Automobiles

Autombiles ticks a few boxes (Racing game, Bag Builder, Lots of variability between games) but is perhaps a little too 'thinky' and drawn out - for me a race game should play fast. And for some reason it feels quite a bit more random in the luck of the draw than other 'deck' builders do

Excellent replayability (multiple tracks and varying powers for each coloured cube) but the randomness of bag building means it isn't my favourite mechanism. One of the blue cube powers in the expansion (crate motor) appears overpowered - haven't played enough games to test that claim fully.

The shell of a fun game dragged down by a ruleset with obvious holes in it. There's also major issues with theming, that couple with the rules/balance issues - upgrading your car mid race, a racing game where you're often encouraged to just sit still, etc.

BoardGameBliss avril 2016

Automobiles is a nice take on racing cars. Or actually this game is a deck builder disguised as a car race in which cards are replaced with cubes. First you analyse the track, try to find the ideal deck composition for it, execute your plan and see how well you do. The aim is to progress a prefixed number of steps on the track with the least amount of turns. There is a fair amount of luck in having the right actions at your disposal when you need them most. However, the race is rather long so the best deck should win most of the time. Interaction between the players is limited to blocking vital spaces on the track (only one car may occupy a space at a time).

Replacing cards with cubes and a draw bag is a double edged sword. On one side it eliminates the need of shuffling your deck and ensures a perfect shuffle. On the other side it requires the players to memorise the function of each cube. Moreover cubes are harder to handle and are more likely to be lost or accidentally scattered across the premises.

I had fun with building my own deck of actions, and interestingly it seems that competitive strategies are many. First three quarters of the game are the ones when you can still affect the outcome. The last part is basically just sitting back and seeing your deck do the work for you. I am not sure about the longevity of Automobiles as the track fixes the possible strategies and it seems that there is not so much need (or even possibility) to adapt to the situation or change your plans during the game.

one off funkar, kampanj kul, men mkt uppgrad att hålla koll på

If you love deckbuilder game and you don't think that in a racing game where nobody actually moves their car in the first one or two rounds is fine, then it's a game for you.

Donated to library