I’m a fuel injected suicide machine. I am the rocker, I am the roller, I am the out-of-controller!
Road rage can be fun – when it’s Games Workshop 1980s style. Let’s go back to a Mad Max-like future and play Battlecars.
One of my absolute favourites from the era of ‘small box’ Games Workshop games of the 80s, Battlecars has provided me with many hilarious gaming moments. So after my recent unpacking and a visit from my old gaming buddy Will, it was time to get out this old classic (actually from 1983, not 1980 as mistakenly mentioned in the video) and see if it still has what it takes.
Of course it does! Hell, it might not stand up to modern game design standards – though I still love the systems of fitting out your car, using ammo and recording damage – but as usual it all depends on who you’re playing the game with and if you’re both determined to enjoy yourselves. The weapons hit really easily, the game is unbelievably random with lots of re-rolling, the I Go/You Go turn structure is dated, but we still had a blast. I also think we got one crucial rule wrong, because we forgot to test for skidding when our vehicles drove just one point over their speed limits – which would have introduced a bit of vehicle drift and shaken up some of the vehicle facing during the game.
And for even more randomness and confusion, we added a 1980s scenario that Will had come up with all those years ago that was completely unplaytested. Good times!
Anyone who’s seen a copy of Battlecars will hardly recognise this version, which I long ago enhanced with large boards, 3D terrain, new car sheets, custom dashboards with working speedometers, and 6mm scale metal cars (from Irregular Miniatures). All of which is a measure of how much I love this old game.
So strap in, fire up your engines, and ram fill tilt into the nearest building – the Battlecars battle report is here!
Interesting movement system. I like the lines determine your path. Much better than the more common systems now of moving spaces, or fiddly rulers.