The Great Race Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• Setup
• Dashboard
• Sequence of Gameplay
• Bivouac Phase
• Planning Phase
• Convoy Phase
• Detail of the Assistants' Skills
  • Pathfinder
  • Mechanics
  • Security Guard
  • Funding
• Details of a Terrain Tile
• Type of Move
  • Moving Into Known Territory
  • Moving Into Unfamiliar Territory
  • Entering a City
  • Crossing a Risk Zone
  • Transport
• Maintenance Phase
• End of Game
• Calculation of Prestige Points
• Resource Cards
• Leader Module
• FAQ
• Game Turn Summary
• Credits

Box Contents

• 2-sided game board.
• 2 tokens of each colour to define and display the TURN ORDER.
• 4 DASHBOARDS.
• 4 vehicles, each with an accompanying SCREEN.
• 48 RESOURCE cards and 5 game helpers.
• Game money in denominations of 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs.
• 20 ASSISTANTS, 5 for each vehicle.
• 1 fabric bag and 60 TERRAIN TILES.
• This rule book.

Setup

Example for Africa game board:

1. Position the board at the center of the table. The most recent traveller to the continent where the race takes place will be the first player and chooses a vehicle and all associated ASSISTANTS and tokens, as well as the appropriate player SCREEN. In clockwise order, each subsequent player will do the same. Players will decide as a group which of the purple cities will be designated as the starting city (with the other purple city representing the finish line).
2. The first player will then place one of their TURN tokens on the first space on the TURN ORDER TRACK, followed by other players doing likewise (in the same clockwise order as before and placing tokens from left to right).
3. The second set of TURN tokens are stacked in order (with the first player's token at the bottom) and placed on the appropriate starting space of the PROGRESSION TRACK.
4. All player DASHBOARDS have 3 gauges. At the start of the race, each gauge should be set to max.
5. Place all vehicles on the start city.
6. Shuffle the RESOURCE cards. Place them face down on the indicated space on the game board.
7. Collect starting money as follows: all players other than the last player begin with 80 francs. The last player begins with 70 francs.
8. Place all TERRAIN TILES in the draw bag.

Dashboard

PETROL Gauge: Indicates the amount of petrol left.

ENGINE Gauge: Indicates the integrity of the engine and the maximum number of tiles you can travel during a drive action.

CHASSIS Gauge: Indicates the integrity of the vehicle's frame and corresponds to the maximum number of cards you can hold.

Assistants: They represent the number of actions you can perform during the CONVOY PHASE. The space on which the ASSISTANT is placed indicates the action that the ASSISTANT may perform.

Skills: There are 3 SKILL spaces on which assistants can be dispatched. Each space corresponds to a specific SKILL set.

FUNDING: ASSISTANTS are placed in succession (left to right) to generate FUNDING. The more assistants placed in this area, the higher the FUNDING.

An ASSISTANT can be placed on either a SKILL box or the FUNDING area, depending on the intended action.

Sequence of Gameplay

1 GAME TURN consists of 4 different phases:

BIVOUAC PHASE: In reverse turn order (last player first), the players choose a RESOURCE card. After each player has selected a card, the last player receives the remaining card.

PLANNING PHASE: Hidden behind their SCREEN, each player places their ASSISTANTS on their DASHBOARD.

CONVOY PHASE: The players may use their money, RESOURCE cards and ASSISTANTS to:

1. Purchase PETROL (optional action),
2. Play one or several RESOURCE cards (optional action),
3. Take an ASSISTANT action or pass (mandatory action).

MAINTENANCE PHASE: Determine new turn order based on player position on the PROGRESSION TRACK and rearrange tokens on the TURN ORDER TRACK as necessary. Determine BONUS awards from new TURN ORDER TRACK positions. Players receive a progression BONUS based on their vehicle's progression on the track.

Bivouac Phase

From the RESOURCE deck, deal the appropriate number of cards (number of players plus one) face up onto the allocated game board squares. In reverse turn order (starting with the current last player), each player selects one available RESOURCE card from the game board. Once all the players have selected a card, the remaining card is given to the last player. Remember, you cannot hold more RESOURCE cards than your current CHASSIS gauge level allows. If a player ever ends up with more, they must choose which card(s) to discard before continuing.

Planning Phase

All players, hidden behind their SCREENS, will simultaneously place their 5 ASSISTANTS on their DASHBOARD. Each player may choose how to split their ASSISTANTS between the FUNDING and SKILL boxes on their DASHBOARD. Players may place more than one ASSISTANT in the same SKILL box or in FUNDING. Once the SCREENS are removed, each ASSISTANT is considered active and cannot be repositioned to another space on the DASHBOARD. ASSISTANTS in the SKILL boxes will be played one at a time, while ASSISTANTS in the FUNDING box act collectively.

Convoy Phase

In turn order, each player may take the following actions (in the specific sequence below):

1. Buy PETROL (Optional Action) at a rate of 10F per gauge level in town or 20F per gauge level in the wilderness. This action does not require an ASSISTANT; however it must be performed at the beginning of an action sequence during the CONVOY PHASE, before playing any cards or resolving any ASSISTANT actions.

2. Play as many RESOURCE cards from your hand as you wish (Optional Action). Effects of cards are resolved in the order played. Note: Certain RESOURCE cards may be played outside of this sequence order as indicated on the individual cards (See RESOURCE CARDS section for details). You can only play cards if you have at least 1 active ASSISTANT left on the DASHBOARD.

3. Play one ASSISTANT from DASHBOARD (or group of ASSISTANTS if FUNDING). This is a Mandatory Action! After performing the chosen ASSISTANT action, play passes to the next player. You may pass if you no longer wish to perform an action, but if you choose to pass, any remaining ASSISTANTS should be removed from DASHBOARD, except for those placed on the SECURITY SKILL box (see SECURITY section below). The Convoy phase continues in repeating clockwise order until the last active ASSISTANT has been utilized or every player has passed.

The CONVOY PHASE ends when all players have used all of their assistants in turns and/or have passed.

Detail of the Assistants' Skills

Play an ASSISTANT: The ASSISTANT being played (or group of ASSISTANTS in the FUNDING box) is removed from the player's dashboard. Playing an ASSISTANT from the player's dashboard ends the player's current sequence of actions and play passes to the next player. The CONVOY PHASE continues until all players have utilized all of their ASSISTANTS or all players have passed.

Pathfinder

For each ASSISTANT located on the PATHFINDER box, you may either:

• Draw 2 TERRAIN TILES from the bag and place them on the board. The drawn tiles must be placed on available free spaces to form a direct connection to your vehicle's current location. You cannot place a TERRAIN TILE on a city space, but a city space can be used as a link between the two drawn tiles to form a continuous path.
  • In one example, the player can place the two TERRAIN TILES from the bag to form a continuation of their path.
  • In another, the player does not have the right to place a TERRAIN TILE as it is not connected to their vehicle's path.
• Or: Draw the top RESOURCE card from the deck. Remember, the number of cards a player may hold is equal to their CHASSIS gauge level. In the event of excess cards, the player chooses which card(s) to discard to bring their hand limit in line with the current CHASSIS level.

Mechanics

For each ASSISTANT placed on the MECHANICS box, you may either be a:

REPAIRMAN: Repair your vehicle in order to increase your ENGINE and/or CHASSIS gauge level. This action can be performed by using the RESOURCE cards SPARE PARTS (+1 gauge level) and TOOLBOX (+3 gauge levels), or buying MECHANICAL PARTS (+1 gauge level for 20F in a city or 40F in the wilderness), or a combination of both. One single REPAIRMAN can carry out all these actions.

In one example, the current player uses 2 SPARE PARTS cards and buys MECHANICAL PARTS (for 20F while in a city) for a total gauge level increase of +3. The player chooses to split the increase and adds +1 to the ENGINE gauge and +2 to the CHASSIS gauge.

DRIVER: Drive your vehicle. With this action, a player may move their vehicle up to the number of spaces equal to their ENGINE gauge level at the start of the driver action.

Note: Upon entering a city a vehicle must stop regardless of the number of moves made available by the ENGINE gauge.

Whenever a player moves their vehicle, their progress token is also moved along the PROGRESSION TRACK. If more than one player reaches the same location on the PROGRESSION TRACK, the newest arrival stacks their progress token on top of any token(s) already present.

Remember, playing an ASSISTANT from the DASHBOARD ends a player's current sequence of actions and play then proceeds to the next player. This process continues until all players have utilized all of their ASSISTANTS or have passed. It is possible for a player to take multiple actions in a row if no other players have ASSISTANTS remaining or have PASSED.

In one example, the orange vehicle arrives after the blue vehicle, therefore its progress token is placed on top of the blue token. IMPORTANT: This stacking order is used in the MAINTENANCE phase to determine TURN positioning for vehicles located on the same PROGRESSION TRACK space (see MAINTENANCE phase for details).

Security Guard

For each ASSISTANT located in this box, you may either:

• Avoid a DANGER. Remove an ASSISTANT to avoid the effects of a DANGER symbol on either a TERRAIN TILE or on a played RESOURCE card. The thunderbolt sign means that this ASSISTANT can be used at any time, including to avoid the effects of a card showing the DANGER symbol played by an opposing player.
• Or: Discard a FIELD TILE connected to the path of your vehicle. The discarded tile is removed from the game. You cannot remove a TERRAIN TILE occupied by a vehicle.

Note: ASSISTANTS placed on the SECURITY GUARD box may be played during another player's action even if the player has passed. However, if you have passed, you may not take any other action (such as buying PETROL or playing cards) for the remainder of the GAME TURN.

Funding

Each ASSISTANT is placed in this box sequentially, starting from the left. The more ASSISTANTS placed in the FUNDING box, the higher the reward. The amount received is shown on the first empty square to the right of the last ASSISTANT:

• 1 assistant = 10F,
• 2 assistants = 20F,
• 3 assistants = 40F,
• 4 assistants = 70F,
• 5 assistants = 110F.

The group of ASSISTANTS placed here is removed as a single action. In one example, the player has put 3 ASSISTANTS on the FUNDING box. During their turn, the player removes the 3 ASSISTANTS and receives 40F.

Note: All the ASSISTANTS placed in this area are played as a single unit.

Details of a Terrain Tile

In order for a half-track to conquer a TERRAIN TILE, a player must be able to fulfill the requirements established by the tile, depending on the nature of the terrain encountered or the event taking place there. If a player cannot meet the cost of the TERRAIN TILE, they must return to their prior location.

PETROL CONSUMPTION: Amount of petrol required to traverse the terrain. Players must decrease PETROL gauge the number of levels indicated.

VEHICLE DAMAGE: Represents the wear and tear on a vehicle from the terrain. Players must decrease the ENGINE and/or CHASSIS gauge levels as indicated.

Danger: The DANGER symbol represents a threat the player must overcome. Use of a MILITIA card or a SECURITY GUARD action avoids the DANGER. Otherwise, the player takes 2 additional VEHICLE DAMAGE.

Stop: If a TERRAIN TILE has a STOP symbol, the vehicle must stop on this tile, ending the DRIVER action, regardless of the player's ENGINE gauge level; only the use of the GUIDE card can ignore the stop symbol on a TERRAIN TILE.

Type of Move

Moving Into Known Territory

TERRAIN TILES are not exclusive to the player who placed them. Any player may use an established route as long as they can pay the costs listed on the TERRAIN TILES.

Remember, the number of spaces your vehicle may move cannot exceed your ENGINE gauge level at the start of your DRIVER action. Once the ENGINE gauge reaches 0, the car stops, and the vehicle is placed on its side to indicate a breakdown. For it to restart, appropriate repairs using RESOURCE cards and/or REPAIRMAN action must be carried out.

Upon entering a city, vehicles must stop. Remember, you cannot go onto a TERRAIN TILE if you cannot fulfill its requirements.

In one example, the player expends 1 + 2 + 1 PETROL levels, as well as receiving 1 damage to either ENGINE or CHASSIS gauge levels. Here, the player has chosen to take damage on their CHASSIS gauge.

Moving Into Unfamiliar Territory

By using a DRIVER card or DRIVER skill, a player may move their vehicle onto a blank terrain space adjacent to their current location. After moving, the player randomly draws a TERRAIN TILE from the bag. If the player is able to fulfill the requirements on the tile, the tile is placed below their vehicle and their action may continue (assuming they still have the necessary ENGINE levels to do so). If the player cannot meet the requirements on the drawn tile, their vehicle returns to the tile it previously occupied, the drawn tile is placed on the vacated space, and the player's driving action is ended.

Entering a City

You must spend 1 PETROL level to enter a city, whether arriving from land, air, or sea. On entering the city, the player draws the indicated number of RESOURCE cards and, if necessary, discards cards until their hand matches the limit set by their CHASSIS gauge level. Entering a city ends the player's driving action.

The indicated value on the city corresponds to the number of cards that you draw when you enter it.

Crossing a Risk Zone

The black terrain spaces on the board represent uncharted territories not found on maps. If your crew chooses to enter these shadowy areas, a -1 PETROL level penalty will be added to all TERRAIN TILES placed within the risk zone. Entry into a city from a risk zone space is not affected by this penalty.

Transport

In the Great Race, it is permissible to use sea and air modes of transport when traveling between certain cities. The costs associated with these journeys are indicated along the transport line. A player may use one or more TRANSPORT cards to offset the cost (saving 50F per card used). Remember, the TRANSPORT lanes form a path, so make sure you can afford the trip.

Entering a city always costs 1 PETROL point, regardless of the mode of transportation used. Likewise, a player must use either a DRIVER card or DRIVER skill to carry out movement, even if it is by sea or air.

Maintenance Phase

1. The PROGRESSION TRACK runs along the edge of the game board.
2. When a player moves their vehicle on the game board, they also move their token on the PROGRESSION TRACK accordingly. The MAINTENANCE PHASE uses player position along the PROGRESSION TRACK to determine the next GAME TURN order, with the player who has progressed the farthest becoming first player and the player most behind being last. If two or more players occupy the same PROGRESSION TRACK space, the lowest token in the stack is advanced to a higher spot in the turn order (since this player's vehicle arrived first). Once the new turn order has been established, the first player receives a bonus of 20F, the second player receives 10F and the other players do not receive anything. In a 2-player game, only the first player receives a bonus (of 20F).

In one example, the most advanced player will start the next round first: the blue player receives 20F and the orange player receives 10F. The other players do not receive anything.

End of Game

The end of the game is triggered as soon as a player enters the destination city. When this happens:

• the player immediately discards any RESOURCE cards they are holding,
• removes any remaining ASSISTANTS from their DASHBOARD,
• passes.

After paying costs for entering the city, all gauge levels and money should be frozen (as they factor into victory conditions). The remaining players may complete their planned actions, likewise discarding cards and tokens if entering the destination city and keeping gauge levels/money intact. Once reaching this city, a player cannot be targeted by cards or external events - their race is done. When all players have completed their CONVOY PHASE, the game ends. Only vehicles that have reached the finish line are eligible to win. As the Great Race is a gentleman's wager, the condition of the vehicle and the proper management of its crew are key components when declaring a victor. For your sponsors and the press, it is not enough to finish the race first, but also to finish with flair, valour, and a vehicle in good condition.

Calculation of Prestige Points

All finishing players are awarded prestige points as follows:

• The first place finisher receives 5 points, second place receives 3 points, and third place 1 point.
• Each player receives 1 additional point for each of their ENGINE and CHASSIS gauge levels on their ending DASHBOARD.
• Each player also gains 1 point for every 50F in their possession.
• In the event of a tie, the players are separated by order of arrival. The first to arrive wins.

In one example, the blue player finished first, earning 5 prestige points. They also receive an additional 2 points for their ENGINE and CHASSIS gauge levels, but do not earn any additional points for money, having only 10F. Therefore, the blue player ends with a final score of 7 prestige points.

The orange player came in second place and received 3 points for their second place finish. They also receive 4 points for their ENGINE and CHASSIS gauge levels and 1 point for having 50F, for a total of 8 prestige points. So even though the blue player finished first, the orange player finished with a more durable vehicle and more money for celebrating their expedition, so the orange player is clearly the victor!

Resource Cards

The RESOURCE cards in the Great Race offer unique advantages to the players holding them, and represent various forms of aid from a diverse range of sources, such as: the innate resilience of a given crew, the altruistic nature of the indigenous population, or the covert influence provided by wealthy sponsors. There are 3 kinds of RESOURCE cards.

• These cards can only be played during the CONVOY PHASE before playing an ASSISTANT.
• These cards must be played during the CONVOY PHASE with a REPAIRMAN or DRIVER skill action.
• These cards can be played at any time during the game.

During your turn, you may play as many cards as you wish (following the above rules). Each card is discarded after use. Any time the deck runs out, simply shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.

TRAIL HUNTER (2x): Trail Hunters enjoy finding their own way. Discard 2 TERRAIN TILES from anywhere on the board.

Saboteur (3x): The targeted player loses 2 points of ENGINE or CHASSIS MECHANICS. The SABOTEUR chooses how the gauges are impacted.

REPAIRMAN (3x): Increase the ENGINE and/or CHASSIS gauge level by using any SPARE PARTS or TOOLBOX cards at your disposal, and/or purchasing MECHANICAL PARTS for 20F in a city or 40F in the wild.

MILITIA (3x): Local militias are known to help strangers avoid disaster. Ignore the danger symbol on a TERRAIN TILE or RESOURCE card. This card can be played at any time.

DRIVER (3x): Drive your vehicle any number of spaces less than or equal to the ENGINE gauge level at the beginning of this action. Entering a city ends the driving action.

Con Artist (2x): A CON ARTIST can deceive a rival crew about the path ahead, so one working for you can be a valuable asset. Swap 2 tiles already placed, anywhere on the board.

Cartographer (3x): Draw and place 3 TERRAIN TILES from the bag, remembering to form a continuous path between their placement and your vehicle.

Financial (3x): A courier arrives with letters from home and a small gift from your sponsors. Collect 30F.

Transport (2x): Reduce by 50F the cost of sea or air transport. This card must be played in combination with either a DRIVER skill or DRIVER card.

Jerrycan (8x): Increase the PETROL Gauge by 1 level. This card can be played at any time.

REFUELING STATION (2x): Increase your PETROL gauge by 5 levels.

Guide (2x): Ignore the effects of a stop symbol on a TERRAIN TILE. This card must be played with either a DRIVER skill or DRIVER card.

Tracker (2x): A gifted TRACKER can be a game changer. Draw 3 resource cards, keep two and discard the third.

Spare Parts (6x): Increase your CHASSIS or ENGINE gauge by 1 level. This card must be played in combination with either of a REPAIRMAN skill or a REPAIRMAN card.

Toolbox (2x): Increase the CHASSIS and/or ENGINE gauge by 3 levels. This card must be played with either of a REPAIRMAN skill or a REPAIRMAN card.

Leader Module

The Great Race is a game that can be enriched by the use of modules. Adding a Leader to your crew is a simple way to change your game experience.

Effect on game time: Speeds up the game.

Principle: A Leader is a crew chief handpicked by their respective sponsors. They are all experienced racers, and each one brings their own unique special ability to aid their crew.

Setup: Starting with the first player, and in turn order, each player chooses a Leader and the associated crew. The Leader module also adds two new TOPOGRAPHER cards to the RESOURCE deck, so make sure to shuffle them in.

How it works: The power of each Leader acts at a specific point in the game. Some powers can only be used once per GAME TURN, while others are permanent. After using a GAME TURN power, flip the Leader card over to its neutral side. At the beginning of each new GAME TURN, flip your Leader card back to its active side.

Note: The Leader module brings a slight asymmetry to the crews. It can serve as one more action per turn, or as a significant advantage in the race. Players can benefit from optimized Leader actions, but the powers can also give significant insight regarding racing strategies.

Topographer (2x): Pick 4 TERRAIN TILES, place two in your path and discard the other two.

Jean Delatour — born in Lyon in 1887, he served as an artillery captain during the great war, commanding one of General Estienne's Renault light tank brigades. After the war, in 1919, Delatour joined the "all terrain" department of the Citroën company. In 1921, he drove a Citroën half-track at the Mont Revard mountain tank race, conquered the Pilat sand dune in Arcachon and took part in the demonstration of Fontainebleau. Although considered a major candidate for the trans-Saharan mission in the winter 1922, Jean became bed-ridden by influenza. Georges-Marie Haardt took the lead of the famous Citroën cruises in Africa and Asia, while a recuperating Delatour participated in the planning and tracking of those missions. In 1932, after the death of Haardt, Jean Delatour once again assumed control of the French crew, who were already in preparation for the most exceptional race in the world ... The Great Race.

ONCE PER TURN, draw 3 TERRAIN TILES and place them on the board.

Gianni Martinetti — born in Moncalieri near Torino in 1895, he is the son of a humble Lombard industrialist. Martinetti studied at the technical school of Milan, where he graduated top of his class. Passionate about mechanics, he joined the CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali) workshops. Multi-skilled and audacious, he became a test driver. For Lancia, he worked on an improved version of the 1Z military vehicle. Focusing on the work of the French (Citroën) and the German (Mercedes), Gianni developed an "all terrain" half-track for the army; the Lancia 1ZM Bravado. Robust and fast, the 1ZM Bravado is a near perfect vehicle for half-track racing. And with his expert and hand-picked crew, Gianni Martinetti is seen as not only an extraordinary half-track driver, but a sure favorite to win The Great Race.

ONE TIME PER TURN, the Italian crew can perform a repair action on its vehicle.

Leonard Van Hotten — born in Antwerp in 1889, he is the second son of the famous Van Hotten family. Having had a brilliant education in business, Leonard quickly became the head of the import branch of the family business. Fascinated by ethnology, he speaks over a dozen different languages and dialects fluently. His affable nature often attracts warmth from those around him. Traveling the globe in search of spices to further bolster the reputation of the Van Hotten business, Leonard's extensive travels have taken him to some of the most inaccessible territories in the world. In the process, Leonard Van Hotten has gathered around him a team of mechanics, cartographers, and scientists, as well as acquired his very own Kegresse half-track. The Great Race is the perfect opportunity for him to discover new unchartered territory while further raising the prestige of the family name if he should win. And he certainly expects to win.

PERMANENT: The Belgian crew draws at least 2 cards when entering a city.

Sir Andrew Walledgrave — born in London, son of the 11th Walledgrave Earl, Sir Andrew seemed destined for a military career. Having gained experience as a Cadet in the Royal Navy, Sir Andrew's bravery and noble origin afforded him many opportunities, which he seized with eagerness. Commander of a Patrol class sloop for the Royal Indian Navy, he was instrumental in securing the Indian coasts. After his father passed away, Sir Andrew inherited a vast family fortune. Adventurous, even foolhardy, Sir Andrew, who had become a peer of the Kingdom, could not resign himself to idleness. To fill the void left by the ending of his military service, Sir Andrew became deeply obsessed with motorsport, especially when it came to the arena of endurance racing. Determined to make a name for himself in his latest passion, Sir Andrew set up a remarkably talented team around his impressively modified Kegresse P17. With the advent of the Great Race, Sir Andrew believes the honor of Great Britain is at stake. And for King and Country, he plans to win it!

ONE TIME PER TURN, the English crew may offset by 50F the cost of a transport by sea.

FAQ

Can the last player in turn order take 2 cards immediately? No, the last player picks the first card and after all other players have chosen a card, takes the remaining card.

When I take a jerrycan card and my chassis level is too low, do I have the right to play this card and recover a level of the petrol gauge? Yes, the jerrycan can be played at any time. Similarly, if you draw a card that puts you one above your hand limit, you may play a jerrycan instead of discarding a card (as long as your petrol gauge is not maxed).

If I already have as many cards as my chassis level allows, do I have the right to draw? Yes, the chassis level corresponds to the maximum number of cards that you can keep on hand. You can draw, choose which cards to keep and discard cards to return to the hand limit defined by the chassis gauge level. Remember, the discarded cards are not played, with the possible exception of jerrycans (see above).

Do I have to use a DRIVER to take sea or air transportation? Yes, any time a vehicle moves, the player must use a driver (either assistant or card). And remember, the player must also pay the associated petrol cost on entering a city as well.

Can I still use my cards if I run out of assistants? Only if it is a "play any time" card. Otherwise, in order to play a card during the convoy phase, the player must have at least one active assistant still in play. Reminder, the convoy phase is broken down into 3 stages: 1 - buy petrol, 2 - play cards, 3 - play an assistant.

Can I buy petrol on the go? Petrol must be bought at the start of an action sequence in the convoy phase. For example, if a crew chooses not to buy petrol at the start of a convoy sequence, and then chooses to perform a driver action only to discover it does not have sufficient petrol to move onto the next terrain tile, it cannot move onto the tile nor can it pay for petrol at that point. The exception to this situation would be if the player had a jerrycan, which can be played at any time.

Do I need to discard an assistant to buy petrol? No, buying petrol does not require an assistant, but must be performed as the beginning action of a sequence within the convoy phase; prior to playing cards or playing an assistant in that sequence. Note: the convoy phase is made up of a repeating sequence of actions: 1 buy petrol, 2 play cards, 3 play an assistant.

If I go into unfamiliar territory and don't have enough resources to cover the terrain tile costs, do I lose any resource that I have before I go back? No, if a player does not have the full resources to pay a tile's resource cost, the vehicle simply moves back to its prior position as if it had never moved onto it to begin with (imagine it as starting into the territory and then realizing it is necessary to turn around and regroup BEFORE it's too late). Note: Even if the player placing an unfamiliar territory tile on the board is unable to move onto it, the tile remains in the place designated by the player's aborted attempt.

Can the Tracker, Saboteur, and Con Artist cards be countered with an Assistant on Security Guard? Yes, if a player has an Assistant in the Security Guard box, it can be played against any of these cards. These are the only type of assistant that can be played at any time, even after a player has passed!

Do I have to play the tiles drawn with an assistant pathfinder action or a cartographer's card? Yes, but the player chooses where to place the drawn tiles. The tile placement must form a direct connection to the vehicle, but not necessarily to the other tile(s) drawn. For example, if the player uses a Cartographer card, they choose how to place the 3 tiles drawn. It may be possible to place a particularly bad tile on a space still in direct connection to their vehicle, but not in a direction the player intends on going. The player may then place the other two tiles in the direction they do plan on going, although board layout and prior placed tiles may limit the ability to do so successfully.

Are the tiles discarded with a Security Guard action or the tracker card put back in the bag? No, the discarded tiles are removed from the current game.

Is there a limit to the number of assistants I can place on a given box of the 3 Skill boxes? No, the player can place as many assistants as they want on each of the boxes of the dashboard. The assistants will be played one by one in turn. Note: Assistants placed in the Funding area work collectively.

Can I choose the action of the assistant when I remove it or do I have to determine its action during the planning phase? Each Skill box has two alternatives. When performing the action of an assistant from a Skill box, the player chooses the action they wish to perform from the 2 possibilities at the time of removal. The Great Race is an unpredictable adventure and the crews must be ready to react quickly to changing situations.

If my path is not connected to that of other players, can I attack or be attacked (saboteur for example)? Yes, any player can be the target of the Saboteur card.

Can I remove the assistants 1 by 1 from the Funding area? No, assistants placed on the Funding area act collectively as one, and are played in the same sequence fashion as the individual assistants placed on the skill boxes. As such, they follow the same convoy phase sequence of play: 1 buy PETROL, 2 play cards, 3 play assistant(s).

Can I combine transport cards on a sea crossing? Yes. If you have two transport cards, you can combine their effect for a reduction of 100F. Note: transport cards offer a reduction on transport only and may never be exchanged for their monetary value.

Should I stop if my gauge has dropped along the way? In the Great Race, gauge levels will drop as players move their vehicles across hazardous terrains. The effects of the gauge level reaching zero depends on the gauge itself. As the CHASSIS level drops, the number of cards the player can hold drops, so even if the CHASSIS gauge hits zero, the vehicle can still move forward. When the PETROL gauge reaches zero, the player will no longer be able to advance beyond their current tile. And if the ENGINE gauge hits zero, the vehicle has broken down and its movement stops until the engine is repaired.

If my vehicle has entered the destination city, can other players use danger cards (saboteur) to damage my vehicle? No, the player who finished the race is protected from all card effects of other players.

Can I reassign an assistant that I didn't play in the previous round in the planning phase? Yes, all assistants are available at the beginning of a planning phase for placement how the player sees fit.

Game Turn Summary

BIVOUAC PHASE: In reverse turn order (last player first), the players choose a Resource card. After each player has selected a card, the last player receives the remaining card.

PLANNING PHASE: Hidden behind their SCREEN, each player places their ASSISTANTS on their DASHBOARD.

CONVOY PHASE: The players may use their money, RESOURCE cards and ASSISTANTS to:

• Buy PETROL (optional)
• Play one or several RESOURCE cards (optional)
• Take an ASSISTANT action or pass (mandatory)

MAINTENANCE PHASE: Determine new turn order based on player position on the PROGRESSION TRACK and rearrange tokens on the TURN ORDER TRACK as necessary. Determine BONUS awards from new TURN ORDER TRACK positions, 20F for the first, 10F for the second.

Credits

Designer: Maxence Vaché Artist: François Launay Editor: François-Gilles Ricard English rules: special thanks to Jeff Mays

To express thanks is always a perilous exercise. There is a concern of forgetting someone or offending someone else coming too late on the list. Thanking all who have contributed is never easy. Nevertheless, without all the people who helped and supported us, The Great Race would not be in your hands. I want to start with you, with us, to thank all the players who share our passion and make the dream come true, because without them there would be no games. Thank you to all the testers who experience different options or changes, investing more and more time because of our inability to achieve perfection. Thank you for their indulgence and support. Thank you to everybody who read, read again and again the rules, corrected them and enabled us to make them comprehensive if not digest. Thank you to the professionals who brought one or several stones to this building: Claude from Funforge, Chris, Fred and Eric from Pixie games, Nicolas from Asmodée. Thank you to the game's clubs which supported us, Atoujeu and the strategy circle. Thank you to our friends and family for their presence and their participation in all stages of this project. Thank you to the two François who are the soul and the body of this project. Without your illustrations and your work I would not be able to thank anyone. Thanks to André, Anne-Claire, Anne-So, Cédric, Dam, Robin, Doria, Flo, à Flo et Flo, Georges-Marie, Jean-Roch, Juliette, Léo, Lionel, Mickaël, Nadège, Olivier, Patrick, Raph, Raphaël, Enrico, Rodolphe, Sabrina, Toto le héros, Virginie, Xav, Yves, Mandy, Philippe, Martin, Beatriz, Jean-Claude, Yannick, Benjamin, Stefan, Alberto... and to all those who I forgot and who will put me in the pillory.