Thunder Road: Vendetta Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• READY. AIM. DRIVE!
  • HOW TO WIN THIS RACE
  • BEFORE YOUR FIRST GAME
• PARTS LIST
• SETUP
• ROAD TILES & THE BOARD
• VEHICLES
  • CARS
  • CHOPPERS
  • CAR DASHBOARDS
  • TAKING DAMAGE
  • CAR STATUS
    • OPERABLE
  • INOPERABLE
  • ELIMINATED
• THE BOARD
  • TERRAIN
  • OBSTACLES
  • HAZARDS
    • DISCARD AFTER RESOLVING:
    • REMAIN ON THE BOARD:
  • WRECKS
• HOW TO PLAY
  • TURNS AND ROUNDS
  • START OF ROUND
  • ON YOUR TURN
    • STEP 1:ASSIGN
    • STEP 2:COMMAND
    • COMMAND BOARD EFFECTS
      • AIRSTRIKE (ANY DIE)
      • NITRO (1-3)
      • DRIFT (3-5)
      • REPAIR (6)
    • STEP 3: MOVE
      • ROAD DIE
      • COAST
        • SLAMMING
  • STEP 4: SHOOT
    • THE SLAM DIE
    • THE SHOOTING DIE
  • MOVING OFF THE FRONT OF THE BOARD
  • THE FINAL TILE
    • 2 players:
    • 3 or more players:
  • END OF TURN
  • END OF ROUND
  • OUT OF THE GAME
  • WINNING THE GAME
  • DAMAGE TOKENS

READY. AIM. DRIVE!

Thunder Road: Vendetta is a game of fast turns and dicey decisions. Command your crew of cars as they race over perilous roads, dodge hazards, slam into cars, and fire those guns. When all else fails, call in the chopper!

HOW TO WIN THIS RACE

Be the first player to move one of your cars onto the Finish Line –OR– be the last player standing.

BEFORE YOUR FIRST GAME

Carefully push the rotors onto the choppers. Hold the chopper figure from the bottom of the chopper (not the base of the figure) and press down near the center of the rotor (not the outer edges). You do NOT need to remove the rotors after you play.

PARTS LIST

• 4 Command boards (4 different colors)
• 12 Dashboards (3 each in 4 different colors)
• 5 Road tiles (double sided)
• 1 Finish Line tile (double sided)
• 12 Cars (3 each in 4 different colors)
• 4 Choppers (4 different colors)
• 16 Movement dice (4 each in 4 different colors)
• 5 FX dice
  • 1 Road die
  • 1 Stunt die
  • 1 Shooting die
  • 1 Slam die
  • 1 Direction die
• 20 Damage tokens
• 26 Hazard tokens
• 4 Wreck figures

SETUP

1. Choose a starting rear road tile (either 1a: The Parking Lot -OR- 1b: Runway to Ruin) and place it on the table. Shuffle the remaining road tiles to make a draw pile. Draw the top tile and place it in front of the rear road tile, making it the middle road tile. Draw another one to be the lead road tile. Leave the remaining tiles in the draw pile and place the finish line nearby.
2. Shuffle the hazard tokens without looking at them. Place one hazard token face down on each hazard space on all three tiles. Place the remaining tokens face down in a pile near the play area. (On the starting tile, only place hazard tokens on the hazard spaces showing the number of players you are playing with.)
3. Shuffle the damage tokens without looking at them. Place them face down in a pile near the play area.
4. Place the FX dice near the play area.
5. Each player chooses a crew color and takes the matching command board, 3 dashboards, 3 cars, chopper, and 4 movement dice. Players set up their dashboards in a row and place all their cars in the starting area behind the rear tile.
6. Each player rolls their movement dice. Players KEEP this roll to use during the first round. The player with the LOWEST total becomes the FIRST PLAYER for the first round. If there is a tie for lowest total, all players reroll all their dice until there is no tie for lowest total.
7. The first player takes the road die, rolls it, and places it near the board visible to all players.

ROAD TILES & THE BOARD

The game is played on a series of road tiles. Three tiles are used at a time: a rear tile, a middle tile, and a lead tile (collectively referred to as the board).

Cars travel from the rear tile to the middle tile to the lead tile. When a car moves off the front edge of the lead tile, either the game ends or a new tile is added and the current rear tile is removed. When the rear tile is removed, cars on that tile are eliminated.

If a car leaves the board from the left, right, or rear edge (for example, from damage or being slammed) it is eliminated.

VEHICLES

Each crew has two types of vehicles: road vehicles (cars) and choppers.

CARS

Each crew has three different size cars:

• Small
• Medium
• Large

The size of each car determines how easy they are to shoot and how well they can slam other cars. (For example, the small car is harder to shoot but doesn’t slam well, and the large car slams well but is easier to shoot.) Each car has its own dashboard corresponding to its size.

CHOPPERS

Each crew also has a chopper in their crew’s color. Choppers are vehicles, but they are not cars: they can’t be shot and don’t take damage or slam into other vehicles. However, choppers CAN shoot, and they eliminate any car (even one of your own) that ends a turn in its space.

CAR DASHBOARDS

Each car’s dashboard displays its size, where you assign dice to move that car, and where you can assign dice to coast with that car.

TAKING DAMAGE

Cars can take damage from certain hazards and from getting shot. When your car takes damage, choose a random damage token from the pile and flip it over. Resolve the effect, if any. (Effects are shown on the back of this rulebook.) Then, place the damage token face down under one of that car’s damage slots.

CAR STATUS

OPERABLE

Cars with no damage tokens or one damage token are operable.

INOPERABLE

After a car receives and resolves its second damage token, it becomes inoperable. Turn the car to face backward on the road tile, and flip that car’s dashboard over. (An inoperable car can become operable again using the Repair command.)

An inoperable car cannot take additional damage. If it would, ignore it (no tile is drawn). An inoperable car cannot be assigned movement dice or shoot. It can still be affected by the FX dice, such as being slammed.

ELIMINATED

Being eliminated is different than taking damage or becoming inoperable. If a car is eliminated, it is removed from the game and cannot be repaired. Shuffle that car’s damage tokens back into the damage token pile, and return that car’s dashboard to the box.

A car is eliminated if it:

• Enters an impassable space
• Ends a turn in the same space as any chopper (even your own)
• Is on a rear road tile when that tile is removed from play
• Leaves the board from the left, right, or rear edge (from damage or being slammed)
• Encounters an effect that directly eliminates it

If ALL of a player’s cars are either inoperable or eliminated, that player is out of the game. The lead road tile is now the final tile. Immediately add the finish line.

THE BOARD

TERRAIN

Terrain are types of spaces printed directly on the road tiles. These spaces may be entered during the Move step or due to a slam or taking damage. These rules apply no matter what step of the turn it is.

• Road space: Costs 1 move to enter. May allow road die bonus.
• Off-Road space: Costs 1 move to enter.
• Muddy space: Costs 2 moves to enter. You may still enter a muddy space if you only have 1 move left.
• Impassable space: This space is an obstacle. Impassable spaces may show different illustrations, but all impassable spaces are marked with a double yellow border.
• Hazard space: Red double triangle symbols show where to place hazard tokens only when a new road tile is added. If there is no hazard token when entering this space, treat the space as if there were no symbol.

OBSTACLES

Obstacles are road vehicles, choppers, hazard tokens (face-up or face-down), and impassable spaces. Spaces WITHOUT obstacles are empty spaces.

If a road vehicle enters a space with an obstacle, use the following rules:

• Occupied Space: A space with a road vehicle. If your car enters a space with another road vehicle (even your own), it loses its remaining moves. Stack it on top of the road vehicle in that space, then resolve the slam (see Slamming, page 9).
• Chopper: You may pass through a space with a chopper without effect. However, if a road vehicle ends a turn in a space with a chopper, whether during its normal movement or as the result of a slam or damage, that road vehicle is eliminated.
• Face-Down Hazard: If a road vehicle moves into a space with a face-down hazard token, immediately flip the hazard face up and resolve it (see right).
• Face-Up Hazard: If a road vehicle enters a space with a face-up hazard, immediately resolve the hazard.
• Impassable space: A road vehicle that enters an impassable space is eliminated.

HAZARDS

If a road vehicle moves onto a hazard token, resolve its effect. There are two types of hazards.

DISCARD AFTER RESOLVING:

• Wreck: Place a wreck figure in the space. (See Wrecks, below.) Place the moving road vehicle on top of the wreck and resolve the slam.
• Mine: The road vehicle takes a damage token. Resolve the effect, if any. That vehicle loses any remaining moves.

REMAIN ON THE BOARD:

• Road: This space becomes a road space.
• Mud: This space becomes a muddy space.
• Oil Slick: Roll the direction die and move your road vehicle one space in that direction. This does not cost a move, and the vehicle continues moving if it has moves remaining. This space also becomes a road space.

WRECKS

Wrecks are burned-out road vehicles from previous races and are treated like inoperable small cars. They get slammed if another road vehicle enters a space with them and resolve a hazard if they enter a space with a hazard token. Wrecks are eliminated if they end a turn in the same space as a chopper or take any damage.

HOW TO PLAY

TURNS AND ROUNDS

Thunder Road: Vendetta is played in turns and rounds. A turn is complete when one player finishes steps 1-4 (see below). A round is complete when each player has taken three turns.

START OF ROUND

All players roll their four movement dice. (On the first round, use the dice you rolled during setup when determining the first player.) Players will use these dice to move their operable cars and activate one command per round. The first player also rolls the road die.

ON YOUR TURN

Do these four steps of your turn, in order:

1. ASSIGN one die to an operable car.
2. Activate a COMMAND (once per round).
3. MOVE that car.
4. SHOOT with that car (if you can).

STEP 1:ASSIGN

Assign an unused movement die to an operable car that you have not previously moved this round, placing it in the center of its dashboard. The number on the die determines how many spaces that vehicle will move in Step 3: Move.

If you do not have any available cars, assign an unused movement die to the coast space on one of your operable cars that you previously moved. You may NOT assign a die to coast if you have an operable car you have not moved. A car may be assigned to coast a maximum of two times. There are two pips next to the coast space as a reminder.

ONCE PER ROUND, in addition to assigning a die to a car, you may also assign an unused movement die to one of the commands on your command board. Some commands require the movement die you place to have a specific number (see right). You may NOT assign a die to a command on a turn you are coasting.

STEP 2:COMMAND

Activate the command you have assigned a die to by resolving its effect on your command board. Your command will activate BEFORE your assigned car moves.

COMMAND BOARD EFFECTS

AIRSTRIKE (ANY DIE)

Place your chopper on any empty space on the board (a space with no obstacles). The value of the movement die doesn’t matter.

Then, shoot with your chopper if able. (See Shoot) You may NOT shoot on the first round.

NITRO (1-3)

Increase the number of moves your car makes this turn by the value of the die you’ve assigned to Nitro. This may result in movement higher than 6. You must move the full amount.

DRIFT (3-5)

This turn, your car may pass through the first space it enters that contains another road vehicle, without slamming it. If you end your turn in a space with a road vehicle, you still slam it, even if it is your first slam.

REPAIR (6)

Remove one damage token from any of your cars and shuffle it face down back into the damage token pile. That car becomes operable if it was inoperable (and may move later this round if you have any turns remaining).

STEP 3: MOVE

First Round: Each car’s initial move is onto one of the spaces on the back edge of the rear tile.

Move the car you assigned your movement die to following these rules:

• A car gains moves equal to the movement die assigned to it.
• A car must always move into one of the three spaces in its front arc (see below) unless an effect causes it to move in a different direction.

The following rules apply any time a car is moved, whether on your turn, or from a slam or a damage token:

• A car must move the full amount unless an effect causes it to lose its moves.
• A car may move through a space with a chopper.
• If a car enters a space with a face-down hazard, turn it face up and resolve it.
• A car loses its remaining moves when it takes damage.
• If a car moves onto a space with another road vehicle, it slams into it and loses all its remaining moves. Place the moving vehicle on top of the vehicle that was already in the space, then immediately resolve the slam (see Slamming).

ROAD DIE

The road die is only rolled by the first player at the start of the round. It gives a bonus to each car that stays on the road when it moves.

On each player’s turn, after moving, if their car started on and moved on only road spaces, that car may immediately gain moves equal to the road die. This extra movement does not need to be on the road. This bonus is optional, but if you use it, you must use the full amount.

Example: Tony’s car moves 6, staying on road spaces the entire time. After moving, they use the road die, which shows a 3. They move 2 spaces onto a hazard token, flip it up, and reveal a wreck. They remove the token, place a wreck figure on the space, and place their car on top. Tony’s car loses its remaining move and will have to resolve the slam.

COAST

If your move is a coast, move that car exactly 1 space regardless of what the movement die shows. You MAY NOT use the road die. You MAY shoot if you have a target after moving the car.

SLAMMING

If two road vehicles are ever stacked in the same space, they slam into each other. This can happen during a move or from hazards or damage effects. When this happens, the moving road vehicle loses any remaining moves it has. Then, immediately resolve the slam:

1. Roll the slam die and direction die. These tell you whether the top or the bottom road vehicle is going to move, and in what direction.
2. If one road vehicle in the slam is LARGER than the other, the owner of the larger road vehicle may ask for a single reroll of BOTH dice. This is true even if the larger road vehicle is inoperable or both road vehicles are owned by the same player.
3. Move the affected road vehicle 1 space in the direction shown on the direction die.

If the affected road vehicle moves into a space that causes another slam, continue resolving slams until each space only has one road vehicle.

Example: Tony’s medium car is on top of a wreck. The dice are rolled, resulting in a BOTTOM + FRONT LEFT. Tony is happy with that, so they choose not to reroll it. The wreck moves one space to the front left.

STEP 4: SHOOT

First Round: Skip this step in the first round. Your guns are not online until the second round.

The car you moved, or the chopper you placed, may shoot according to these rules:

• You can shoot a road vehicle in the front arc of your car or chopper (see Front Arc).
• If you have more than one target, choose one.
• You may not shoot choppers.
• You may shoot wrecks. Wrecks are treated as inoperable small cars. If a wreck takes any damage, it is eliminated.
• You may shoot after resolving a slam.
• You may shoot your own cars.

To shoot, choose a target and roll the shooting die. If the size you roll matches the size of the road vehicle you are shooting, that vehicle is hit and it takes damage.

The owner of the damaged car draws and resolves a damage token (effects are shown on the back of this rulebook).

THE SLAM DIE

• Top vehicle moves x2
• Bottom vehicle moves x4

THE SHOOTING DIE

To determine if a shooting attack is a hit, match the die to the size of the road vehicle being shot at.

• Small/Medium road vehicle x1
• Medium road vehicle x1
• Large road vehicle x3
• Any size road vehicle

THE DIRECTION DIE

When an effect requires that the direction die is rolled, make sure to align the chevrons on the die correctly to the chevrons on the board.

• Rear Left
• Front Left
• Rear
• Front
• Rear Right
• Front Right

MOVING OFF THE FRONT OF THE BOARD

When a car moves off the FRONT of the lead road tile, one of two things happens:

• If it WAS the final tile and the car moved onto the finish line, the game ends and that player wins!
• If it WASN’T the final tile, update the board:
  1. All cars on the rear tile are eliminated.
  2. All hazard tokens on the rear tile are discarded.
  3. All choppers on the rear tile are returned to their respective players.
  4. Remove the rear tile from the board, flip it to the other side, and place it on the bottom of the road tile draw pile.
  5. Slide the middle and lead tiles backward. They are now the rear and middle tiles, respectively.
  6. Take the top tile from the draw pile and place it in front of the middle tile. It is now the lead tile.
  7. On the lead tile, place random hazard tokens face down on spaces marked with double triangles. (If needed, shuffle the discarded tokens and make a new pile.)
  8. Check if the new tile is the final tile.
  9. If the car that went off the board has remaining moves, it continues moving.

THE FINAL TILE

Determining when a tile becomes the final tile depends on the number of players playing.

2 players:

If one player isn’t eliminated beforehand, the FIFTH tile is the final tile. Add the finish line.

3 or more players:

When one player is out of the game (see right), the lead road tile is now the final tile. Add the finish line.

If this occurs while moving off the front of the board, place the new lead tile. The new tile is the final one.

END OF TURN

Slide the movement die on the dashboard of the car you moved into the “end turn” space. That car cannot be assigned another die for regular movement this round (but possibly may be able to coast on a later turn).

Any cars in a space with a chopper are eliminated.

The player on your left (who is still in the game) takes the next turn.

END OF ROUND

After each player has taken three turns, pass the road die to the player on your left. They will be the first player in the next round.

Start a new round.

OUT OF THE GAME

A player is out of the game if all of their cars are eliminated or inoperable. Remove that player’s chopper from play. That player’s inoperable cars stay on the board. That player takes no more turns for the rest of the game.

WINNING THE GAME

The game ends and you win if either:

• Your car moves onto the finish line. (see The Final Tile); OR
• You are the only player left with operable cars.

DAMAGE TOKENS

When your car takes damage, draw a damage token. Resolve the effect of the token. Then, place the token face down in one of the car’s damage slots below its dashboard. If your car was moving, it loses any remaining moves. A car with two damage is inoperable.

DENT: No effect (other than taking damage).

SHRAPNEL: Roll the direction die. Starting at the car that took damage, look in that direction in a straight line until you reach the first road vehicle. Apply a damage to that vehicle (even one of your own). The shrapnel passes through any terrain, even impassable. If there is no road vehicle in that direction and you reach the edge of the board, nothing happens.

Some damage tokens move the damaged car. If a car is moved onto another road vehicle, the moving car loses its remaining moves, and a slam is resolved (see page 9). If a car is moved onto an impassable space or off the left, right, or rear edge of the board, it is eliminated.

SKID (6 different tokens): Move one space in the direction shown.

DAZED: Roll the stunt die. Move your car that many spaces, rolling the direction die for each space of movement to determine direction. You still are affected by the terrain you move onto (like using two moves for entering mud). If you enter a space that causes your car to lose its moves, the dazed effect ends. (For example, slamming into another road vehicle.)

BLAST OFF: Roll the direction die and the stunt die. Move that many spaces in the indicated direction. Ignore all spaces in between. You are still affected by the space you move into.