This
Meetup-based
boardgames group continues to meet at the Marlow Donkey.
My new copy of
Robo Rally 2016
had arrived that morning, and I was keen to get it to the table.
The game has had a much-needed rules overhaul. Robots now activate in
order of distance from the Antenna (generally, last in the race going
first); each player gets their own deck of program cards; and damage
has been completely revamped, with no more locked registers or player
elimination. Instead, damage cards go to clog up your program deck, as
in Colt Express; you still draw nine to fill your five registers,
but if you choose to play a damage card in one of those registers you
can discard it afterwards. (You also do a random action from your
program deck, but hey.)
We got in two games while the other half of the group was playing one
of The Hobbit.
This new Avalon Hill version of Robo Rally (third edition, I suppose)
may still have naff components, but it's not the drag-out-forever that
earlier editions could turn into. (That's a thing that kills games for
me - if a game of Munchkin reliably lasted half an hour or Fluxx
fifteen minutes I'd probably play them quite often, but sometimes they
can triple in length and comprehensively wear out their welcome.)
The checkpoint markers you collect are particularly nasty, being thin
card, so I 3D-printed a set. Yes, I will
sell you these if you want 'em.
(Not these specific ones, which I did in haste with the low-detail
0.8mm nozzle so that they'd be ready in time for the game.) I'm also
planning to put together a new player card at some point, containing
the rules you actually need in play, like the full activation sequence
and what happens when you reboot.
After that we shifted around a bit and played
Automobiles,
though only one lap as I hadn't noticed the time.
I'd also forgotten most of the rules, and we took a while to get
started, though several players said they'd want to give it another
go. I think this is another one that could do with a better quick
reference card; I don't feel I should be doing designers' jobs for
them, but I seem to be better at actually writing rules and play aids
than they are…
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