Crazy Karts Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
  • Starting positions
• Game Overview
• Important Rule
• Flow of a Round
• Planning Phase
• Resolution Phase
  • 1. Initiative
  • 2. Special Ability
  • 3. Power Up Activation
  • 4. Special Customization
  • 5. Brake
  • 6. Speed Up
  • Movement
  • 7. Turn
  • 8. Shoot
  • 9. Charging
  • 10. Repair
• Movement Details
  • Hitting an obstacle
  • Grabbing a Power-up
  • Hitting a wall
  • Hitting another Kart
  • Damage
• Race End
• Qualifying
• The Race
• Advanced Game
• Special Abilities
• Lone Wolf
• Clarifications

Goal of the Game

A game consists of two parts: Qualifying and then the Race. The team who comes first and second in the Qualifying will earn a bonus for the Race itself. Only the victor of the Race earns the bragging rights of the Tournament Champion... until the next game, of course.

Components

• 4 different Factions, each with the following components:
  • 2 control panels
  • 2 player screens
  • Power Up meter with a wooden marker
  • Speedometer with a wooden marker and a Damage tracker
  • 1 wooden Kart token
  • Two decks of 6 cards
• Lone Wolf components (for use when playing with an odd number of players - see Lone Wolf): Control panel, 1 deck of 6 cards (Lone Wolf uses the back sides of any available Power Up meter and Speedometer), 7 Malfunction tokens, 7 Buff tokens
• Bottle token: It does nothing. But after the race you need it to celebrate.
• 4 track sections (two sided) and 1 starting track section: You build the racing track with them.
• Power-up tiles: Collect them to boost your Kart.
• Obstacle tiles: They make your way crazy.
• Upgrade tiles: A little help from our sponsors.
• 18 Damage cards: The Ouch component in the game.

Setup

1. Place the Starting track section on the table.
2. Choose two more track sections at random, and place them next to the Starting Track Section to form the Track. You may use either side of the track sections.
3. Setup the obstacles onto the indicated spaces of the track. Obstacle Tokens are 2-sided with rocks on one side, and other types of hazards on the other. For your first game, one-third of the obstacles should be rocks, but you can vary this according to your experience with the game (rocks are easier), or you can just decide randomly for each token placed which side to use.
4. Divide the players into teams of two.
5. The teams choose their Factions and place their Kart on a starting space of the track.
6. Give each player one deck of the faction cards, the Control Panel and 1 player screen, all in a chosen Factions theme.
7. The players with Speed Up action on their Control Panels get 1 Speedometer and 1 marker token to place near their Control Panels. The Speedometers need to be visible to all players.
8. The players with Charging action on their Control Panels get 1 Power Up meter and 1 marker token to place near their Control Panels. The Power Up meters need to be visible to all players.

Note: After Qualifying, the teammates swap their Control Panels and Speedometers/Power Up meters.

9. Shuffle the Power Up tokens, Upgrade tokens, and Damage cards and place them near the track in face-down piles. Keep the damage trackers near the track as well.

Starting positions

The icons on the Starting track section determine the starting positions of the Karts based on the number of players. In a 2-team game, use the yellow start spaces. In a 3-team game, use the blue start spaces. In a 4-team game, use the red Kart spaces.

In Qualifying, teams start on a random start space of the appropriate color. In the Race, teams who crossed the finish line choose which space to start on (in the order they finished). Other teams are placed randomly.

The direction the Kart faces is shown on the diagram of the starting track section. The direction for the middle "3" space is chosen by the team there.

Game Overview

The game consists of Qualifying and then the Race. During Qualifying, teams fight over pole position and upgrades from sponsors. In the Race itself, teams compete for the final trophy.

Each round players simultaneously place cards behind their screen so that no other players can see them, choosing different actions (like Speed up or Turn). Then, all players remove their screens to reveal their Control Panels and resolve actions starting with the team who won Initiative.

Important Rule

You are not allowed to share any information with your teammate!

Flow of a Round

Both Qualifying and the Race are played over a series of rounds. Each round is separated into two phases:

1. Planning: Secretly choose what Actions you will perform.
2. Resolution: Determine the Initiative order for the phase, and then in that order, each team executes its Actions.

Planning Phase

The Planning phase is executed by all players simultaneously.

Pick up any cards on your Control Panel left from the previous round and shuffle them in with any cards from your deck.

Then, draw a number of cards based on your Kart's Speed, as depicted on your Speedometer. Note that if your speed is 0 or 1, you will draw all of your cards.

Using your screen, secretly place all your cards on your Control Panel (face up), divided any way you like among the available actions. You may play more than one card on an Action, and you may leave some Actions empty.

The effectiveness of each action depends on the total value of cards you played there. Each card is value 1, 2 or 3 and is depicted on the card, both with the large icons on the top part of the card, and the number next to the steering wheel icon.

Some Actions have a modified or specific cost, like: "Divide your steering wheel by two" or "Pay (three steering wheel icons) to use".

The first team to finish placing all their cards, can start counting to five (at a reasonable pace!). When they reach five, everyone else must stop playing cards and discard any they have not played.

Resolution Phase

It's now time to see what happens. Reveal your Control Panels!

Then, in Initiative order, each team resolves all of their Actions in the following order:

1. Initiative

First, each team announces the total value of cards they have played on the Initiative Action. The team with the highest Initiative will go first, followed by the other teams, in descending Initiative order.

If there is a tie for any position in the order, the team closer to the finish line goes before the other team. If there is still a tie, use rock-paper-scissors to determine the order of the tied players (or decide randomly if more than two teams tie.)

2. Special Ability

Your Kart Team has a unique special ability (Turn & Go!, the Ram, Grabbing, the Lasso). For details see the section: Special abilities.

3. Power Up Activation

If you have gained a Power Up token from a previous round, you can place it here in the Planning phase, along with the required value of Action cards. During the Resolution phase, the Power Up has the effect printed on it. Only one Power Up can be used each turn. A used Power Up token is discarded at the end of the round.

4. Special Customization

This action is used only in the Advanced Game. (For experienced drivers only!) For further details see the section: Advanced Game.

5. Brake

Reduce the speed of your Kart by 1 for every point of brake. The minimum Speed is zero.

Example: you place a card of value 3 on the Brake action. Your speed is reduced from 4 to 1.

6. Speed Up

Increase your current speed by one for every point of acceleration. The maximum Speed is 7.

Example: you place a card of value 2 on the Speed up action. Your speed is increased from 4 to 6.

Movement

This is a special action that does not appear on your Control Panel. It must be carried out at this point in your turn.

MOVE your Kart forward, in a straight line, a number of hexes equal to your speed. See section MOVEMENT DETAILS for further details.

Example: your Kart has a speed of 2, so it moves 2 hexes straight ahead.

7. Turn

To turn your cart, you must have a total value of Action cards on this space equal to your current speed or higher.

If, when resolving this action, you do not have a high enough value of cards, you cannot carry out this action. (For example, if the rear driver did not realize the front driver was going to speed up.)

When you turn, your Kart stays in the same hex and is rotated left or right by 1 hex side.

8. Shoot

Your shooting range is equal to the total value of the Action cards you play on this Action.

Choose one opponent's Kart that is within range of your Kart. Count the number of tiles to your target, not including the hex where your Kart is.

The target of your shot draws one Damage Card and resolves its effect.

Obstacles and other Karts do not block your shot, and you do not have to shoot in a straight line!

Example: your Shot Range is 2 and you shoot at the red Kart 2 hexes away.

9. Charging

Advance the marker on your Power Up meter by a number of spaces equal to the total value of the Action cards played here.

When the tracker reaches 10, reset it to zero, take the top Power Up from the stack and then continue adding Power.

You can have any number of Power Up tokens, but they must be kept secret (even from your teammate!). A Power Up can be used in later rounds (see Power Up Activation).

Example: you place a card of value 3 on the Charging action. Your Power is increased from 6 to 9.

10. Repair

Move your Damage tracker up on your Speedometer number of spaces equal to the total value of cards played on this action. See the DAMAGE section for more details of damage.

Example: you place a card of value 2 on the Repair action. Your repair 2 Damages.

Movement Details

Hitting an obstacle

While moving, if your Kart enters a space with an obstacle, remove the obstacle and apply its effects immediately. Your movement ends here unless otherwise noted on the obstacle.

Grabbing a Power-up

If you move into a space with a Power Up, draw the top Power Up tile from the stack of Power Ups.

Hitting a wall

The edges of the Track sections are considered walls. If your Kart would move onto a wall, stop it at the last hex before the wall. The Kart takes damage equal to your speed and then set your speed to 0.

Hitting another Kart

If you enter a space with another Kart, you both take 1 point of damage and both you and the Kart you hit move 1 hex in the direction you were traveling. If this can't happen because there is a wall, the hit Kart takes 1 extra damage.

In any case stop your Kart but do not adjust your speed. If you hit a Kart into a wall, their speed is reduced to zero.

If a third Kart and even a fourth Kart is hit by the moving Karts, the first and the last Kart takes one damage. The Karts in the middle takes 1 extra damage. All the Karts move 1 hex in the same direction. If this can't happen, all the Karts except the first takes one additional damage.

If this causes a Kart to enter a space with an obstacle or power up, apply the effect normally.

Damage

Each time you take a point of damage, move your Damage tracker on your Speedometer one space down.

This reduces your maximum speed! If the space of your current Speed has a damage tracker, adjust your speed down to the highest non-damaged space. Once you have taken 6 damage (and have been reduced to a max speed of 1), any further damage is ignored.

Race End

When a Kart passes the finish line, complete the round. The team that crosses the finish line first is the winner.

If another Kart crosses the finish line in the same round as winner, that team finishes 2nd, and then 3rd, etc. If no other Kart crosses the finish line during the last round, there is only the winner - no second place.

Qualifying

In Qualifying, the winner of the race receives 2 random upgrades, and the 2nd place team receives 1 random upgrade. You can discuss with your teammate how to distribute the upgrades. You may even give two upgrades to the same player. Also, keep any Power Up tokens and do not reset your Power Up track from Qualification.

The winning team can also remove a combination of 3 points of damage or Damage Cards from their Kart. The second place team can remove 2, and the third and fourth place team can remove 1.

Now, proceed to the main Race!

The Race

Follow the setup rules, but this time, add three additional Track Sections instead of only two. Also teammates swap their Control Panels (and Speedometers / Power Up meters.)

The Race follows all of the same rules as for Qualifying.

The team that wins the main race is the most awesome and wins the tournament!

Advanced Game

During set up, draw a random Special Customization token and place it on the empty space of the Front Driver's Control Panel. The Special Customization can be activated as normal.

• Booster: Pay 1 to use. Take 2 Power Ups instead of one when you have 10 power. This ability works if you activate it and reach 10 power in the same round.
• Spyglass: Pay 1 to use. Instead of your Target drawing a Damage card, you draw 2 Damage cards, choose one of them and give it to them to resolve!
• Charging: Charging works like normal charging. So both players can combine their forces to power up faster.
• Spear: Pay 1 to use. When moving, if you hit another Kart, that Kart takes 2 additional damage.

Special Abilities

• Turn & Go!: The Goblin Kart can turn before it moves. You must still play cards on the Turning action as normal, but the turn is resolved during resolution of action 2 instead of action 7.
• Grabbing: Elves may take Power Ups from adjacent hexes. You cannot take more than one Power Up from the same hex in a turn.
• The Lasso: Move 1 enemy Kart 1 space closer to you. If two spaces are equally close, you choose where to move them. If you pull an enemy Kart into an obstacle or Power Up this way, apply the effect normally.
• The Ram: This ability allows the Dwarven Kart to destroy Obstacles at the cost of the Kart's durability. When you enter a space with an Obstacle, you stop (as normal), take 1 damage, and remove the Obstacle from the board without suffering any other effects from it. You can only use the Ram once per round.

Lone Wolf

If you are playing with an odd number of players, one player can play as the Lone Wolf. When you are the Lone Wolf, you play by yourself so there is no need to coordinate your actions with anyone, but it's impossible to control everything by yourself, so be prepared for malfunctions!

As the Lone Wolf player you will be using your own special board and tokens. Shuffle the Buff and Malfunction tokens into separate face-down stacks.

At the start of each round, before anyone draws cards, draw the top Buff and Malfunction token. You must place the Malfunction token on the appropriate action space. The Buff token however is optional, you may place it on the appropriate action space.

The Buff token gives you an extra point for one action. The Malfunction token, however, prevents you from using one action! The Buff token works even if you don't assign any cards in that action. If both tokens target the same action, the buff token is canceled and you can't take that action. Re-shuffle all the tokens if you go through all of them.

Note: If you have a Buff token for shooting it means that you can shoot at range 1 even without using any cards. At the end of each round, discard the Buff and Malfunction token used for that round.

Clarifications

• You must perform all actions you paid for in full!
• Whirl Power up: You are still only allowed to turn once during your turn.
• Energetic rubber Power up doesn't work on adjacent Karts.
• Dhaaa! If there are two hexes equally closer to you the choice is yours.
• If you use the vuvuzela power up each opponent choose which card to remove from his own board.
• Energetic shield Power up: This power works for the whole round even after your turn. But it doesn't cancel any damage you have already taken that turn.
• Head shot forces team to discard a card for this race. If this was Qualification they will get card back in Race. If it was Race, they won't have it back during this game.
• Critical hit is a one time effect that deals 2 points of damage. If you have the Big Bertha upgrade you can shoot at range two without using any cards.
• When hitting the take off obstacle stop your movement and then move 3 spaces in straight line.
• When hitting the ice ring turn and then continue your movement. This obstacle doesn't prevent you from using your own turn action.