Thunder Road Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Contents
• How to Assemble the Vehicles
• How to Set-Up the Game
• How to Play the Game
  • Moving on the Gameboard
  • Attacking Opponents' Cars
• Winning the Game

Object

Eliminate your opponents and own the last running car(s) on the gameboard.

Contents

6 dice, 2-piece gameboard, 12 cars, 4 Choppers, 8 black wrecks

How to Assemble the Vehicles

1. Break off all the plastic pieces from the six runners. The colored runners have Chopper bodies and bodies for all cars. The black runners have Chopper propellers, car chassis, spare tires for the #5 car, engines for the #4 car, and eight wrecks which require no assembly.

Note for car assembly: Printed on the bottom of each black chassis is the number of the car's rank.

2. Chopper Assembly: Assemble a Chopper by snapping a propeller onto the top of a Chopper body. Do this for each of the remaining Choppers.

3. Car #6 Assembly: Slide a #6 colored body over the front gunner on a #6 chassis. Press the pin on the chassis into the hole in the body. Do this for each of the remaining #6 ranked cars.

4. Car #5 Assembly: Snap the front of a #5 colored body onto the #5 chassis and press down on the rear of the body. Press the spare tire into place over the pin in the rear of the car. Do this for each of the remaining #5 ranked cars.

5. Car #4 Assembly: Place an engine into the rear of the #4 chassis. Slide a #4 colored body under the roll bar of the chassis, trapping the engine. Snap the front of the body into place. Do this for each of the remaining #4 ranked cars.

How to Set-Up the Game

1. The Switch & Link Gameboard: There are two different types of spaces on the gameboard. The darker spaces in the middle of the gameboard are the road. All other spaces are desert spaces.

Assembly: Link the two boards together so that the edges are even and the road lines up.

2. Place Wrecks: Place one black wreck on each of the eight spaces marked on the gameboard with a red X. A black wreck is an abandoned car that blocks other cars.

3. Pick a Color: Take the three cars and the Chopper of one color. These are the cars and the Chopper you will control. All players do the same.

Car Ranks: The three cars you control each have a different rank. The largest car is ranked as a 6, the medium car is a 5 and the small car is a 4. The rank is printed on the bottom of each car for easy reference. Keep these ranks in mind when you choose to attack other cars.

4. The Starting Lineup: Place each of your three cars on the gameboard space that matches its color and rank. All players do the same. Your Chopper is placed in front of you, off the gameboard, until you attack with it.

How to Play the Game

Choose a player to go first. Play continues to the left of the starting player.

First Turn: On your first turn, do the following. Each player does the same.

Roll and Move: Roll the three yellow dice. Each die shows the number of spaces you will move one of your cars. Choose which car to move for each die roll and move all three of your cars along the gameboard. Your first turn is over.

All Following Turns: After all players have had one turn, do steps 1 and 2 on following turns.

Step 1. Roll and Move as above.

Step 2. Then Try to Attack. You can attack opponents' cars and try to wreck them in two ways:

• Ram or Shoot at them with your cars.
• Attack them with your Chopper.

See "Attacking Opponents' Cars" for details. Your turn is then over.

Wrecked and Running Cars: When a car is attacked and becomes a wreck it is no longer a running car and cannot move. The wrecked car is flipped over on the space it is sitting on. You can get a wrecked car running again by repairing it. See Repair for details.

Important: Even if one or two of your cars are wrecks, you always roll the three yellow dice on your turn and choose which die to use for each of your running cars.

Moving on the Gameboard

How to Move Your Cars:

• Each square counts as one on your die roll.
• Your car always moves forward, forward to the right or forward to the left.
• You can never move backward.
• You can never pass through another running car.
• No more than two cars (wrecked cars, running cars or black wrecks) can be on one space at a time.
• Always move the full count on the die. If you cannot move the full count, your car is blocked and cannot move. If you are blocked by a wreck, you can try to crash through it. See Crashing Through A Wreck for details.

How to Move Faster on the Gameboard: If you race to the end of the gameboard first, you have a chance to dump opponents left behind. There are two ways to move ahead faster: by using the Road Bonus and/or by Crashing Through Wrecks.

The Road Bonus: If any one of your cars is on the road at the start of your turn, you can try to use the Road Bonus to move faster and outrun your opponents. When using the Road Bonus your car cannot move off the road at any time during that turn.

Do the following in order to use the Road Bonus:

1. Roll the black die along with the three yellow dice.
2. Add the number on the black die to the number on the one yellow die you are using for the car on the road.
3. Move the car along the road the total number of spaces on the two dice.

Note: If more than one of your cars uses the Road Bonus on a turn, use the same black die roll for each.

Important: If you can't move the full count of the two dice or do not wish to, then do not use the Road Bonus. Move as you would on a regular turn, using only the count of the yellow die.

Crashing Through a Wreck:

If you choose to land on or drive through a space occupied by a wreck (a wreck token or a wrecked car), you must roll a red die.

• If you roll a 4, 5 or 6 you are allowed to land there or pass and finish the count on your die roll.
• If you roll a 1, 2 or 3, your car becomes a wreck. Flip it over on the space with the wreck.

Switching Boards: When one of the cars reaches the end of the lead board, and still has spaces to move on the die roll, a new gameboard must be prepared.

Do the following in order to prepare a new gameboard:

1. The rear board is removed from the lead board.
2. All cars and wrecks remaining on the rear board are "dumped" and out of the game.
3. The now-empty board is linked to the opposite end of the lead board to become the new lead board.
4. Place black wrecks on the empty board.
5. Finish moving your car onto the new lead board the number of spaces you have left to move.

A new gameboard must be prepared every time a car reaches the end of the lead board.

Attacking Opponents' Cars

You should attack other cars and try to leave wrecks whenever you can. You attack by RAMMING, SHOOTING or using your CHOPPER. When a car becomes a wreck it is flipped over on the space it is sitting on.

You can make as many attacks as possible on each turn, but each of your cars can only attack once on a turn.

Ramming:

Position: When one of your cars lands by exact count on a space occupied by another player's car, you are in ramming position.

Attack: Both you and the owner of the car you ram roll a red die. Each of you adds the number you roll to the rank of your car.

Outcome: Player with the higher total wins. In case of a tie, your opponent (the defender) wins.

• If your opponent (the defender) wins, both cars remain running.
• If you win, your opponent's car becomes a wreck.

Both cars remain on the space they are on after an attack.

Note: A third car cannot ram on a space already occupied by two wrecked or running cars.

Shooting:

Position: When you land by exact count one space behind an opponent's car you are in a shooting position. Announce which car is your target. If the space is occupied by 2 running cars, announce which car you are shooting at.

Attack: Shoot at the opponent's car by rolling a red die.

Outcome:

• If the number rolled matches or is higher than the rank of your opponent's car, the opponent's car becomes a wreck.
• If the number is less than the rank of your opponent's car, the opponent's car remains running. No matter what the outcome, both cars remain on the space they are on.

Chopper Attacks: Each player's Chopper can attack once on the rear board, once on the lead board and once on every new lead board prepared during the game. Choppers can never be attacked by cars.

Position: "Fly" your Chopper directly to the space occupied by the car you wish to attack. If the space is occupied by 2 running cars, announce which car you are attacking.

Attack: Roll a red die.

Outcome:

• If the number rolled matches or is higher than the rank of the car, the car becomes a wreck.
• If the number rolled is less than the rank of the car, the car remains running.

Additional Chopper Rules

1. After an Attack: After a Chopper has attacked, it remains on the board space where it attacked. Cars can move around and through Choppers. Choppers can never block a car's movement.
2. A Dumped Chopper: If your Chopper gets dumped, it's still in the game. Place it in front of you until you attack on one of the boards. You can attack with your Chopper as long as you have one running car.
3. Your Chopper Cannot Attack:
   • If all your cars are wrecks, your Chopper cannot attack.
   • If you skip a rear-board-attack to attack on a lead board, your Chopper cannot go back and attack on the rear board.

Repair: Even when one, two or all of your cars are wrecks, you still roll the three yellow dice on your turn. If you roll double sixes on the yellow dice, you can repair any one of your wrecked cars. The wreck must be on one of the boards. You cannot repair a dumped car.

Once the repairing is done, move all your running cars, including the repaired car, as you would on a regular turn.

Out of the Game: You cannot roll and you are out of the game after all your cars have been dumped.

Winning the Game

When one player owns the only car(s) running on the gameboard and all the other cars are wrecks, the owner of the running car(s) has won the game.