Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix Rulebook

Table of Contents

Winning the Game
The Setup
Race Preparation
Bidding for Cars
The Cards
Running the Race
Movement Examples
Winning the Race
Tournament Rules
Optional Rules
Credits

Winning the Game

The player with the most money after three races is the winner! As cars cross the finish line, their owners collect their winnings: $200,000 for 1st place, $150,000 for 2nd, and so on. Cars that do not finish earn nothing.

The Setup

Choose a player to be the banker. The banker sorts the money by denomination and gives each player $200,000.

Choose a player to be the first dealer. The dealer removes from the deck:

the six bidding cards (the cards featuring one of the six cars - yellow, blue, green, black, red, and orange, numbered 50-55)
the seven 10 count race car movement cards (one of each color plus one white)

The six bidding cards are shuffled and placed face down in the middle of the track, to be the bidding deck. The cars are auctioned before each race in the order they are drawn from the bidding deck. Set the six colored 10 count movement cards aside for the moment; they will be given to the player buying the matching car for use in the race. The white 10 count movement card is removed from play; it is included with the game for use in one of the variants described later.

Race Preparation

Before each race, the remaining movement and switch cards (holding out the bidding and 10 count movement cards) are shuffled together and dealt face down to the players. Some players may receive one more card than other players, but it is important that all these cards be dealt.

Bidding for Cars

Before each race begins, players must purchase race cars for that race by bidding on them. Players examine the cards in their hands and then decide which cars to bid on. A player will likely bid higher for a car for which he holds cards which have a greater total movement for that color (counting white, when it could be used for that color).

To begin the bidding process, the dealer turns over the top card in the bidding deck, revealing the first race car to be auctioned. The dealer begins the auction by bidding or passing. All bids are made in increments of $10,000 and bidding proceeds clockwise around the table. The following rules apply to the bidding process:

A player may not bid more for a car than he has.
A player who has passed instead of bidding on a car may not re-enter the bidding on that car for this race.
Each player must buy at least one car.
In a 3, 4 or 5 player game, a player cannot own more than two cars. In a 2 player game, each player may own a maximum of three cars. In a 6 player game, each player must own one car. Once a player has purchased the maximum number of cars he is allowed, he cannot bid on any other cars.

When all but one player has passed, the bidding ends and the player who bid last (and, thus, bid the most) buys the car. That player:

pays the bank the amount of the last bid
places the car on the printed starting position on the track (first car drawn gets #1, the second gets #2 and so on)
takes the bidding card and places it face-up in front of him to indicate ownership of the car
takes the matching 10 count card for that car and adds it to his hand

Bidding on the next car begins with the player to the left of the last player to buy a car. The auction continues until all six cars have been placed on the track.

If one player is still without a car when the last car comes up for sale, that player must buy the car for $10,000.

If no one wants to bid on a car, its bid card is placed at the bottom of the bidding deck to be offered at the end of the auction. When the car is auctioned again, if no one bids on it, it is placed on the track in the normal fashion and is moved around the track as usual. The matching 10 count card is placed aside and it is out of play for that race.

The winner of the previous race is the dealer and begins the bidding in the next race.

The Cards

During the race, players use two kinds of cards: movement cards and switch cards. Movement cards move cars around the track. A player playing a movement card moves the cars shown on the card the number of spaces indicated. The cars must be moved in the order listed, top to bottom; all cars listed must be moved the full number of spaces unless they are blocked by other cars.

For example, Chris plays movement card #39 and moves the black car five spaces around the track.

In another example, Sam plays card #17. He first moves the black car six spaces; next he moves the green car four spaces; then he moves the orange car two spaces; and, finally, he moves the yellow car one space. The cars must be moved in the order listed on the card from top to bottom.

Several movement cards have a white car on them. The white car allows the player to choose which color car to move. There are, however, restrictions on which cars may be moved as the white car:

A car must be picked that can move the full number of spaces (including moving beyond the finish line, but excluding cars that have completed the race); and
the color chosen may not appear elsewhere on the card.

Playing card #34 would allow Alex to move any car a full five spaces. After playing card #14, shown below, Kyle would move the orange car six spaces; next he would move the black car four spaces; then he chooses to move either the red car, blue car, or green car two spaces; and, finally, he would move the yellow car one space.

The switch cards cause the two colors shown on the card to be switched until the end of the player's next turn. For example, Peg plays card #47 that switches black and yellow. Until the end of Peg's next turn, any time the black car appears on a movement card, the yellow car is moved; any time the yellow car appears on a movement card, the black car is moved. The two colors need not both appear on a movement card for the color switch to take effect. For example, card #7 normally moves green six spaces, yellow four spaces, and black two spaces. When this switch is in effect, it still moves green six spaces, but moves black four spaces and yellow two spaces.

Running the Race

The player who owns the car in the #1 position plays the first card. Play then continues clockwise around the table until all cars have finished the race or all cards have been played, whichever occurs first. The following rules govern the playing of cards:

A player must play a card every turn, even after all his cars have crossed the finish line. If a player feels he has no playable card, he must reveal his cards to evidence that fact. If a playable card is found, it must be played; otherwise, play proceeds to the left.
Cards are played face-up in a discard pile in the center of the game board.
The player playing the card moves each of the cars shown on the card the number of spaces indicated. The cars are moved in the order they appear on the card (top to bottom). Each car must be moved the full number of spaces, if possible. The owner of a car can suggest, but may not dictate how to move his car.
When using the white car to move a car, that car must be able to move the full amount. If that is not possible with the selected car, another car must be chosen or the player must play another card.
All cars must move forward one space at a time, either diagonally from lane to lane or straight ahead. Cars cannot be moved sideways, backwards or over other cars. Two cars may not occupy the same space, nor may a car move through a space occupied by another car.

Chris plays card #38 and moves the green car five spaces through the curve and between the cars beyond the curve as shown in figure 1.

Movement Examples

Alex plays card #24 and moves the cars as shown in figure 2. Because the red car is blocked by the blue and orange cars, it does not move. The blue car moves four spaces and must move around the green car as it blocks the short route through the curve. The green car moves last and moves forward or diagonally left one space to be blocked by three cars.

In this example, Kim owns the blue and yellow cars and plays card #5, moving the cars as shown in figure 3. She moves the blue car six spaces, blocking the black car so it will not move. Then she moves the yellow car four spaces, blocking the orange car so it now cannot move. Next, she moves the red car two spaces. Finally, she moves the green car one space, ending her turn.

In this example Sam plays card #8 with the white car on it, moving the cars as shown in figure 4. First he moves the blue car six spaces, blocking the black car. Next he moves the green car four spaces. Now Sam must choose which car to move for the white car. The black car is blocked and cannot be chosen. The orange car can only move one space and cannot be chosen. The blue, green, and red cars are on the card and cannot be chosen. Thus, Sam must choose to move the yellow car two spaces. He finishes his move by moving the red car one space.

Assume, however, that the situation was as shown in figure 5. Sam cannot play card #8 because after the blue and green cars move, none of the three cars that could move as the white car (black, orange, and yellow) can move two spaces. Black cannot move at all and the yellow and orange cars can move only one space each. Sam must, therefore, play another card.

Winning the Race

The first car to cross the Finish Line is placed in the Winner's Circle. The next car to finish is placed on the second place position, and so on. The race continues until all cars cross the Finish Line or the players have no more cards in their hands. If a car does not cross the Finish Line after all players' cards have been played, the car does not finish the race and the owner of that car does not collect any prize money.

At the end of each race, the banker pays the owners of the cars the prize money earned by each car. Prize money for un-owned cards remains in the bank.

The game ends when three races have been completed. The player with the most money is the winner.

Prize money by finishing position:

Position	Prize
1st (Winner's Circle)	$200,000
2nd	$150,000
3rd	$100,000
4th	$60,000
5th	$30,000
6th	$10,000

Tournament Rules

Once the cars are positioned on the track, the car owners seat themselves in order from the left of the pole position. If a player owns more than one car, he uses the car with the highest position to determine the seating.

Optional Rules

Players may select from the following to change the way the game plays. Feel free to add variants of your own. Most of all, enjoy the game!!!

All 10 count cards (including white) are shuffled into deck.
No maximum to the number of cars a player may own.
Players do not have to own a car.
The white may be used for moving the player's own car, even if full movement is not possible.
A player may choose to not play cards once all of his cars have finished the race.

Credits

Designer: Wolfgang Kramer
Development: Lee Calamaio
Rules: Jay Tummelson
Box Design: Seth Schwartz and Ramon Mascarenas
Board Design: Seth Schwartz
Track Development: Lee Calamaio
Photography: Ramon Mascarenas and Joel DeGrand