The Great Race is live (Race across the continents)
Update: The Great Race and The Great Race 2 are live on Kickstarter and the campaign will run for 24 days. You may pledge for either of the two core boxes, or for both, or just get the Wild West and Far East extension for The Great Race. All previously released content for the game is available as well.
Our preview post below was published on June 21.
The Great Race (Africa - South America) is a 1-4 player worker placement and racing game in which you are taking part in a car race across continents in the 1930s. The reprint Kickstarter will launch on June 22. Backers will get the chance to also pledge for The Great Race 2 (Wild West and Far East), and all previously released expansion modules.
In The Great Race, players are trying to reach the end destination as fast as possible, while at the same time managing their fuel, mechanical failures, and any events that may affect their journey on the road. Each round is divided in four phases: Bivouac, Planning, Maintenance, and Convoy.
In the Bivouac phase, each player in reverse turn order selects one Resource card from the central display. The last player to choose also takes the last card remaining. You cannot hold more Resource cards than your chassis level allows. In the Planning phase, you decide how to assign your assistants to the various spots on your player board.
In the Convoy phase, you execute the actions your have placed assistants on. You may also buy petrol, or play Resource cards from your hand. The available actions on your player board are: Funding (which earns you money), Pathfinder (which allows you to draw 2 terrain tiles and place them on the map, or draw an extra Resource card), Mechanics (which lets you repair your vehicle, or drive and move it forward as many spaces as your engine level), and Security Guard (which lets you avoid a danger on a terrain tile or Resource card, or remove a terrain tile next to your vehicle). In the Maintenance phase, you move your victory point token along the track and determine who goes first in the next round.
When a vehicle reaches a city on the map, it has to spend one petrol to enter it, draw the indicated number of Resource cards, and stop there for the current round. Black spaces on the map signify risk zones that make you consume one extra petrol. It is also possible to use sea and air transport, if you pay their cost. The game ends when a player reaches the final destination. The other players then complete their Convoy actions, and proceed to scoring.
In the solo mode, you are playing against the René Estienne AI. René has his own deck of cards that determine his actions. If you manage to defeat him, he upgrades his deck with better cards, thus making it more challenging to face him in your next game. You may also select to play with the Legacy and Passport modules. Legacy makes the AI progressively stronger, whereas Passport gives you specific missions to complete.