Game Central Station: Um Reifenbreite "Short" Rules

It's a great game... with a very detailed rulebook. The only problem? It's a bear to find a rule when you're looking for it or trying to teach the game after some time away from it. To make it easier for me, I created an "essential" rule set to use. That's what is on this page.

Starting

Each team manager rolls 2 dice. The highest roller places one rider on a start position. Then, going clockwise from the first team manager, each team manager places one rider at a time. Continue placing riders until each team manager has placed all four riders. No team may have more than one rider in the same lane. You may not draft or use an energy card in the first round. [Note: the no drafting rule is a house rule.]

Movement

The rider who is farthest ahead goes first. If riders are tied then the rider on the right (from the rider's perspective) goes first.

Riders may draft the rider in front of them. If a rider does not draft then the next most forward, on the right hand side, rider goes next.

A rider may only move forward:

• straight ahead (to the next space in the same lane),
• diagonally forward (to the next space in an adjacent lane),
• never to the same space in an adjacent lane, and
• never backwards.

Thick lines (lane boundaries in curves) may not be crossed.

A rider may move fewer spaces than he rolled. A rider may move diagonally between two riders.

There may only be 1 rider on a space at any time. A rider may not move through an occupied space. If the course is blocked then the rider must stop. He loses the rest of his move.

Drafting

A rider may only draft the rider who is directly in front of him. Each rider decides whether to follow the rider who is directly in front of him.

The drafting rider must:

• end his move directly behind the rider he drafts,
• not move more spaces than the rider he is following, and
• follow the normal movement rules.

Riders in an unbroken line in the same lane may draft.

Riders may not draft:

• If the drafting rider cannot end up in the same lane as the leading rider.
• If the rider must move more spaces than the rider in front of him.
• If the space the rider must move to is already occupied or not accessible.
• If the rider who is trying to draft must cross a thick black line.
• If the riders do not end up in an unbroken line.

A rider may only draft if he starts the turn on the same type of road surface (same color) as the rider directly in front of him. The road surface type is the only factor; different numbers on spaces of the same type do not prevent drafting.

Breakaways

If a rider wants to breakaway then the team manager must first announce this. Then the manager gives the rider 1 or 2 energy cards. The riders behind him may not draft him.

Switching the Lead

Riders who are riding in an unbroken line may change places with the lead rider. All lines of riders may do this, regardless of their current position. When it is his turn the rider who is at the front of the line may ask the rider directly behind him whether he would like to switch places.

If the rider agrees then the two riders switch places.

If the rider refuses to switch then the leader may ask the following rider, and so on down the line.

Energy Cards

Every team manager gets the 14 energy cards with these numbers:

• #21-6M #21-5 #22-6M #23-6M #24-5 Joker-6M Joker-5
• #21-6M #21-5 #22-5 #23-6M #24-5 Joker-6M Joker-5

If you race on a short track, like "Paris to Roubaix" or "Lüttich to Bastenaken to Lüttich", then only use the upper 7 energy cards.

Energy cards may not be used in the first round.

Energy cards replace dice. Every energy card replaces 1 die. A maximum of 2 energy cards may be used for a rider on a turn. If one energy card is used then only roll 1 die. If two cards are used then do not roll any dice.

Chance Cards

If a rider rolls a 7 then he must take a chance card. Exception: Chance cards are never drawn in the first round. If a rider plays an energy card he must still pick an chance card if his move is 7 (6+1 or 5+2).

With some chance cards a rider either gets or loses energy cards. Riders only get energy cards associated with their number (either played or lost). If a player must discard an energy card and he has no more with his number then he must discard a joker energy card. If he has no joker cards left then he does not have to discard a card.

If a rider does not lose his turn because of the card then he moves normally.

Some chance cards cause a fall. The rider who picks the chance card falls. A rider who falls cannot move this round. See the card for further details.

Falls

Fallen riders are left on the board. They block other riders moving forward.

A rider who is directly behind a falling rider also falls.

A rider who is adjacent to a falling rider also falls. Exception: A rider to the right of the rider who caused the fall does not fall (he is ahead of the falling rider).

A rider to the right of a following falling rider also falls.

Finish

A rider who finishes must use his entire roll. He moves to the space he landed on with his move. This is important because other riders may finish by drafting him.

Road Surfaces

Energy cards are restricted by road surface. Energy cards with a mountain shield may not be played on a mountain climb. On cobblestones a rider may only use 1 energy card a turn (never 2).

• Asphalt (cream) -- 1 or 2 Energy Cards
• Uphill (red) -- 1 or 2 Energy Cards w/out the mtn shield
• Downhill (yellow) -- 1 or 2 Energy Cards
• Cobblestone (aqua) -- 1 Energy Card

Uphill

Every rider who begins his move on an uphill (red) space must subtract the number on his space from his roll.

A rider on a red space who rolls so low that the result after subtraction is 0 or less must dismount. His marker is moved off of the race course and placed next to the space he started on. After all riders in the round have moved he is placed back on the track. If another rider is on his original space then he is moved backwards to the next empty space in that lane. If more than one rider dismounts then they are replaced in the same order. After all other riders have moved, they must try to return to the spaces they started in. If another rider occupies the space the dismounted rider came from, then the dismounted rider is placed in another space either parallel to or behind his original empty space. The dismounted rider may lose ground if other riders move into his space.

Downhill

A rider who starts his turn on a downhill space (yellow) adds the number on his space to his roll.

Cobblestone

A rider who starts on a cobblestone (aqua) space, must subtract the number on the square from his roll. The cobblestone section includes a small piece of asphalt (cream) road. Riders who start here do not have subtract anything from their roll.

A rider on cobblestone that rolls so low that his move is 0 or less must dismount for that turn.

Cheating

A rider may cheat by rolling just 1 die and adding 6 to it. Then he draws a single photo-card. Note the number on the card along with the rider's number on the score sheet. The photo-card is returned to the deck and the deck is reshuffled. A rider may also cheat by moving 12 without rolling. In this case the rider must draw 2 photo-cards. The photo-card deck is reshuffled for EACH pick.

A rider may only cheat 4 times in a race. Every time he cheats he must draw 1 or 2 photo-cards.

After the race is done and the points are calculated two photo-cards are drawn. Every rider who has cheated and drawn one of these numbers is disqualified since he was photographed cheating.

Sprints

During the race the first 3 riders across each sprint finish line receive additional points as noted on the score sheet. These points are added to the team's points.

Sprint finishes occur during normal moves. They do not interrupt the normal flow of the game.

The Yellow Jersey

The rider who crosses the first sprint finish first gets the yellow jersey. Each ROUND he keeps the yellow jersey he earns 2 points.

• The piece of the rider with the yellow jersey is replaced by the team's yellow jersey piece.
• If the wearer of the yellow jersey wins the next sprint then he keeps the yellow jersey. If another rider wins the sprint then the race organizer calculates the sprint points that each rider has earned. If another rider has more sprint points then that rider gets the yellow jersey.

Race Courses

A. Paris-Roubaix

• Starting Location : Start 2
• Road Type: Cobblestone/AsphaltCourse
• Route Start 2 to Finish C, D, A
• Sprint: Finish D
• Finish: Finish A

B. Lüttich-Bastenaken-Lüttich

• Starting Location: Start 1
• Road Type: Asphalt/Mountains
• Course Route: Start 1 to Finish A, B, C
• Sprint: Finish B
• Finish: Finish C

C. Giro d'Italia

• Starting Location: Start 2
• Road Type: Cobblestone/Asphalt/Mountains
• Course Route: Start 2 to Finish C, D, A, B, C
• Sprints: Finish D, Finish A, Finish B
• Finish: Finish C

D. Tour de France

• Starting Location: Start 1
• Road Type: Mountains/Cobblestone/Mountains
• Course Route: Start 1 to Finish A, B, C, E, A
• Sprints: Finish B, Finish C, Finish E
• Finish: Finish A

Stage Races

Stage races take place over several days on different tracks. On each "day" another race is run on another course.

The final score for a stage race is calculated as follows:

• Fill out a separate score sheet for each race. Calculate the results for each stage and add the total team points together.
• Calculate the bonus points for each team and add them to the team's total.
• For each team determine the rider who has earned the most overall points.
• Multiply that rider's total by the number of stages raced.
• Add this total to the team's total score.

The team with the most points wins.

This scoring system shows the importance of both support riders and the stars. The support riders help the stars score the more points. This increases the bonus the star adds to the team.