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The first-ever Snowtacular is taking place on Pullinger's Pyramid Raceway. This race is a team competion. This is a three lap race. The team with the most points at the end of the race will be declared the winner. The three racing teams are:
The starting grid has been determined:
The drivers have started their engines. ...and they're off! Race Turn One is Complete: (Lap One has just been completed. This doesn’t always occur each turn, but this turn it has.) Dave and a small group of his teammates led most of the lap until the backstretch when Marvin and Emily took control and led their teammates to the front. Emily edged across the line to complete the lap and earn One Point for the Green Team for leading a Lap. Positions at the End of Turn #1 Group 1 1. Emily 2. Everett 3. Marvin 4. Christine 5. Art 6. Stephen 7. Peggy 8. Bob Group 2 9. Dave 10. Gloria 11. Chris 12. Riley Group 3 13. Normandy 14. Marcia 15. JP 16. Brian 17. Dorothy Group 4 18. Bruce “Thunder Alley” is a racing game that requires cars of the same team stay together to help each other around the track in groups. Staying in a group of cars, preferably cars of your own team, is much preferred above being alone on the track. When playing out the race, I try and keep same-colored cars (teammates) together while at the same taking opportunities to break away from opposing team cars. Three major groups of cars have formed. Group One runs from Emily to Bob. Group Two runs from Dave to Riley. Group Three runs from Normandy to Dorothy. Bruce finds himself stranded alone in last place - but he is still within striking distance of Group Three. Race Turn #2 is Complete (Lap Two has not been completed - but almost.) Emily held her lead most of the turn but is now left alone just coming into turn 4. Peggy took the lead coming around turn four with Christine in tow. Bruce and Normandy have been lapped by the field and are in danger of being out of the race (if, at the end of a Game Turn, any cars have been lapped those cars have their race positions recorded on the scoresheet and are removed from the race). Riley, Brian, Dorothy and JP are all at the risk of being lapped soon... Positions Near the End of Turn #2 Group 1 1. Peggy 2. Christine Group 2 3. Stephen 4. Bob 5. Dave 6. Gloria 7. Chris 8. Art Group 3 9. Ev 10. Marvin Group 4 11. Emily Group 5 12. Riley 13. Brian 14. Dorothy 15. Marcia 16. JP Group 6 17. Bruce (Lapped) 18. Normandy (Lapped) ...As Marcia pulled through turn 4 she inadvertently banged into the back of teammate Dorothy. The collision leaves some debris on the track prompting race officials to call for a Yellow Flag Restart. The restart pulls the racers together in their current race positions and removes Bruce and Normandy from Lapped status - keeping them in the race. Positions Of the Racers For the Yellow Flag Restart (at the End of Turn Two) 1. Peggy 2. Christine 3. Stephen 4. Bob 5. Dave 6. Gloria 7. Chris 8. Art 9. Ev 10. Marvin 11. Emily 12. Riley 13. Brian 14. Dorothy 15. Marcia 16. JP 17. Bruce 18. Normandy During a race of "Thunder Alley" certain movements cars perform wear down and damage the cars. An accumulation of three points of damage to a car will begin to slow the car down and limit its maximum speed. Pit Stops are used to alleviate these problems and repair any temporary damage cars may have sustained. Permanent damage cannot be repaired. Performing Pit Stops during a Yellow Flag is an option. The drivers listed below have opted to Pit due to the mount of wear/damage their cars have already sustained. Drivers Taking a Pit Stop Christine Bob Chris Art Marvin Dorothy Marcia The above drivers will have all temporary wear/damage repaired, but they will all be placed at the rear of the group for the Yellow Flag Restart. Driver Positions after all Pit Stops for the Yellow Flag Restart (at the End of Turn Two) 1. Peggy 2. Stephen 3. Dave 4. Gloria 5. Ev 6. Emily 7. Riley 8. Brian 9. JP 10. Bruce 11. Normandy 12. Christine 13. Bob 14. Chris 15. Art 16. Marvin 17. Dorothy 18. Marcia Peggy is awarded a Turn Leader Point for leading the race at the end of Turn Two. Race Turn #3 is Complete
The racers are bunched up together - 16 of 18 of them. Though driving all together, not as much distance was covered on the track as was in previous turns. Marcia and Dorthy, having recovered from their own bang-up, still found themselves at the rear of the pack - in fact, way behind. During this Race Turn there was a serious three-car pile-up. Notes from the track are not very good. All that is certain is that Dave got seriously banged up. A Red Team racer also sustained considerable damage while a member of the Purple Team got nicked up. The remaining racers running behind the wreck managed to get around and through the wreckage unscathed. Dave’s car has taken the most wear/damage. Though in a handicapped position (his maximum speed will be slower than the other cars), Dave opts to not pit and retain his position in the pack of racers. Eight additional racers below are on the cusp of sustaining wear/damage that will affect the performance of their cars: Normandy Emily Stephen Ev Marvin Marcia Riley Peggy Marcia and Marvin, though having made a Pit Stop the previous Race Turn, have cars that have sustained Permanent Damage that cannot be repaired via a Pit Stop. Because it is very probable the race will end during the next Race Turn, no driver decides to make a Pit Stop. The three-car pile-up will prompt another Yellow Flag Restart. The Yellow Flag Restart will allow Marcia and Dorothy to rejoin the pack of racers. The cars are now all together in one large group. Drivers will depend on help from their teammates and even opposing drivers to help them move forward and across the Finish Line as quickly as possible. Bob earns one Point for leading at the end of a Race Turn. Driver Positions for the Yellow Flag Restart 1. Bob 2. Stephen 3. Marvin 4. Ev 5. Dave 6. Brian 7. Normandy 8. JP 9. Bruce 10. Emily 11. Riley 12. Peggy 13. Christine 14. Gloria 15. Chris 16. Art 17. Marcia 18. Dorothy (Stay Tuned) The Race Has Ended! It was an exciting inaugural Snowtacular at Pughesville Pyramid Raceway. The mass of 18 cars roared together around Track Turns 2 and 3. The leaders were heavily aided by their teammates in the middle and rear of the pack. Some of the leading cars never had to use their own movement (game turns) to cross the Finish Line. Final Driver Finishing Positions 1. Bob 2. Marvin 3. Ev 4. Brian 5. Bruce 6. Dorothy 7. Riley 8. Christine 9. Chris 10. Stephen 11. Art 12. Marcia 13. Peggy 14. Gloria 15. Normandy 16. Dave 17. JP 18. Emily Bob earns one point for leading at the end of a Race Turn (Bob's second such point earned this race). Final Team Standings Purple 83 Finishing Points +2 Turn Leader Points 85 Total Points Yellow 50 Finishing Points +1 Turn Leader Point 51 Total Points Green 38 Finishing Points +1 Turn Leader Point 39 Total Points There was a larger discrepancy in the Team Points than I though there would be. This is probably because this race is the first time I have ever completed a full 3-lap race of Thunder Alley and have not learned all of the strategy just yet. When to Pit Stop is important. I probably need to delay Pit Stops if possible. Perhaps using movement cars that do not damage/wear cars during their turn is more vital than I thought. It is interesting that Emily began the race out in the front and ended up the race in last place. Dorothy and Marcia, though banged up and in the back of the group most of the race, finished in the middle of the pack. We also need to remember this game is a 3-lap race as far as gameplay, but is designed to simulate much longer races, say of 200 to 500 miles in length. The game manages this really well and the few restarts and incidents of wrecks and collisions are handled really nicely in the scope of the game. I certainly do think this merits repeated plays. These rambunctious racers will be roaring around the track very soon!
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Thunder AlleyPublished by GMT Games, this is a card-driven, team racing game. ArchivesCategories |
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