Café Race
Café Race Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
1 game board 6 clerks in different colours with matching stands 14 dice (6 black, 6 the same colours as the clerks and 2 white) 30 coffee tokens This rulebook, which includes the tiebreak chart on the back cover
The Game Board
It represents the office staircase that leads from the first floor to the ground floor, which is where the clerks work. There is a start zone (where the coffee dispensers are located), a finish zone (the two newspapers, each representing one space), the staircase landings (each containing three spaces) and three flights of stairs (each containing seven spaces or steps).
Game Setup
Set the game board on the centre of the table and next to it place the 2 white dice and as many black dice as there are players. Each player chooses a clerk, and takes the corresponding coloured die and 5 coffee tokens. All players place their clerks on the game board next to the dispensers.
Gameplay
The game is played over several rounds until one player reaches the finish zone with his clerk. Each round is divided into two phases which are always resolved in the same order: determine speeds and move clerks.
Determine Speeds
Roll the black dice (from now on "speed dice") and arrange them in descending order (highest number rolled to lowest) on the middle of the game board, so that everyone can see them.
Each player secretly chooses a number from 1 to 6 and records his choice by turning his die (from now on "thrust die") to the appropriate side. The die should remain hidden on the table, covered by the player's hand.
Once all the players have chosen their thrust, the dice are shown simultaneously.
The player with the highest thrust takes the highest speed die, the player with the second highest thrust takes the second highest speed die, and so on, until all the speed dice have been distributed.
If two or more players choose the same thrust value, ties should be resolved in the following order:
- In favour of the player whose clerk is closest to the start zone (the furthest behind in the race).
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player with the least amount of coffee tokens.
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice.
These criteria for tiebreaking are summarized in the tiebreak chart in the thrust column.
Move Clerks
The player with the highest speed moves his clerk first, followed by the player with the second highest speed, and so on, until all players have moved their clerks. Ties should be resolved in the following order:
- In favour of the player with the highest thrust.
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player whose clerk is furthest behind in the race.
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player with the least amount of coffee tokens.
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice.
These criteria for tiebreaking are summarized in the Tiebreak chart in the speed column.
The player MUST move his clerk forward the exact number of space shown on his speed die. A clerk can never move backwards.
If a clerk ends its movement on a staircase landing space, there is no additional effect and that player's round is over.
If a clerk ends its movement on a staircase step space, the player must try to maintain the clerk's balance to avoid spilling any coffee. To do this, he must roll the two white dice and achieve a result equal to or higher than the sum of his thrust and his speed for that round. If the roll fails (the roll is lower than the sum), the clerk spills some coffee and the player looses one coffee token. If the roll succeeds (the roll is equal to or higher than the sum), the clerk maintains his balance and doesn't spill any coffee.
If a player looses all his coffee tokens, he receives 5 new coffee tokens and his clerk is returned to the start zone in the beginning of the next round.
There is an occupation limit of two clerks for every space, whether it is a staircase step or landing. This restriction also applies to the two finish spaces (see further), but not to the starting zone.
If during the clerk's movement it arrives at a space occupied by two other clerks, it must stop. That clerk must be placed on the space immediately before the occupied space and loses the rest of its movement. The controlling player must then make a balance roll as described before (even if it moved fewer spaces than its speed value), and must make this roll even if the clerk stops on a staircase landing space (due to the sudden brake). If the clerk ends its movement on a space immediately before a space occupied by two other clerks, there is no additional effect.
The finish zone contains two spaces. If a clerk ends its movement on one of these two spaces, there is no additional effect. If, however, its speed causes the clerk to overshoot the finish zone, the controlling player must make a balance roll.
Once the clerk's movement is completed and the balance roll has been made (if necessary), the player should return the speed die to the centre of the board to indicate his round is over.
Ending the Game and Scoring
As soon as a clerk reaches one of the two spaces of the finish zone, either landing on one or overshooting them, the game ends at the end of the current round. Any remaining players finish their moves, after which points are scored.
The player whose clerk finished the race first receives a number of points equal to the number of his remaining coffee tokens plus the number of players in the game. The player whose clerk is in second place receives a number of points equal to the number of his remaining coffee tokens plus the number of players minus one, and so on, until points have been scored for all the players. The player with the highest score is the winner.
If two players have clerks on the same space, they both count as a single player for purposes of determining their race standings and that of any clerks that may have finished behind them, as well as the number to which the coffee tokens will be added. This means that two clerks on the same space behind the winning clerk are both considered to finish the race in 2nd place. In a 4-player game they would each receive 3 points for race standings. Consequently, the fourth clerk behind them would be awarded 3rd place, and as such receive 2 points.
If two or more players end the game with the same score, the player with the most coffee tokens is the winner.
Advanced Rules
With the advanced rules the speed dice are acquired through auction. The following changes apply only to the speed determination phase, as the movement phase and the remaining rules are the same as in the basic game. The players bid for the speed dice using their thrust as currency in a once around auction: each player can only make one bid for each die.
The speed dice are rolled as in the basic game.
The starting player for the first auction is chosen randomly. In the following rounds, the starting player for the first auction is the player whose clerk is closest to the finish zone. Ties should be resolved in the following order:
- In favour of the player with the most coffee tokens.
- If there is still a tie, in favour of the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice.
These criteria for tiebreaking are summarized in the tiebreak chart in the auction column.
The starting player chooses the speed die to be auctioned and separates it from the rest.
The starting player for the auction MUST bid a minimum of 1 thrust, but can bid higher if he wants to. In clockwise order, players either pass or outbid the current bid. Each player has only one opportunity to bid or pass.
There can be two outcomes to an auction:
- A player makes a bid of 6. The auction ends immediately and that player takes the speed die. This also applies if the bid was made by the starting player of the auction.
- No player bids 6. In this case, the speed die is taken by the player who made the highest bid.
After an auction, the winning player must record his bid by turning his coloured die to the appropriate side and can no longer participate in any remaining auctions that turn.
The starting player for the next auction depends on who won the previous auction:
- If the auction was not won by the first bidder, he will be the starting player again, choosing a new speed die to be auctioned.
- If the auction was won by the first bidder, the starting player of next auction will be the player whose clerk is immediately behind the last auction winner's clerk. Ties should be resolved using the same criteria as for the first auction.
There should be as many auctions as there are speed dice and, once all the dice have been taken, the game continues as in the basic game. When auctioning the final die, the last player can, of course, win the auction with an opening bid of 1.
Tiebreak Chart
The tiebreak chart is printed on the back cover as a graphic with three columns. Each column is shown as a row of criteria, in order of application:
- Thrust column (ties on thrust value): 1. the player whose clerk is furthest behind in the race (clerk on the start side of the staircase); 2. the player with the least coffee tokens (minus coffee icon); 3. the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice (dice icon).
- Speed column (ties on speed when moving clerks): 1. the player with the highest thrust (plus thrust icon); 2. the player whose clerk is furthest behind in the race; 3. the player with the least coffee tokens (minus coffee icon); 4. the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice (dice icon).
- Auction column (ties when choosing the starting player of the first auction): 1. the player whose clerk is closest to the finish zone (clerk on the finish side of the staircase); 2. the player with the most coffee tokens (plus coffee icon); 3. the player who rolls the highest number with the 2 white dice (dice icon).