Let's Go Balloon Racing!

I previously had an idea for a sort of race game (see bottom of post). Well, more like a race <i>mechanism</i>, which I thought could be used as the central resolution mechanic in some simple game.

In addition, I have been playing a lot of the new, KdJ winning game: Challengers! Which is pretty cool... it's got an auto-battle feel, as you start with a standard deck, then iteratively draft a couple of cards into it (remove anything you'd like), then resolve a match vs an opponent via a simple algorithm, then you get to draft a couple more cards and do it again.

When thinking about other types of resolution mechanics that could be used in a similar way, I remembered this race resolution mechanic I'd had. I spent some time thinking about (and trying various versions of) how players could iteratively race the characters a little bit, then bet on the outcome, then race some more - not unlike a simple version of Camel Up, or Downforce. That was certainly simple, but came with some challenges -- some of the same ones I remember seeing in Downforce when I played that, and some new ones as well:

1. "Betting" has some baggage, and might not really be appropriate for a kid's game, which I had in mind as I began this idea

2. There's no real reason not to just pick the obvious winner (Downforce felt this way at times)

3. Everyone has the same information and agency to affect the outcome (that is to say: no agency), so everyone's just guessing based on the same information

To combat the first issue, I decided that instead of placing bets, you would just put a player marker behind one of the racers - which one are you supporting/rooting for? Then, when one of the racers wins, the player with the most markers on it would win the game

To combat the second issue, I tried giving players 2 different picks each round - that way, they could pick the obvious winner and one other racer, or if they wanted to gamble or if it wasn't clear who would win), then they could do that. Then of course if the 1st place racer had a tie for majority, you'd look at the next racer(s) as well, etc. That kind of worked, except for problem number 3... no asymmetric information, and no real agency over the outcome means you're still just arbitrarily guessing which racer might win.

The 3rd issue was going to be the most important one to address, and I wasn't sure how to go about it. My first thought was that you'd maybe have a small hand of cards that would have some effect on the game, and would back a specific racer -- so you might want to play a card to back the winner, or you might want to play a card with an effect you like, even if it doesn't back the racer you want - something like that. Nothing was sounding very good yet though.

When mentioning this idea online, someone suggested something that sounded like it would turn this whole idea into an actual game: whenever someone backs a racer, make it somehow <i>hinder</i> that racer! You back the racer that you want to win, but doing so makes it less likely for that racer to win.

With that agonizing decision point in mind, I gave it another go, and this is what I came up with:

Goballoon Racing (could use a title!)

Fantasy NPC races are having their annual hot air balloon race! Each year people come from far and wide to watch this breathtaking event, as these airships navigate through a dangerous canyon, fighting for first place. No goblins allowed!

Your goblin clan has made its own version of this race -- as the racers navigate the course, each goblin clan tries to win their own victory... by jumping aboard, grappling, or otherwise grabbing on to the airships! The clan with the most gobbos on the winning airship will earn the Goballoon Cup. In case of tie, consider the next place airship(s) as well, etc.

So you win the Goballoon Cup by piling onto the winning airship, BUT, a balloon with extra weight dangling from it will not move as fast, so by backing a racer, you are necessarily slowing it down. Every round each racer moves some number of spaces around the track, less 1 per hanger-on. This is determined by shuffling a deck of 2 cards per racer, and then revealing 4 cards from it. Those airships move as indicated on the cards, the rest move a minimum amount based on the WIND. WIND is a value that can go up or down over the course of the game, and it's the minimum amount an airship will move. In this way, the racers move a handful of spaces unhindered, but then slow down to a crawl with a bunch the goblins hanging from them (but could still win that way). Or maybe the leaders get so bogged down by gobbos that the stragglers sail past them in the late game!

So you do a round of racing, then everyone backs a racer by simultaneously playing a card, then another round of racing, etc

Max movement would be based somehow on number of likely rounds, and so number of hangers-on that racers would likely get. There could be a max, I suppose. Only so much room to get a grappling hook on there...

Rather than simply "picking a winner" (and hindering that racer), I think the players choices should have some other impact on the game. For example:

* Modify the WIND value (the amount a racer moves at a minimum, or if their card doesn't come up)

* Move racers in this row/altitude extra (assumes an up-and-down sort of path, where any given balloon might be at any given altitude, irrespective of their position in the race)

* Maybe move gobbos around somehow (cut their rope, throw their hook to the next balloon, etc)

 

So maybe you have a deck of cards and draw a hand, and to "bid" you play a card on a particular balloon, and it has an effect on that balloon, or that row, or whatever it says

I'm amused at the image if the balloons all having little dragons powering them, with a pilot pulling it's tail to make it breath fire 🙂

Maybe each balloon (fantasy race) is different, ones got some kind of magical flame, another is burning sticks, one has a dragon whelp, one then pilot IS a dragon... Something like that. Then the areas you're trying to control with most gobbos could matter somehow

MAYBE rather than it being a straight up race, the racers could be trying to escape a pursuer, which could justify jumping aboard the leading airship. That could get dark...

*A flock of Rocs fleeing a dragon, jump on the one you think is most likely to escape (this process sure to bring about the demise if some innocent, unsuspecting Rocs)*

Side note: I like the idea of picking a racer to sort of sabotage them (because you're leading majority on a relacer that's ahead of it)

Maybe it would make sense if, when a certain threshold is reached, a random goblin falls off to the next airship in line or something. That could lead to people jumping onto an overcrowded racer to try and take majority (hoping the majority leader is the one who loses a gobbo) 

Anyone have a feeling about one of the posited themes, or another, better idea for a sort of race between NPCs, where player's units jump onto the racers in an attempt to have the most in the winning racers?

I suppose it could be like "all racers to cross a certain threshold" rather than just the winner - like anyone who makes it to X is safe, everyone else gets caught by the bag bad chasing them

More effect ideas:

* Move this racer ahead 2 spaces (you'll be hindering it by a space each time, so this helps a little of you play it on the racer you actually want to win)

* Move this racer back 1 space (mostly for sabotage purposes)

* Increase wind speed ("wind speed" is the minimum amount that every racer moves, or maybe just the racers who's cards don't come up in the resolution - this could be good if you don't control the leading racers)

* Decrease wind speed (good if you control leaders)

* Move all racers at this altitude 2 spaces (where racers could be at different altitudes, but the same altitude as some other racers - like maybe there are 3 altitudes on the track, and you gonuo and down as a matter of course, you don't decide what altitude to be at)