Speeding Things Up
Most of the people who don't enjoy playing Car Wars have the same complaint,
"It's too ssslllooowww!" Even those of us who love the game have to admit
that when there are more than two players, the game is about as fast as
continental drift.
The hints and tips below will help your game move like a jackrabbit...
a dead jackrabbit with snails for pallbearers... but that's MUCH faster
than continental drift, so read on!
Divide the Chores
If you have a group of regular players, you can make each of them responsible
for knowing a portion of the rules. One can bone up on the crash tables,
another can explore the wonders of collisions, another can memorize targeting
modifiers, and someone else can become one with debris and obstacles (how
they are produced and the effects of running over them). This leaves the
referee free to keep track of the master movement chart.
Make Photocopies...
but if Steve Jackson knocks on your door, you must quickly eat them. Make
a copy of the master movement chart for each player to refer to so that
they'll know when their next move is coming up. Also make multiple copies
for the referee. He can use a new one for each second of combat and write
right on them, checking off each phase as it occurs. Also make multiple
copies of the turning key on card stock, cut them out, and pass them around.
Make Foolproof Range
Rulers
Instead of using a ruler or tape measure and doing the math in your head,
the handy range rulers described below will instantly show your to-hit
bonus or penalty.
¤ Tape two sheets of 8-1/2" x 11" white paper side by side to make
one 11" x 17" sheet
¤ Draw dark vertical lines at 1", 4", 8", 12" and 16" from the left
edge
¤ Draw horizontal lines every half inch
¤ Write "+4" in each of the boxes in the first vertical column
¤ Write "+0" in each of the boxes in the second vertical column
¤ Write "-1" in each of the boxes in the third vertical column
¤ Write "-2" in each of the boxes in the fourth vertical column
¤ Write "-3" in each of the boxes in the fifth vertical column
¤ Write "-4" in each of the boxes in the sixth vertical column
¤ Cut along the horizontal lines to produce 22 range rulers (enough
for everybody).
To use, simply place the "+4" end of the ruler against the target vehicle,
and measure the distance to the closest point on the firing vehicle.
The finished product should look something like this...
That's a -1 to hit.
Micro-Machines!
They look great and are almost the right size. Ours are glued atop
3/8" x 1/4" diameter wooden dowels which are then glued atop a 1" x 1/2"
plastic rectangles (cut from a "for sale" sign available at any hardware
store) This keeps them from rolling and allows enough clearance between
the bottom of the car and the plastic rectangle to allow the turning key
to be used easily.
Making the Arena
This piece of advice may not work for everyone, but it has worked well
for us. A couple of our members work in the printing industry, and part
of the plate making process involves "pre-ruled masking sheets" which are
sheets of goldenrod colored glossy paper imprinted with a 1" red square
grid which is further subdivided into 1/4" squares. These sheets can be
quite large, depending on the size of the printing plate they are used
to produce. Often, the scraps from this process are large enough
to be used in making arenas. You might contact a nearby printer and see
if they would be willing to sell a few sheets or even give you their scrap.
