Carmarace
Carmarace Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Place the board in the middle of the table. Shuffle the 4 types of decks separately and place them next to the board. Roll the dice to see which player starts. Each player places their Hitchhiker Pawn on one of the starting squares in the parking lot that has a number on it. The number will determine the turn order; so sit around the table accordingly. The player next to the airport starts with a "Plane Transportation" card in his hand. The player next to the train station starts with "The People's Transport" train card in his hand.
In turn order, players will now draw cards from the 4 different decks. They can draw from any deck they want, 1 card at a time, until they reach their hand limit (see table below). This will be their starting hand.
- 2 player game = Maximum hand size of 4 cards
- 3-4 player game = Maximum hand size of 5 cards
- 5-6 player game = Maximum hand size of 6 cards
A Player's Turn
There are five phases in a player's turn, which must be played in order:
- Draw
- Transportation
- Karma round
- Movement
- Discard to draw
1- Draw: The player may draw up to his maximum hand size from any of the decks. He may draw one card and look at it before drawing another one from any of the decks, but he can never hold more than the maximum hand size.
2- Transportation: The player may play one Transportation card face up in front of him and can also play one Karma card to the right of that Transportation card.
3- Karma Round: In clockwise order, starting from the player to the left of the current player's turn, a player may play one Karma card next to the last Karma card played, or he can say "Pass". Players cannot play any Karma cards if the Karma limit on that Transportation card has been reached.
For example: If there are four Karma cards on a car that has a Karma limit of 4, then you can't play any more Karma cards and must say "Pass" unless the card specifically says to play "On top of another card", which simply replaces a Karma card already played.
If all players, including the current player, say "PASS", the Karma phase ends (go to next phase).
The Karma round can go around the table many times before ending, but "Passing" takes you out of the Karma round. When playing a card, carry out the effect written on the card.
Some cards are played on top of previous Karma cards. These cards do not add to the Karma limit, they simply replace the card under it. The player who played the Transportation card is also involved in the Karma round and is able to play Karma cards on his own transportation.
4- Movement: If some of the cards in the playing area say to remove cards, follow the instructions. Then add or subtract the Speed values on the Karma cards to or from the Speed of the Transportation card: this will give you a value. You can move up to that many spaces on the board. Once you've moved your pawn, discard all cards used in this Movement and place them in the discard pile of the appropriate decks. (You may leave the Taxi or Bus in front of you; just follow the text on those cards.)
5- Discard to Draw: At the end of your turn, you may discard any number of cards and draw that many from the decks available. Again, you can draw a card, look at it, and then continue drawing from any of the decks.
The next player may now begin his turn.
Play goes around the table until someone reaches the Convention. That player is the winner!
Map Legend
Stops (Train Crossings): A player on the road must stop his movement on the space with a Stop sign, regardless of his movement speed. This does not apply to cards that say "Ignores Train Crossings".
Arrows: When your pawn comes across an Arrow sign, you must roll a die and follow the directions written on the board's GPS. Rolling a certain number will determine which direction the driver will go. If you decide to stop your movement on a space with the arrow, or if you end your movement on this space (which means you are getting out of the vehicle) you may choose in which direction you want to go during your next Movement phase. If you are starting your turn on an arrow, you decide in which direction to go.
Roads: Road spaces are only to be used by vehicles like cars, trucks, bikes and other road vehicles. These cards have a grey background.
Train Tracks: Tracks are only to be used by trains. You can only use a train movement if you are on a road adjacent to a train station (T) or if you're already on the tracks. The train station counts as one movement point for trains. Some vehicles can use these tracks as if they were trains, you can hop on and off the tracks as though they were road spaces. For example, you can drive to a train crossing and jump onto the tracks, ignoring the stop sign. Or, you can use these vehicles if you're already on a train track.
The Sky: The sky spaces are only to be used by Plane cards. The rules are the same as with train tracks but instead of train stations, you must be adjacent to an airport (A). The airport counts as one movement point for planes.
Move to Closest: Some cards might make you move to closest road or track. When this happens, backtrack to the closest spot. This spot can't be a spot that would make you advance farther (there are no shortcuts in this game... yet). In a diplomatic manner, argue amongst each other which spot is closest, or take a vote.
Ties: Whenever there is a tie for whatever reason, players take a vote on what happens. If the votes are also tied, the player in last position decides. For example: A player must move to the closest road, but because there are two of them at the same distance, players vote to see where that hitchhiker will end up.
Variants
Variant (For younger players): You can play CarmaRace without using the special abilities. Just use the Speed of the transportations and the + or – from the Karma Cards. This will make the game easier and will teach young players some simple math.
Good Karma Variant: When playing with this variant, the player who plays a Positive Karma card on another player may immediately move up one space.