ROFL Race 2 - Season 1 - Indianapol​is

CRASH BURNS THE FIELD IN EPIC WIN!

After taunting most of the field throughout the race, Chuck "Crash" Endreszl pulls away at the end to take an easy win in Indianapolis.  We caught up with Chuck in victory lane to talk about his view of the race: "Yeah I wasn't really sure how it was going to work out there a few times... I was definitely feeling the heat, or maybe it was the burning gaze from the other 6 guys at the table?  Either way, I was sweating every dice roll like there was real money in play..."  (ROFL officials quickly reminded Chuck of the Fabulous Prizes at stake, evoking a stare of disbelief; more on this next time)  Chuck's Team Crash-N-Burn cohort, Bob "Burnin" Eickholt, had a less successful day, bringing home his SuperMod 69 Camaro in one piece as the last car running, in 6th place.  "That was a good run, I guess... the damn dice still hate me though... for a while I just felt like running the car into a wall but after those other guys had trouble I figured - Heck, I can pass a wrecked car... right?"  Look for Bob starting 3rd at our next track...

Second place was claimed by Jake "5-Time" Billcheck of  Team Wacky Waving Inflatable Flailing Arm Tube Men (WWIFATM), who was neck and neck with Chuck for most of the last lap.  "I thought I had him, to be honest," said Jake after the race. "he was sweating over every dice roll like a whore in church, and I felt sure it was a matter of time before he blew one.  Our new Fisker Karma was fast, but then he rolled the damn 20... Bah."  With a disgusted shake of his head, Jake concluded the interview and headed back to his team garage to check on the health of his partner, Adam "The Plague Bearer" Capps.  It was Capps who finished last, after crashing out in a bizarre sequence of events on lap 3... capping off an entirely forgettable race for the big fella.  "I felt like ... in a haze out there... like, I wasn't.... really all there.... surreal, I guess." and with that, Adam turned white, slumped back in his Barco-Lounger, and fell asleep.

Coming in third, again, was Jon "Teamkiller" Brudnak.  As part of the bizarre incident that claimed Capps, it was Brudnak running up on the back of his partner Matt "Hammered" Hampton that sent his own teammate into the stands! We reached him as he climbed out of his car after the race: "First, I want to say, I am so so sorry for Matt, his sponsors, his fans, and all of our Team Monkeywrench crew members that build us great cars.  And his hair stylist... pretty sure I saw scorch marks on his helmet.  I was so focused on running down Endreszl, I got careless and it cost him a race.  But at least Capps went first, right?"  He was of course referring to the fact that even as he was punting his own partner off the track, Capps ran into the back of Brudnak, wrecking HIS car as well!  This left Capps in 8th, and a disappointed Hampton in 7th - "Yeah well.... I don't know WHAT he was thinking exactly.... I mean, I get it, we're all out here racing for the win, but dang...."  brushing some singed hairs from his neckline, he continued "I guess we'll have a talk in the hauler about this and move on... hopefully next race he runs me a little more careful."

Careful readers will have of course deduced that out our team roundup finishes again this race with another 4-5 result, this time for Team Odd-Job - as Dave "Phone Call" Schumm and Jason "Juh-Bah" Boes claimed the 4-5 finishing spots.  "I felt fortunate to finish 4th today, to be honest" Dave said from the pits, as he autographed Verizon's new Razor XXV phones for adoring fans. "I mean, I expected it to be tough starting last, and then in the middle of the race I felt really out of it... towards the end though, I just didn't have anything for the guys up front, they ran away with this."  For Boes, it was a better result, and another learning experience - "I just felt like, I was missing those turns by just a little bit... just enough to screw me. I got kind of mad there a started slamming my head on the steering wheel.  Crew said I bent it pretty good.  Anyways, I am starting to get the hang of this - watch out for me next race!" 

Individual Standings after 2 Races:

Schumm    - 23
Brudnak     - 20
Billcheck    - 18
Endreszl     - 17
Hampton     - 14
Boes          - 10
Capps        - 9
Eickholt      - 5


Team Standings after Race 2:

Team Monkeywrench  - 34
Team Odd-Job            - 33
Team WWIFATM        - 27
Team Crash-n-Burn     - 22

NEXT RACE:  BARCELONA!  ENGINES!  WEATHER!

BARCELONA - Next up is the fast-paced track in Spain - Barcelona!  This race always seems to simulate with lots of body damage taking place, and only a few brief 6th gear options... consider your car design carefully!

ENGINE PUSH - Sometimes, you need just ONE MORE SPACE to get where you want to be... and if you're willing to shorten the useful life of your motor - you can have it!  Once per turn, you may spend ONE engine point, and move ONE extra space.  All other associated penalties must be paid on this extra space; if its used to overshoot, you must pay tire penalties.  If you use it to gain a slipstream, and slip into the corner you must still pay a brake point. 

WEATHER – Tracks are located all over the world, and in all kinds of climates.  From track to track, the weather could be a major factor. Each track has a range assigned to each of the three weather types – Rain, Changeable, and Sunshine.  You may wait until weather is determined to allocate your car-build points.  Keep in mind, in the rain a collision occurs on a d20 roll of 1 -or- 2...  Engine damage for a 20 or 30 roll is reduced from 1-4, to 1-3...

THE START OF THE RACE – A die roll is made prior to the start.  The driver on the pole position rolls the D20 and again looks at the table for the track.  The affect of the roll is as follows:
            Sunshine = Sunny throughout the entire race.
            Rain = Raining throughout the entire race.
            Changeable = At the start of the race, the weather is sunny.  The sky is overcast, but not raining yet.  The weather must be checked during the race to see if it changes.  A weather check is made each time a driver in 5th gear rolls a 20 or a driver in 6th rolls a 30.  The driver who rolled that, rolls the D20 to see if the weather has changed again:
           
-          If the weather roll is CHANGEABLE, ignore the result and wait until the next weather check.
-          If the weather roll is Sunshine, then it is only TEMPORARY SUNSHINE, lasting until the next weather check.
-          If the weather roll is Rain, then it is only TEMPORARY RAIN, lasting until the next weather check.
-          If the weather result is changeable after temporary Rain or Sun, it goes back to Overcast, until the next weather check.
-          If the result is RAIN or SUN twice in a row, then the weather is finally settled and stays the same for the rest of the race.
-          If the result after TEMPORARY SUN is RAIN, then it goes to TEMPORARY RAIN – and vice versa.

RAIN TIRES:  Naturally with Rain, you have the option of using Rain Tires.

Wet Tires – Specially grooved to handle water on the road, these tires work well in the rain, but are a slight handicap in the dry.
            Sunshine – Movement as normal, but penalties for overshooting are multiplied by 2.  If no tire change is made during the 3rd lap, penalties are multiplied by 3.
            Changeable – Identical to Sunshine
            Rain – The car skids only one extra space on each of its moves inside a corner.  The penalties for overshooting a corner are normal. (1 point per 1 space of overshoot)

FINAL NOTE:  With race #4 we will add the final element to the game - Road Hazards and Suspension points...

ROFL - Season 1 - Race 1 Results

We have the recap courtesy of  the Hamburgler himself: We are slowing rolling out some of the trickier rules over the first few races.

With decisive mastery of Loews Corner, it was Dave "Phone Call" Schumm coming home victorious in race #1 of the inaugural ROFL season.  Congrats Dave!

"That sequence of rolls was decisive" said Dave afterwards, "but I also have to thank my crew chief for giving me such a tough car today - skipping the pits is what put me out front there towards the end.  And I also need to thank the fine folks at Scion for everything they do sponsoring our team.  Oh, and ahh... thats my phone ringing, gotta go."  Dave's partner, Jason "J-Bomb" Boes was a little more upset after the race - "I kind of missed a section of lap 3 there... like I blacked out or something.... I was feeling good going into lap 3, but then all of a sudden - BOOM - my Team Odd-Job Scion Tc was chugging along with barely any brakes left, I'm pretty sure the crew left my right rear tire loose, and that was that."  After promising a better result next week, Jason stormed off to the team hauler to talk with his crew.

Second place Matt "Hamptonium Chloride" Hampton was happy with his result, all things considered; "Yeah I thought we had a shot at winning this thing there on the last lap, but Dave was just real smooth through the slow spots on the track, and I couldn't quite get past him at the end. He totally pulled on me coming out of Loews and I knew it was over.  Was happy to see my teammate bring his Honda S4000 home right behind me though." His teammate being Jon "Bridesmaid" Brudnak, of course, who commented as well - "Good race.  I thought I was a little too conservative there at the end, might have been more aggressive through the tunnel, but man - seeing those wrecks out there, it just made sense to take the sure thing and be a little conservative.  I don't mind being 'bridesmaid' to my partner if it means Team Monkeywrench moves ahead in the standings."

Team Wacky Waving Inflatable Flailing Arm Tube Men (WWIFATM) finished 4-5, a bit of a disappointing result for Jacob "5-time" Billcheck - "Man... I had 3rd there.... stupid 4... stupid 12... eh."  Partner Adam "The Shuffler" Capps was a bit more outspoken; "You know, for everything that happened to me out there today, man.... this isnt so bad.  I hate that my teammate spun out there at the end, but our Dodge Minivans were pretty stout out there, and I look forward to next week's trip to Indianapolis. I *was* happy to hold of J-Bomb there at the end though, he was coming on like a madman."  Jacob nodded wordlessly, and the two headed back to their motorcoach, probably already planning their next moves...

Which takes us to the self-fulfilling prophecy of the race - Team Crash-n-Burn.  First out of the infield care center, we talked to Bob "The Burn" Eickholt; "Blew up... man, that was ugly. Thought we had a good motor in it, had a good plan for the race... my SuperMod 69 Camaro was bitchin fast out there, but I guess not as durable as she needed to be.  We'll get them next week."  Shortly before press time, we squeezed in a few words with Chuck "The Crash" Endreszl as he left the track via ambulance - "Stupid....30.... damn..... floor.... so cold.... need better ....car .....next time." Chuck then proceeded to pass out, and was taken away.  Speedy recovery, Chuck!

And so here are the point standings after Race 1:

Schumm - 15

Hampton - 12

Brudnak  - 10

Capps     -  8

Billcheck -  6

Boes       -  4

Endreszl  -  2

Eickholt   -  1 

Team Standings:

Team Monkeywrench  - 22

Team Odd Job           - 19

Team (WWIFATM)     - 14

Team Crash-n-Burn    - 3

KEEP IN MIND - Each player gets to drop their two worst finishes in the final season point standings!  One bad race doesn't mean you're out of it...

NEXT WEEK - We are off on Friday (travel day for the race teams) with Race #2 starting on Monday the 16th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway!  

ALSO NOTE - Next week we will also be adding the rules for TIRES to the mix; your choices will be HARD or SOFT tires.

Hard Tires -  These tires are good for anything other than Rain.Here’s how they handle the various weather types:

Sunshine – The movement of the car and penalties incurred when overshooting corners are normal. (THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN USING)

            Rain – The car skids 3 extra spaces on each stop inside the corners.  The penalties for overshooting are normal.

Soft Tires – These are generally better than hard tires when its sunny or changeable, but even worse in the rain. 

            Sunshine – A car fitted with Soft tires gains a optional one space bonus on all its moves, whatever gear its in.  However, the penalty for overshooting a corner is multiplied by 2. (OVERSHOOT BY 1 SPACE = BURN 2 TIRE POINTS) Use of this one space bonus is not compulsory.  In a race, soft tires are not effective for more than 1 lap.  If a car does not make a pit stop at the end of the lap to replace tires, then it will not benefit from the 1 space bonus move on its next lap.  If a driver is very lucky, or very stubborn, and elects not to stop on the 3^rd lap as well – the tires actually become a handicap!  All moves in the straights are reduced by 1 space, and all tire penalties for overshooting are multiplied by 3!

            Rain – There is no movement bonus, and the car skids 3 extra spaces each time it moves in a corner space.  The penalties for not changing tires on laps 2 and 3 are the same as above.

ONE MORE TIRE NOTE - You can elect to change tire TYPES on a pit stop, but this will NOT change the number of tire POINTS your car has.  

FINAL NOTE - Going forward I anticipate we will add the remaining "Advanced" rules as follows:  Weather in Race #3, Suspension and Road Hazards in Race #4.

And thats a wrap for week 1... hope you all had fun with it!

-M

The Peanut Butter Cup

I have a confession. I have been cheating on the best wife in the universe. It started small, a few games of Dominion, beta testing the Alien Frontiers expansion, but now I have a full blown gaming group playing every day at work during lunch. I will save the story of the nearly Infinite City for later, but the least I can do is recap our latest craze: a Formula De 6 race championship.

The rules are below, crafted by the our own 2 time national champion Matt "Hamburgler" Hampton.

Race Of Friendly Lapterians (ROFL) League
These are the specific rules governing the ROFL league.  All standard published rules for actual racing will be observed in the course of play; these merely govern how the League works.
A Season is comprised of 6 races.  At the end of 6 races, the driver with the most ROFL points will be awarded the Drivers Championship.  The Team with the most points will win the Team Championship.
Drivers Championship:  A driver’s point total is determined by combining the points of their 4 (four) best finishing results.  A race that a driver did not participate in is scored as 0 points.  Points are awarded at the end of each race based on finishing order, as follows:
1st place finish: 15 points
2nd place:  12 points
3rd place: 10 points
4th place:  8 points
5th place:  6 points
6th place:  4 points
7th place:  2 points
8th place:  1 points
Should two drivers end the season tied in points, the first tie-breaker is number of wins.  Second tie-breaker is finish order in the final race of the season. Winner will receive a to be determined later trophy.

Team Championship:  At the start of each season teams will be randomly assigned.  Two racers comprise a team.  For purposes of the Team standings, each driver’s point total is added together, accounting for drop-weeks as normal.  First tie-breaker in the Team standings is number of wins, then finishing order in the final race of the season. The members of the team will receive the the one pound peanut butter package above, provide your own insulin.

Race Procedures – Week by Week
The first race of the season, starting order is determined by random D20 dice roll; a roll of 1 awards pole position, 20 starts last.  Break ties with a roll-off.  Successive weeks, the starting order will be the inverse order of the previous race’s finish order.  
Since most races will likely not complete during one lunch period, the following rules will apply.
At the end of a lunch period, if a race has not completed:  positions of all cars will be clearly marked on the track, and all current wear points will be noted and collected and stored with the game board. Everyone will document the player to their left.
If a driver is not present for the first day of a race:  A driver joining on the 2nd day of a track will start at the corner spot of their choice, 1 stop behind the last place car that is still running, in a gear appropriate for the location on the track.   If there is more than one driver joining a race in this fashion, they will roll off with D20s to determine who places their car first.  If there is disagreement about gear selection, the current leader will make the final call. The cars joining this way will start missing 1 tire point, and 1 wear point of their choice.
If a driver is not present on the second day of a race:  Their car will go into “safe mode” for the remainder of the race – the current leader will make all dice rolls for that car, and will make them in a prudent and safe manner.  This means a gear/movement cannot be made which could result in either: Overshoot by more than 3 spaces  OR a result that would potentially eliminate a car by use of resources (use up too many brakes, risk last engine point in 5th/6th gear).  If this means rolling in a lower gear to avoid any chance of disaster, that must be the option taken by the person “driving” that car.  Be nice.
The idea with both of these rules is to reduce the penalty on racers who cannot be there every day, while continuing to provide a chance for them to remain competitive in the overall Championship standings.

Thanks for bearing with us the first race results will be published shortly.