Rallyman: GT

Board Game Geek Reviews

1. 7.5 out of 10

   BoardGameReviewUK

   Racing simulation puzzle, read my review here: https://boardgamereview.co.uk/game-reviews/rallyman-gt-review/

2. 6 out of 10

   Catbug

   Clever push-your-luck mechanic. Fun for an hour or so. Sadly the randomness in the dice tend to show a lot of variance when you only play one lap. It's enough for that one player to never lose control while everyone else rolls poorly to win the game. The more laps you play the more the randomness should average out. The biggest problem, barring none, is that a players shot of victory can be determined halfway through the game. And worse is that if that player is behind they can't do anything with the games mechanics to catch up. They solely have to rely on the bad luck of the players that are leading. Lack of catch-up mechanic. Loss of control is too punishing. Repairing is too punishing. Why do you get focus for all your dice in an flat-out if you lose control? It should be half or only count for dice without a warning symbol. If this was a fantasy theme, like Mario kart, they would have more freedom to mess around with fun interaction.

3. 7 out of 10

   ajewo

   Rallyman: GT is the successor of Rallyman with quite a lot changes. It is a racing game where players play gear dice to move their cars. [b]What makes it special?[/b] * Each player moves his car by playing gear dice (similar to Formula D but each die counts as one space forward which create deterministic instead of random movement determined by dice roll (still push your luck as core element) * Modular map with hexagon tiles [b]Pros:[/b] + Artwork (detailed, colorful) + Components (unique, detailed plastic cars, gear tokens) + Modular map (hexagon tiles) + Dice management: each turn, players play multiple gear dice to move the car. Each gear is associated to a die (creates restriction especially for curves) and each die lets the car move one space independent of the gear (deterministic movement) + If a player rolls 3 caution symbols, his car spins out (push your luck) and may take damage (loose a die) + Damage management: players may loose dice due to damage (less flexibility, slows down the car over time) + Different terrain / weather / curves determines what a damage token does which is drawn from a bag (replaces the hazard deck from Rallyman) + Focus token can be used to secure a gear dice (luck mitigation, replaces the time bonus tokens from Rallyman) + Restrictive gear management: a player must start with a certain gear (+/- the last gear) and decides if he either moves the gear up or down for the rest of the turn. White dice can be used to hold the current gear. A car must have a equal or higher gear in order to move pass another car + Restrictive curves determine which gear a player must use at maximum to drive through (or spin out). Some curves will provide penalties when taking a certain lane. + Quick playing time + Accessible: streamlined rules, easy to teach and play (gateway+ game) + Quite compact game box [b]Neutrals:[/b] # Language independent # Luck of the dice roll (push your luck) # Some player interaction due to blocking, equal or higher gear for passing other cars # Solo mode # Random draw of damage tokens (push your luck, depends on the terrain) but has a wide range: nothing happens vs car is destroyed [b]Cons:[/b] - Downtime: the dice mechanic slows the game down (especially if rolling one die by one) - Blocking opponents may be quite unforgiving and catching-up is very hard [b]Thoughts:[/b] Tactical racing game due to the combination of restrictive curves and the dice placement (push your luck). There is more interaction between cars than in its predecessor. [b]Similar games:[/b] * Rallyman (predecessor, low player interaction, multiplayer solitaire, see comparison: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2054312/rallyman-gt-vs-rallyman-component-review-and-brief) * Rallyman: Dirt (very similar gameplay, more strategic, little player interaction, less unforgiving, more downtime because not all players start playing in the first round) * Formula D (gear system, dice rolls, curve handling, damage management, player elimination) * Race! Formula 90 (racing simulation with a lot of modules, hand management, damage management, complex due to a lot of small rules, long playing time) * Heat: Pedal to the Metal: gear and card management.