Rallyman Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Art.1 — Game Setup
• Art.2 — Organization of a Rally
• Art.3 — Drivers Game Turn
• Art.4 — Starting
• Art.5 — Corners
• Art.6 — Bumps
• Art.7 — Loss of Control
• Art.8 — Damage
• Art.9 — Overtaking
• Art.10 — Spare Tire
• Art.11 — Finishing
• Art.12 — Assistance
• Game Rules+ (Advanced Rules)
  • Art.13 — Time Attack
  • Art.14 — Spending Second Markers
  • Art.15 — Weather Conditions and Tire Choice
  • Art.16 — Intermediate Times
• Glossary — Technical Terms

Art.1 — Game Setup

To setup a rally, the game components should be disposed as shown below. The layout of the game boards (also called ZONES) is merely illustrative; many combinations are possible (see Art.2).

Components laid out for a 4-player game include, for each player, a chrono pile area, a control panel card, and a rally car (MRC); a shared set of 5 black GEAR DICE and 2 white ACCELERATION DICE; the GEAR CARDS (one deck per gear, 1st through 5th); DIRT MARKERS; DAMAGE MARKERS; SECOND MARKERS; SHORTCUT CARDS; the SPARE TIRE CARD for each player; the START PANEL and FINISH PANEL; and a P.C.COURSE SHEET for the race director. The board is built from ZONE tiles (for example ZONE C and ZONE L in the example layout), placed so their roads connect, sometimes at a 2 ZONE JUNCTION.

Note: the SECOND MARKERS are not required in the base version of the game. They will be useful only to the more experienced drivers (see game rules+ on page 7) who wish to perform time attacks (see Art.13) or spend SECOND MARKERS (see Art.14).

Art.2 — Organization of a Rally

Before starting the rally, the player to be considered the most objective (!) is appointed as the race director. He will be responsible for organizing the rally.

The rally will be played in 3 timed stages called special stages or alternatively specials or SS. At the start of the rally the drivers decide together the route for each of the 3 specials. These specials are composed of a distinct start and finish points, between which the cars will be timed (it is not a race on a closed circuit). The specials are defined by combining 1, 2, 3 or 4 ZONES (C, J, L, V) and then randomly choosing one of the several possible routes, for example: configuration C8-C3 / J6-J5 / C4-C5, configuration L0-L1 / C7-C6 / L2-L3 / V2-V3 / C5-C4, or configuration J1-J4.

The race director takes a P.C.COURSE SHEET before starting the rally and:

• Writes the name and date of the rally;
• Writes the names of the drivers (next to each of the helmets);
• Describes the route of the 3 specials indicating the start, junction and finish points for each special;
• Puts a circle in the proper side of the assistance column to indicate whether there will be assistance at the end of each special. Assistance is a period between two specials that is reserved for the repair of cars that have suffered damage or flat tires. It is advisable for novice drivers to have an assistance period at the end of each special. The details of the assistance can be found at Art.12.

Example: 4 drivers are taking part in the rally. The 3 SS are identified and assistance will be provided after SS1 and SS2.

Finally, the race director prepares the first special by setting up the ZONES used for that special and placing the START PANEL (see Art.4) and FINISH PANEL (see Art.11) at these points.

Art.3 — Drivers Game Turn

To advance the car the driver uses the dice. The 5 black dice (GEAR DICE) correspond to the 5 gears of the car. The 2 white dice (ACCELERATION DICE) correspond to acceleration using the last engaged gear.

Base rule: roll 1 die = advance 1 space, regardless of the die rolled or its result.

In his turn to move the MRC, the driver performs the following 3 phases:

Phase 1: choosing the gear to engage, rolling the first die.

• If the driver is starting the special stage, he must roll the 1st GEAR DIE;
• If the driver is already underway in the special stage, he may roll one die either the same or one gear above or below the gear used at the end of the previous turn (see the last GEAR CARD taken) or the driver may choose to accelerate and roll the ACCELERATION DIE.

Example: the driver is in 3rd gear. He can therefore choose to roll the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th GEAR DIE or the ACCELERATION DIE.

Phase 2: chaining gears, rolling the other dice.

To perform a chain of gear changes, roll the dice one by one and respect the following 4 rules:

• Each die can be rolled only once each turn. Each rolled die is put aside but left visible to show any warning symbols rolled.
• Starting from the gear engaged in Phase 1, gears are chained one by one by rolling the dice one by one. The ACCELERATION DICE (white dice) may be played at any time while chaining gears: at the beginning, interspersed or at the end.
• Respect the notes indicated in the corners, bumps and shortcuts (see Art.5 and Art.6).
• The accumulation of 3 warning symbols in the same turn results in a loss of control of the car and the end of the drivers game turn (see Art.7).

Phase 3: end of turn, drawing a GEAR CARD.

When the driver decides to end his turn (for not having more available dice or to avoid losing control of the car), he takes the GEAR CARD that corresponds to the last rolled die and puts it on the top of his stack of cards – the chrono pile – which is formed in front of the driver. The big colored number should be visible: it reminds the driver of his current gear. The digital quadrant at the bottom of the card is a chronometer with a timing that, at the end of the special, will be added to the timings of the other cards drawn.

Example: the driver finishes his turn in 1st gear and puts a 1ST GEAR CARD (50 seconds) on his chrono pile.

If the last rolled die is an ACCELERATION DIE, the driver takes the GEAR CARD that corresponds to the last GEAR DIE rolled.

Art.4 — Starting

1. The starting line is formed by the edge of the board. It is marked by the red STARTING PANEL displaying a chronometer (cut it from the card that came with the game).

2. Definition of the starting order:

   • The order of departure of the 1st SS is determined by the drivers at the beginning of the game. It is advisable to have the most experienced driver go first to show the others how to drive properly;
   • The starting order of the 2nd SS is obtained from the classification (based on time) at the end of the 1st SS;
   • The starting order of the 3rd SS is obtained from the classification obtained after adding the times from the two previous specials (reclassification).

3. Starting procedure. In rally the starts are carried out every minute to allow the drivers to benefit the open road without eventually being blocked by the previous drivers. To simulate this departure against the clock, the drivers A, B, C and D play the first turns like this:

   • Turn 1: player A
   • Turn 2: player A, player B
   • Turn 3: player A, player B, player C
   • Turn 4: player A, player B, player C, player D

   Once all drivers have started the special stage, each one plays their turn one at a time.

   Note: The order of arrival of the drivers at the end of the special is not necessarily the same as the classification because it will be the chronometer that will determine the results, i.e. the accumulated time of GEAR CARDS will dictate the final rankings of the special.

4. The order of play is that of cars on the road. If there is an overtaking (see Art.9), the player order for next turn will change. If more than one car is in a same space, the car with the highest gear engaged plays first or, in case of a tie, the car that arrived first in that space.

Art.5 — Corners

Interior trajectory: indicated by the note inscribed on the inside of the corner.

Example: here in 3rd gear.

This note indicates the maximum gear that can be used in this trajectory. The car is placed over the note in the direction of the movement.

Example: here, we can make the corner on 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear.

Skidding trajectory: indicated by the notes inscribed on the outside of the corner.

Example: here always at 4th gear.

These notes indicate the only possible gear to perform the corner while skidding. The car is placed sideways in the spaces between the white half-lines.

Example: here, the skidding only takes place at 4th gear through 3 spaces using: 4TH GEAR DIE, ACCELERATION DIE and ACCELERATION DIE.

After the 1st or 2nd skidding space, the car can resume the interior trajectory by changing down 1 gear from the skidding trajectory note.

By the shortcut: indicated by the note preceded by a "K" on the brown area below the inner part of the corner.

Example: here K4.

This note indicates the maximum gear for passing through the shortcut.

Example: here, it is possible to pass through the shortcut on 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear.

The car is placed in the brown area in the direction of movement. The driver takes one SHORTCUT CARD, applies its effect and puts it in the discard pile:

• "OK GO!" = good shortcut: no consequences;
• dirty corner card = dirt was thrown over the corner, thus placing a DIRT MARKER on the curve. The notes of the corner are now decreased by 1 for any subsequent drivers, except for the note of the shortcut which is not changed. If another dirty corner card is drawn by another driver traversing this shortcut, the notes, already decreased by 1, decrease by 1 again.

Example: a DIRT MARKER on the corner decreases the note of the interior trajectory to 1 (2-1 = 1) and the skidding trajectory to 2 (3-1 = 2).

Example: two DIRT MARKERS decrease the note of the interior trajectory to 0 (2-2 = 0), thus making it impassable. The following drivers can only pass through the shortcut (at 3rd gear maximum) or use the skidding trajectory at 1st gear (3-2 = 1).

• flat tire card = the car has a flat tire that results in loss of an ACCELERATION DIE, this penalty is registered on the CONTROL PANEL CARD by placing a DAMAGE MARKER over a white die symbol.

In the case of the 1st flat tire: the driver can only use a single ACCELERATION DIE.

With a 2nd flat tire, the driver may not use any of the ACCELERATION DICE.

If there is a 3rd flat tire and none of the previous 2 have been repaired, then that driver is knocked out of the rally.

In the case of a flat tire the driver can either continue that turn and following turns taking the adequate acceleration penalties into consideration or he can use his SPARE TIRE CARD (see Art.10).

Warning! If a corner is approached with the car engaged in 1 or 2 gears above the highest note of the corner, there is a loss of control of the car in the corner (see Art.7). More than 2 gears above, the driver is knocked out of the rally.

Art.6 — Bumps

The bump is indicated by a note under the bump symbol. There are 3 ways to approach these:

• Reduced speed: if the bump is performed at a lower gear than the note, the car advances 1 space as usual (into the bump space);
• Recommended speed: if the bump is performed with a gear equal to the note, the car jumps to the next space of the bump (thus advancing 2 spaces);
• Excessive speed: if the bump is performed with 1 gear above the note, the car jumps to the second space ahead of the bump (thus advancing 3 spaces). But if the warning symbol appears on the die just rolled, then there is an immediate loss of control of the car (see Art.7).

Warning! If a bump is performed 2 gears above the note, there is an immediate loss of control (see Art.7) and the car jumps to the third space ahead of the bump (thus advancing 4 spaces).

Art.7 — Loss of Control

Any loss of control of the car causes the car to stop and the drivers turn to end. A loss of control occurs when:

• 3 warning symbols are accumulated on the dice rolled on the same given turn;
• on a corner, the gear used is 1 or 2 gears above the maximum note;
• on a bump, the gear used is 1 gear above the note indicated on the bump and the warning symbol appears on the rolled die, or immediately if the gear used is 2 gears above the note (see Art.6).

In the event of a loss of control:

1. Move the car to the next space.
2. Take a GEAR CARD corresponding to the last gear engaged, turn it to the opposite side and place it over your chrono pile, respecting the event indicated by the card:
   • reverse symbol: place the car in reverse direction without taking any damage;
   • left-arrow or right-arrow symbol: place the car on the left or the right side of the road, according to the arrow shown in the GEAR CARD, orientated in the direction of the car movement. More or less serious damage is caused to the car depending on the type of terrain adjacent to the space where the loss of control took place: grass, dirt, snow, forest, rocks, village or water. For more information regarding damage and its consequences, see Art.8.

Specific cases:

• If the loss of control occurs in the movement from the road to the shortcut, then the driver places his MRC on the shortcut and takes a SHORTCUT CARD. He will continue the game in the next turn from the space of the shortcut;
• If the loss of control occurs in the movement from the shortcut to the road, then the driver puts his MRC over the road. He will continue the game in the next turn from that space.
• If the loss of control occurs while crossing the finish line: see Art.11.

Resuming play in the turn after a loss of control. Reposition the car on the road space where the loss of control took place and start moving using 1st gear (the last gear engaged, visible on the chrono pile, is 0 - neutral). If the car was skidding when the loss of control occurred, the car is repositioned in the interior trajectory space of the corner.

Art.8 — Damage

In the case of a loss of control that results in the car leaving the road, the damage that may have been caused to your MRC depends on the type of terrain surrounding the side of the space where the loss of control occurred (the specific legend of each ZONE indicates the severity of the damage). Damage have as consequence a loss of GEAR DICE.

Example: according to ZONE C legend: in grass = no damage / in dirt = no damage / in forest = loss of 1 black die / in rocks = loss of 2 black dice.

To track the damage suffered, DAMAGE MARKERS should be placed on the CONTROL PANEL CARD, covering a number of black dice symbols that corresponds to the number of black dice lost.

Losing 1 black die means that the driver can only use 4 GEAR DICE and 2 ACCELERATION DICE in a given turn. It is not the loss of a gear die in particular. Thus, for example, the driver can use in a given turn the 1st GEAR DIE, 2ND GEAR DIE, 3RD GEAR DIE and 4TH GEAR DIE and in the next turn use the 5TH GEAR DIE, 4TH GEAR DIE, 3RD GEAR DIE and 2ND GEAR DIE. The damage will be repaired during the next assistance period (see Art.12).

Art.9 — Overtaking

Overtaking an opponent can only be done in 4 situations:

1. In a straight, except if the road is blocked by the opponent's cars.
2. Through the shortcut if the opponent is on the corner (interior trajectory or skidding).
3. Through the corner if the opponent is on the shortcut.
4. If the opponent is off the road.

Outside the corners identified by the notes, there may be several cars on the same space if it is sufficiently long and wide to accommodate them.

Art.10 — Spare Tire

The SPARE TIRE CARD allows the change of a flat tire during a special. This can only be done when the car is in 1st gear or neutral (gear 0) (see top card of chrono pile) and only at the beginning of a turn.

At the beginning of turn, put the SPARE TIRE CARD on top of your chrono pile, remove the DAMAGE MARKER covering a white die symbol on the CONTROL PANEL CARD (Art.5 – flat tire) and start in 1st gear.

The SPARE TIRE CARD can also be played between 2 specials if there is no assistance. In this case, the card is discarded (instead of being placed on the chrono pile). However it will no longer be available for the next special.

Note: a played SPARE TIRE CARD is not recovered for the next special unless there is assistance before its beginning (see Art.12).

Art.11 — Finishing

The finish line is constituted by the edge of the board. It is marked by the yellow FINISH PANEL (to be cut from the card that came with the game). To finish the special stage it is necessary to cross the edge of the board.

After finishing the special stage, each driver adds the times of their GEAR CARDS accumulated in his chrono pile. The total time, converted into minutes and seconds in the 00:00 format, is recorded by the race director in the P.C.COURSE SHEET. The driver who has achieved the fastest time wins that special stage.

If a driver loses control of his car as he crosses the finish line, the special stage is considered completed. The driver takes the GEAR CARD which corresponds to the last gear engaged, and without turning it to the other side places it on top of his chrono pile. He also covers a black die symbol with a DAMAGE MARKER. Damages done to the car remain in the next special stage if there is no assistance period provided before its beginning (see Art.12).

Art.12 — Assistance

It is recommended for novice drivers that there is an assistance period at the end of each special stage. This is indicated by a circle in the proper side of the assistance column of the P.C.COURSE SHEET.

The assistance period allows the full repair of the car after a special stage. In that case the driver:

• Removes the DAMAGE MARKERS accumulated over the symbols of the CONTROL PANEL CARD;
• Receives back the SPARE TIRE CARD if it has been played previously.
• Can change the type of tires.

The SPARE TIRE CARD can be played between 2 special stages to change a flat tire, even in the absence of assistance (in rally, outside the areas of assistance, the crew - driver and co-driver - is authorized to work on the car with the tools they have on board and without the help of mechanics). In this case, the SPARE TIRE CARD is discarded and the 1 minute chrono relative to the tire change is ignored. However, the card is no longer available for the following special stage.

Game Rules+ (Advanced Rules)

Art.13 to 16 are for drivers who have mastered perfectly the driving of their MRC. These articles increase the realism of the simulation by adding more specific parameters and allowing the gaining of precious seconds!

Art.13 — Time Attack

This technique allows the gain of seconds each time it is used. It consists of rolling dice simultaneously (from 2 dice), rather than rolling them one by one. It's possible to use this or the basic technique on a given turn, but drivers may not mix the two in the same turn.

In this technique, if less than 3 warning symbols appear (or less than 2 on snow/night dice) on the dice rolled, then the movement is performed entirely (as many spaces as the rolled dice). The driver takes as many SECOND MARKERS as the number of dice rolled (a small SECOND MARKER represents 1 second, a large one may represent 5 or 10 seconds, according to the drivers choosing). Just like in the basic technique, a GEAR CARD is drawn at the end of the turn corresponding to the last engaged gear.

If 3 warning symbols appear (or 2 on snow/night dice), the rolled dice are used in the car movement, respecting the usual procedure of chaining gears until the obligatory use of the 3rd warning symbol (2nd on snow/night dice). It is therefore possible that certain dice are not used in this movement. It is on the last space reached by the car that the loss of control will take place. Even so, the driver receives as many SECOND MARKERS as the number of rolled dice to reward the risk-taking by the driver.

Notes: It is not allowed to roll a group of dice that cannot be used in it's entirety (example: rolling 5 black and 2 white dice when the last engaged gear in the previous turn was 3rd gear). It is forbidden to roll more dice than the number of spaces necessary to reach the finish line.

The SECOND MARKERS accumulated in a special constitute seconds to be deducted from the chrono pile total time:

• Chrono pile time - Number of seconds = Special time.

The SECOND MARKERS earned during a special can also be used to avoid the risk of loss of control (see Art.15).

Art.14 — Spending Second Markers

The seconds won on a special using the time attack technique (Art.13) can be used during that same special to advance without running the risk of losing control of your MRC.

To do so, if you are afraid of losing control after 2 warning symbols have appeared on the dice rolled in a given turn, you can put the die you want to play together with a SECOND MARKER (instead of rolling it randomly). This will ensure the car moves without risk. You can use several SECOND MARKERS during the same turn as follows: 1 SECOND MARKER for the first die, 2 markers for the second die, 3 markers for the third, etc.

Advice: in a special stage where the road is dry at the beginning and under snow at the end, a driver with asphalt tires may try to attack seconds in the dry section, to gain seconds that can be used in the snow section to prevent losses of control.

Note: it is not possible to spend SECOND MARKERS while using the time attack technique.

Art.15 — Weather Conditions and Tire Choice

The roads on the backs of the ZONES are under snow. Therefore, it is possible to hold a rally completely on snow or with mixed weather conditions.

Definition of weather conditions. The road conditions are not known at the start of the rally when the race director fills the P.C.COURSE SHEET. The dry and snow sections are determined at the beginning of each special stage, ZONE by ZONE before the departure of the first driver. For that effect, the race director rolls as many black dice as there are ZONES: 1st GEAR DIE for the 1st ZONE, the 2ND GEAR DIE for the 2nd ZONE, the 3RD GEAR DIE for the 3rd ZONE, the 4TH GEAR DIE for the 4th ZONE. Whenever the warning symbol appears on a GEAR DIE, the corresponding ZONE will be under snow.

Tire choice. At the beginning of the first special stage and each special preceded by an assistance period, each driver chooses the type of tires to use after the race director has determined the weather conditions. For this effect, the driver places the CONTROL PANEL CARD with the selected tires side face-up (asphalt or snow).

If there is no assistance period before a special stage, the drivers keep the same tires from the previous special.

Consequences on road handling:

• Asphalt tires

  • On asphalt: usual movement rules (see Art.3);
  • On snow: only 1 warning symbol is allowed, while 2 warning symbols on snow spaces will cause the loss of control (see Art.7) thus simulating the weak traction of this type of tire on snow.

  Note: the spaces mainly covered with snow are considered to be snowy.

• Snow tires

  • On snow: usual movement rules (see Art.3);
  • On asphalt: the driver uses only 1 single ACCELERATION DIE on asphalt spaces thus simulating the lower efficiency of this type of tire on asphalt.

  Note: in the case of a flat snow tire the driver may only use 1 ACCELERATION DIE on snow and 1 ACCELERATION DIE on asphalt. In the case of a double flat snow tire, no ACCELERATION DIE can be used either in the snow or on asphalt.

Art.16 — Intermediate Times

One or more points for registering intermediate times (a ZONE junction, a particular corner or space, etc.) are defined at the beginning of each special and identified on the ZONES with a black marker.

When passing through these points, each driver counts his time in the special to that point: the race director records these times and makes it available to all the drivers. This allows each driver to evaluate his time in relation to the opponents times and possibly adjust his driving according to the situation (attack or secure).

Glossary — Technical Terms

ACCELERATION: allows car progress on a gear already engaged. Takes place through the ACCELERATION DICE (white).

BLACK / WHITE DICE SYMBOLS: icons listed in CONTROL PANEL CARD that symbolize the GEAR DICE (black) and the ACCELERATION DICE (white). They are covered or uncovered with the DAMAGE MARKERS according to the damages or repairs done to the car.

RACE DIRECTOR: the rally coordinator, chosen for his impartiality, which ensures the normal completion of the rally and the compliance to the regulations.

SPECIAL STAGE, SPECIAL, SS: section of road between a departure and arrival points, where drivers compete for the lowest time. In Rallyman, a rally has 3 of these sections.

MRC, MICRO RALLY CAR: rally car approved for participation in the Rallyman events.

NOTES: numbers indicated in the spaces of the corners which indicate the recommended gear to perform the corner properly.

CHRONO PILE: stack of GEAR CARDS placed in front of each driver.

Participate in the rallies organized by the rallyman.fr forum. With the road-book, drive through the special stages, transmit your times and join the world elite in the official scratch time ranking!

Author: Jean-Christophe Bouvier. Illustrations: Philippe Bouvier, Clovis, Robert Paquet. Translation: Hélio Andrade. Proofreading: Murray Lewis, Ben Saylor.