Our Thursday afternoon group gathered at Miniature Market Rock Hill for a trip back to the ancient Roman Empire and a few laps around the chariot course. Chris Ketcherside was kind enough to bring out his enlarged and enhance version of the board game Chariot Race by Pegasus Games for our afternoon entertainment and entertain it did.
With six miniature chariots lined up at the starting gate driven by Tim L, Greg D, DJ, Jay C, Kevin F (later Steve L) and Mark J. We learned this simple to play but hard to master game system that combined speed, cornering, aggressive maneuvers and damage control.
Jay Clendenny was kind enough to take notes during the game and submit this report on the race so we will turn it over to him. …..
“Flavious Scorpus scowled as his new spearman approaced. His usual spearman had been injured in a earlier race and now he would have to break a new one in during a real race without practice. A very risky proposition indeed, but the stakes were very high and Flavious’s master was inistant they race. Well, that was fine with Flavious. He was getting close to being able to purchase his freedom soon, IF he survived that long…“
“The gang got together for some spirited chariot racing in Roman times (or it could be called Death Race BC too). Chris was the Emperor/game master for the fun. 6 chariots would compete for the crowds favor and all the prizes. DJ, Gregg, Mark J, Tim, Jay and Kevin (later Steve) were the participants. The track was 3 lanes wide and the faster a chariot was going, the fewer dice a player could roll. Dice allowed lane shifts, speed up/slow down, fortune, and weapon attacks with caltrops or spears.””
There were speed “suggestions” going into each corner with chariots taking extra damage for going too fast. The inside lane featured a max speed of 3, middle lane 5, and outside lane 7. Chariots could also bump into each other with each chariot taking damage. Running over caltrops removed them and caused a point of damage along with spear attacks causing 1 point of damage each. Chariots started out with 12 health and their max speed was equal to their current health. Each person would get 1 coin for making a lap with the first lap winner taking 5 coins. Knocking another chariot out also rewarded a player with 5 coins. The objective was to get the most coins. Each turn, the order to go was from whoever was in the lead and then back from that, so the play order did change as the game went along.”
“The race started with 2 rows of 3 chariots each and the track quickly got congested for the second row of chariots as caltrops were left all over the track. Tim had the pole position and sprinted off to a early lead and really turned up his team on the second turn to get out to a huge lead while the field tried to navigate the first corner and caltrops without taking too much damage. Tim would be the first to circle the track and collect a silver coin. Gregg and Mark were more in the spirit of the game as they pummeled each other with caltrops and spears resulting in pretty heavy damage to both before each decided to go find some other targets and do some repairs while they were at it.”
“Needless to say, the action becomes hot and heavy over the next several turns as players put caltrops out and spear each other every chance they get. Some chariots are also taking damage from taking corners too fast as well. Eventually something has to give and it is DJ that is first out of the game as he gets run over by Jay and finished off by Tim with a spear. Jay is next out a couple of turns later after getting speared by Steve (took over for Kevin) and getting speared twice by Gregg and then run over by Gregg. Right after that, it is Tim’s turn to exit as Mark runs him over after two spear hits.”
“With Tim, Jay and DJ out, the track surface is full of junk from destroyed chariots and left over caltrops, but the remaining chariots lick their wounds a bit as they are spread around the track. Both Gregg and Mark need to knock each other out to win as both would be able to pass Tim on coin count. Steve has to somehow defeat both Gregg and Mark to get enough coins to pass them and Tim. The game ends in a flurry as Gregg attempts to wait for Mark to catch up, which he does. Both hurt each other pretty badly and are side by side with Mark slightly in front when Steve catches up and manages to knock both Gregg and Mark out to win the game! Remarkable win and the crowd roared with approval (or so Chris said that is what they did). “
“Everyone certainly had a good time and the experience was helped by the setup Chris had with the extremely nice track and chariots to race with”.
Thanks to Jay for the great report and photos submitted so we can all live or reline the day at the races.
A huge thank you to everyone who came out to play, as well as to those who stopped by to visit and spend time with us. We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to the outstanding staff at Miniature Market Rock Hill for their continued support of our historical tabletop gaming community.
Be sure to check out Dispatches and The Weekly Gaming Update on this page for more information on upcoming games across the metro area.
Remember to shop local.
