race; they might be events which alter the course of the race; or they might be drivers who can improve the chariot in some way. Some are valuable, some are less so, and this is reflected in the Quick Sale price of each card.

Once the auction is over, the race starts. The rules for racing are pretty simple. The board is a standard oval with four "lanes" in which to travel. Players use six-sided dice to represent their chariots. On turn one, chariots have a starting "speed" of 1 or 2, marked by turning the die to show the appropriate number. On a player's turn, a separate six-sider is rolled and added to the chariot's speed. The chariot moves that number of spaces, and then the number just rolled becomes the chariot's new speed.

Through the course of the race, cards can be played to help yourself or hurt other players. You can add numbers to your die rolls, change the results of a die to a higher or lower number, or use cards to affect the race. Many of these event cards are funny and really make the game. You can use a Plow Handle to stop a chariot that's passing you and knock out the driver, or a Well-aimed Cat to cause the target to swerve randomly as it goes past.

When the race ends, the pot is divided. The winner gets half, second place gets 1/3, and third gets 1/6. At the end of the last race, the person with the most money wins.

My Impressions
Well, I don't really like this game very much. I've already outlined my feelings on the lack of components, which is strictly aesthetic and my own hangup. But this particular game just isn't very fun.

For one thing, there is way too much luck for my taste. Cards aside, the race depends entirely on the roll of the dice. Especially the first turn can really screw you over -- if you only roll a one or two and get to move a mere two or three spaces, and then on turn two your speed is only one or two, it's very difficult to catch up. Like most race games, the turns occur from front to back (not in any particular set order) so going last is a real disadvantage as you try to get around curves.

Second, the cards aren't as neat as they appear to be. Everyone winds up with a lot of cards from race to race, and the fact that many of them are dealt to the players rather than bid upon adds even more luck to the game. Sure, you can play a "Move 1" card on a target, trying to slow them down so you can get past, but there's a good chance the other player can just play a "Move 5" on themselves and suffer no ill effect. I could have done with many more funny event cards and fewer "Add-1" or "Move-X" cards.

Third, after someone has won the first race, it's tough to catch up. The winner usually then has significantly more money than the other players, and because of the pay-to-stay bidding style, can easily beat anyone for all of the good cards. With the best cards and the most money, it's hard to catch the leader.

Conclusion
If I want to play an auction game, I think Modern Art or Pizarro and Co. are much better games. If I want a racing game, Formula De wins hands-down. There's probably a good mix of the two styles of games somewhere, but this isn't it.

But hey, I got it for $5, so it's not like I expect a masterpiece or anything. Ultimately, that's really the best thing about Cheapass Games. You can get a new game and try some new rules for less than what you'd spend on lunch. So I'd have to say that if Ben Hurt sounds even vaguely fun to you and your group, you may as well go ahead and pick it up.

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Skymarshal — 2004-11-22T02:23:11+00:00

Box front of the new edition (Truant Verlag - 2001)

Thread: Session Report

mlvanbie — 2004-01-11T04:12:43+00:00

As usual, I attempted to avoid playing Formula De (too few interesting decisions per game plus downtime linear in the number of players). There wasn't enough interest in Formula De to reduce the remaining players to four for Industria and seven looked possible so Fist of Dragonstones was eliminated despite strong interest. Instead, I finally managed to get Ben Hvrt to the table. Mark, Martin, Brian, Julie, Keith and I played this enjoyable racing game opposite Formula De.

The plan was to run the standard 1/2/4 lap race sequence, but Julie and Keith needed to go so we stopped after the second race. (There was some desire to continue because we were having a lot of fun, but the second Formula De game was ending so it seemed like a good time to join the other group of players.)

For the first race we experimented a bit in the auction and Brain paid dearly for a card that I thought that I was going to get. None of the cards in play were particularly interesting. Then we were off to the races and rushed around the track. Due to good rolls and cards Brian finished first. I'm not sure about the other placings, unfortunately.

The second race gave us two cards each to auction but many people happily paid the quick sale price to keep some treasures to themselves. Brian was using his new-found wealth to buy up a huge handful of cards. He also got a driver that would give him two cards at the start of a race. Julie got a driver who could reroll once per lap for 4D, Keith got a ramming prow (which was used frequently despite the stopping behind another player limitation) and Mark got a hook which could be used to accelerate when players passed him. Martin had a spiky whip that guaranteed a total movement of 5 no matter what. I just had movement cards and insurance (used once before a die roll I would move 8 no matter what). We postured about selling our cards but I don't think that any changed hands.

I believe that Brian was in pole position and he made a good start due to cards. There was quite a stack of them as I recall. He set his movement die to 5 and called for people to modify it. When they didn't he played a +1 card (bought for 1 or 2D) to make it a 6, which was too much for Martin to allow -- he played a Move 3 card on it, I believe, which Brian then modified back to a 5. (Brian kept moving his piece around with each die change, which we decided was a really bad idea.) I didn't want Brian in the lead when I could be so I played insurance to put me ahead. I traced a route that went beside Brian at one point (even though it didn't need to) and he attempted to play a plow handle to stop me in my tracks. After some debate it was agreed that I might have only gone beside him on step 7 (1 less than my total), which was still ahead of Brian, so he returned the card to his hand. Care in plotting all moves and playing cards as people hit each square was judged essential. Another player managed to get ahead of me. Julie started a series of really bad rolls.

During the second half of the first lap I managed to pull ahead while maintaing good momentum (possibly aided by cards -- I ran out really quickluy), to the frustration of my competitors. The other players started to mix it up with hooks, ramming prows and plow handles in this area. As a footnote, we had decided that passing occurs as you move into an adjacent square rather than as you leave the square, which seemed to work for the hook, although in retrospect the opposite interpretation would make more sense as far as physics goes. (This wouldn't matter for the plow handle.) I may look at some of the other cards to determine which way this should be handled. Julie stayed quite behind.

One full lap later my speed flagged as I rolled a 1. This made it possible (albeit unlikely) that I would not make first place. I negotiated a +2 card for 20D from the well-known extortionist Martin and concluded my race on the following turn. Martin used some of this money (10D, I believe) to convince Keith to move a bit less than his full distance and ram Mark. Julie got a bunch of good rolls and passed everyone, coming in second. Brian managed third with a much-thinned hand of cards.

After totalling our winnings I had 124D and was deemed the winner, although much could have changed with another race. By the end we were really getting into things and having a lot of fun, with the possible exception of Julie (she seemed a bit tired).

I think that we made good progress towards a consistent understanding of the rules, but the booklet's warning about playing for real money (that differences of opinion on the rules could easily arise and become ugly if money was an issue) seem well-advised.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2003-03-04T14:11:14+00:00

I’ve owned this Cheapass game for years, but had never played it. Lately, many in our group have developed an affinity for racing games, so I thought it would be good to finally give this game of chariot racing a try. Jim, Willerd, Lenny and Keith joined me as drivers.

Players each begin the game with a cache of money (we used a BUNCH of pennies) and two cards, which can be used during the course of the race to enhance the speed of your chariot or somehow hinder the progress of your opponents’ chariots. Each player is then required to ante 2 ducats (pennies) into a central pot for each lap of the race. Then, a number of cards equal to the number of laps in the race are dealt face-down to each player. These cards are auctioned one-at-a-time prior to the running of the race.

The auction is done poker-style, with players anteing-up progressively higher amounts in order to remain in contention for the right to secure the revealed card. Prior to an auction beginning, however, the player revealing the card has the right to purchase it for the “Quick Sale” price listed on the card. If he opts not to do so, the auction commences. All of the money goes into a central pot, which will be divided amongst the top three finishers in the ensuing race. The quandary is just how long to remain in the bidding process. Will the benefits derived from the card be greater than the money spent to acquire it? Or, worse, will you remain in contention for several rounds of bidding, only to drop out before winning the card?

Once all cards are auctioned, the race is about to begin. Chariots are represented by dice, with the face-up number representing their base speed. On a turn, a player rolls a different die and adds this number to his space speed to determine how far his chariot may move. The number rolled on the movement die now becomes the base speed of his chariot, and his ‘chariot’ die is altered accordingly. Cards may be played by any player to alter the speed of a chariot, which introduces some clever and often nasty elements into the game system.

Some of the cards remain in play and affect a player’s chariot for the remainder of the race. Often, these cards require the player to play a maintenance cost in order to maintain the card, with the money paid being added to the pot.

The race ends once three chariots cross the finish line after the completion of the required number of laps. At that point, the player finishing first receives 3/6 of the pot, the player finishing second receives 2/6 of the pot, while the player finishing third is awarded 1/3 of the pot.

If subsequent races are to be run, then players maintain any cards they have remaining in their hands or in play. Each player then receives ½ card for each lap in the subsequent race and the auction process then begins again. This cycle is repeated until all races in the series chosen are completed. The wealthiest player after all of the races are completed is victorious and named “Caesar’s Champion”.

The game is fairly light and certainly heavily dependent upon luck. Being able to judge the worth of the cards being auctioned and choosing which auctions to participate in seem to be the major skills involved in the game. This is a cute game, but not one that will likely see repeated playings. I’m still searching for the chariot racing game that hits the spot between the chart and rules heavy Circus Maximus from Avalon Hill and the too- simplistic and luck-based Ben Hurt.

We elected to run a four-race series, but ultimately called it after three races due to the late hour. The game wasn’t taking too long – we just began it late.

Willerd, who has a PhD in History and therefore is frequently called “Doc”, immediately took a hostile approach, bashing and hindering everyone at every opportunity. Due to his brutality, we quickly named him “Doc Savage”! His aggressive tactics weren’t enough to earn him a victory in any of the three races, but he did manage to place 3rd in the first race and 2nd in the third race.

After being shut-out in the first race, I raced to a 2nd place finish in the second race, but slipped to 3rd in the final race. Keith, who also failed to place in the first race, finished strong with 3rd and 1st place finishes in the final two races.

In the end, however, Doc’s brutality and miserly bidding practices paid off, as he nipped Keith for the victory.

Race 1: Lenny (24), Jim (16), Doc (8)

Race 2: Jim (22) Greg (14), Keith (7)

Race 3: Keith, Willerd, Greg

Finals: Willerd 118, Keith 117, Greg 91, Jim 86, Lenny 84

Ratings: Keith 7, Willerd 6.5, Jim 6.5, Lenny 6, Greg 5.5

Thread: Session Report

darthcliff — 2002-11-20T06:57:17+00:00

Players: Me(darthcliff), Dave(mredigeek), Kerry, Sarah, Mark, Brad(brbender)

We finished the evening off with our current favorite race game. During the first race it became obvious that the Force was not with me as I barely managed to complete my first lap before the end of the race and my luck got worse as the game progressed.

Brad purchased a hook as an enhancement before the first the race, but it didn't help him much. Sarah had never played the game before, but she caught on quickly and placed in all the races with a first place finish in the last race. I attribute her victory to superior skill, extraordinary luck, and the fact that Mark, Dave, Brad, and Kerry used 90% of their cards to make sure that I finished dead last in every race.

Oh well, I am done whining now and will make myself content with the knowledge that I will get them next time.

Scores: Sarah $189, Dave $147, Kerry $114, Brad $67, Mark $62, Cliff $21.

Thread: Session Report

darthcliff — 2002-11-11T16:32:28+00:00

Players: Me (darthcliff), Mark, Kerry, Brad (brbender), and Dave.

This was the first time we had played this Cheapass game, and, true to Cheapass style, we caught on very quickly. After a quick read of the rules, we decided to play the basic game consisting of three races (one of one lap, one of two laps, then one of four laps). We soon discovered the advantages of flinging well aimed cats at passing chariots and tossing the orangutan on the guy behind you.

After the first race we began to see the various strategies that could be employed by the cards available in the next auction phase. That's when things started getting nasty. Dave put a ram prow on his chariot that annoyed everyone he could get behind while Kerry employed wheel knives to great effect on everyone she passed.

The final race saw much treachery and many reversals of fortune and in the end Kerry managed to move from last place to win the race and the game.

Final scores: Kerry $156, Mark $114, Dave $97, Brad $67, Cliff $66

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2001-06-22T05:31:27+00:00

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2001-06-22T05:31:27+00:00

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

A chariot racing game where you are actually bidding for cards to help you in the races, with the money bid all going into the pot for the race (six shares - three for the winner, two for second, one for third place) across a series of races. Bidding is poker style - match or drop out (but if someone has matched you, you have to raise to stay in, otherwise the last person to bid gets it - so you have a better chance of getting things cheaper when you’re to the auctioneer’s right). Th cards are all very well but there is, frankly, a huge amount of luck in the movement which makes it a bit of a lottery. You roll a dice to determine your movement, but you add on your current “speed” - which is, in effect, your previous dice roll. So rolling a 6 after a previous 6 moves you 12 spaces AND ensures you will move at least 7 next time, whereas rolling a 1 after a 1 moves you only 2 spaces and ensures you can move a MAXIMUM of 7 next time. Since you can get round a lap in only about 16 spaces, you can see the problem. Some of the cards allow you to change your (or another player’s) dice roll or speed; others allow you to do special things with your chariot, like ram people, or stop them when they try to overtake. I set myself up with a very nice chariot in the last race but used all my cards to try and get an early lead so no-one could then catch me (I had the “Eye of Newt” modification meaning no-one could play cards to change my dice rolls down). Unfortunately Simon, who had the “ram” (reduce the “speed” of a chariot directly in front to 1) managed to just catch me and of course after that I never made up enough ground. Simon won easily, while I made myself thoroughly unpopular with Robin by attacking her with carpenter ants (losing her a complete move).

The “leading player moves first” mechanism can make it hell to try and catch up, as in general you can only seriously affect other chariots as you go past them; the “doubled” effect of every dice roll combined with the short laps makes it a very luck-oriented game. Since it’s nowhere near as amusing as (say) Kill Doctor Lucky, I’ll not be too fussed about playing this again.