Solo Ruleset: Charioteer

Version 3.2

NOTE: You can download a PDF right here!

Building on the Roman chariot racing game published by GMT Games, this system allows for 1 through 5 bots to race around the track along with one or more human opponents. (For that matter, you could even let all six bots loose and just watch them race each other, if this is your idea of a pleasant evening. No judgement.)

THE DICE

You will need three six-sided dices (d6), and you can come at this in two different ways.

• Use three regular d6, but make sure they are of three different colors. One die will be the “1^st movement d6,” another die the “2^nd movement d6,” and the third die the “bonus d6.”
  When you roll the dice, use the conversion column below (in purple) to determine the result you actually obtained on each die.
  
  
• Customize three d6 (using the tan columns below) either by applying printed stickers on each face—or by using a sharpie to add pips, cross out the extra one on each 6 face, and indicate in some way that one movement die has four black faces, while the other has a single red face. Likewise, customize the bonus die in any way you see fit. 

(It is by far easier and faster to use custom dice, even if they’re just three regular d6 with sharpie marks on them. I highly recommend you go that route.)

THE RULES 

Now don’t be afraid if what follows looks complicated: it’s really not. After a couple of turns rolling dice for the bots, you’ll know everything you need to know.

BASIC BOT WORKINGS

• All normal rules apply, unless contradicted by a bot rule.
• Bots ignore skills and don’t have a player board, and never use any kind of tokens, or damage cubes.
• On its turn, a bot rolls all three dice. Its total move is determined by adding the values of the two movement dice, with a potential +3 from the bonus die—and perhaps even damage for its opponents!

BOT MOVEMENT & DAMAGE

• If one die shows a black face, the bot move is considered a black move.
• If the bot moves through a corner, it will use the regular (pale) spaces.
• If one die shows a red face, the bot move is considered a red move.
• The first time this happens in a turn, each human player takes one damage cube.  (I suggest you place the cube below the attack boxes on your player board to remember the damage came from a bot.) The second time this happens in a turn, each human player takes two damage cubes. Bot damage moves to the damage box at the end of the turn just like normal damage, and human players cannot suffer more than three damage cubes during a turn, no matter the source of the damage.
• Whenever a bot executes a red move, lay every other bot that’s still standing on its side. (If a bot is already on its side, nothing happens.) A bot on its side must pay one movement point to stand up, and then moves normally; a bot on its side that’s in first place (leading the race) must pay TWO movement points to stand up, and then moves normally.
  NOTE: This is not the “most advanced bot” regardless of human players—the bot really must be in first place.
• If a human executes a red move that involves three or four red cards, lay all bots that are still standing on their sides. (It doesn’t matter if it’s a 1-damage or a 2-damage: the bots are either damaged or not damaged.)
• A bot move can be both black and red (they’re not humans!), or neither.

+3 MOVE BONUS

• A bot can only use a +3 move bonus if it’s not stepping onto any corner space during a BLACK move. If the bot is stepping onto a corner space during a black move, or if the +3 move bonus would make it step on a corner space, then it can’t use the bonus (at all—this is NOT  like the whip that takes you up to the next chariot but no further).
• A “corner space” is any regular space that’s touching one of the outer (dark) spaces throughout the corner.
• If a bot going through a corner is not executing a black move, it’s allowed to use the move bonus if it rolled it.
• A bot in first place (leading the race) NEVER gets the move bonus. Don’t even bother rolling the bonus die for that bastard.
  NOTE: This is not the “most advanced bot” regardless of human players—the bot really must be in first place.
• A bot in last place ALWAYS gets the move bonus.
  NOTE: This is not the “least advanced bot” regardless of human players—the bot really must be in last place.
• During the first turn, the move bonus die is rolled by all bots. (Yes, even if the bot goes first.)

And that's it!

DESIGN NOTES

You’ll find that the bots tend to stay together, and that the system rarely produces a runaway leader or a hopeless straggler. The little rascals sometimes spend turns without causing any damage whatsoever, and then unleash all manner of blue cubes for a turn or two (or three). Be prepared for those eventualities.

Don’t give up if the bots pull ahead and you’re having trouble catching up: if you play your cards right (ha!), at some point your skill bonuses will kick in and let you jump right back in the race. Conversely, don’t get too confident if you take the lead early on: the bots have a way of sneaking up on you real fast (and especially in those corners).

* * *

I’ve playtested this as much as I could on my own and found version 3.3 to be pretty reliable, producing challenging races that I absolutely don’t always win. (Hey, I don’t always finish dead last, either!)

That said, please keep in touch if you decide to try this out.
If enough people out there come back to tell me that this or that aspect of the system is too strong/weak, I’ll be happy to make adjustments and produce a new version of the document.

 

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