Welcome to Maple to me. People uniting players around the world. A 30-minute exploration of PJ and Gareth ball. Game experiences from across both sides of the Atlantic each episode. They share their thoughts and opinions on the world of war games including their favorite themes games. Hot topics and much much more. Hey y'all and welcome to episode 31. I am PJ and I'm Gareth. And today on your marks get set. Go. Go or games and focus racing games. Yeah. So Gareth formula one, right?
You were watching racing today. Back the world of F1. So I'm a massive F1 fan. So yeah, we've been waiting for this day for about four months. So yeah, though. It was race one. In Bahrain. The world is back to normal. The weekends are wasted, Friday's practice Saturday, qualifying Sunday, race day. We're going to Silverstone this year. We're sitting in a grandstand. It's going to be epic, excellent. But what better choice than racing games in? Absolutely.
Let me ask you a question is, is NASCAR popular at all in the UK? I think, if you're really into racing, okay, possibly B, really? Yeah, it's f 1. So that's really, that's what I granny cars. Watching was yes. Car being from the southern part of the us and that's where it's just wildly popular. Not one of my favorite things to watch but But the best ones growing massively the u.s. yeah, yeah, it is popular. Vegas back into the year this year. That's been built. Currently cool though.
Anyway, well let's talk about racing games so I thought, I'd start with a game. I play today because we were getting ourselves post gaming. Keep yourself in the mood of ballgame. So we play calm down. Downforce, downforce downforce Thunder. Good game. You got it? Yeah. Oh yeah. Here we go. So you still love your Motorsports a little bit 2017 Wolfgang. Kramer. Yeah, as a great game it's nice and simple clothes haven't played it basically.
Six racing cars, there's the game, comes with double sided map. There are two expansions with I guess for maps included and really you just get you got deck of cards evenly. Distributed on the card is got one of 12 six cars on it with the colors and you play a card and your move. Whichever cars are on the track but you're kind of you're buying the car at your bidding for the car beginning, which is going to cost you money. At the end of the game, you'll then Betty on the car.
Between three times on the racetrack, you haven't got to be your car to win. You can be somebody else's because you may have the cards to help cross the line and then wherever you are your car's finish. And it's very simple. It is very engaging for non-gamers and Gamers alike. Yeah. Just it's a really nice racing game. I think the appeal of this game is that there's like different
modes, right? So like you can take out the auctioning at the beginning, if you have If you have younger children Riley. Yeah, yeah. And with our nephew, who's almost 3 is a game. We're looking forward to once he's able to, you know, colors and numbers. And it's great for that just teaching that having fun pushing the cars around and if you don't I don't know how it is in your house, but I bet it, I imagine it is when you're playing down force or any auto racing game.
When you're pushing the car on the board. If you do not make the auto sound, Or something you lose a turn or it is a 10. Yeah I know this game is something school doofus because the game is about being a bit of a annoying player by blocking people on the track. So you know, it's not really a racing game is actually how do I avoid or block everybody else? So that my car gets ahead.
So yeah, it can cause some frustrated with people I think it's just put card down race when you've sat on the corner, it's got no no way to get past and people get blocked, says your car or somebody's car, races ahead. So Hasbro bit of, I guess, you know, play a lot. Plug ya player. Conflicts in the instance of just blocking players, they can't get around the track so it's more that than probably a racing game fully, right? No, that's definitely. One of the worst things about
these recent years. Particularly downforce when, you know, just the way the car is run by cuz like you have to move when you play the card, you have to move them in the order from top to bottom. And if the red one is at the top, but it's in the back and it can't go. Because the cars are in front of you could I recall there are times where I can play a card and then not do anything. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Because the lead car isn't on
that card, and it's like, yeah. Well, then he calls looking everybody and nobody else believes. Exactly. And when you're bidding for the cars to the beginning, you also get a power Up which, you know, that she do certain things except steps things like that. But yeah it's an inch, not an intruder but it's really good. It's just standard racing game. I would recommend downforce that's good for my delivery room. I agree. Now, down forces, just it's a
solid game design. I want to get more racetracks. I know he's getting an image. We won't ride, boys. We are playing. I don't know what it's called. Now forgot me. Just but it's one side, the map has got intersections. So you Race Across the track, go round the back and come across the other side. Can I go figure 8? Yeah, and you end up basically blocking people come in the other way and then the other side is more of like a desert track where there's subsections.
You can't stop on but you can use them for maneuvering so they're really tight tracks. But you can basically push people who also go around you so yeah really nice. The other two have got jumps, I think animals like in the Safari and night in the Safari or something like, yeah, but they're crossing the ramps to tell. Yes. Yes. Oh yeah, that's them - to do what the games. So obviously, when we talk about racing, I guess it hasn't got to be thus necessary cars. Right?
So if you're not into cars, what racing game, would you pick camel up? It's not cars. It's our four-legged friends camps like this game, okay? So 2018, Stephen Bogan men, this game surprised me when the first time I played it right. Oh my God, this is so good. I mean, you're betting again, but you manipulating them in the camel stack on top of each other and a else. That's so good. Complete chaos. Yes. And you have one, you have one camel. That goes the opposite direction
of all the other man. It's so good. That game is just hilarious. Non-stop fun. I love it. So I think that's a dimensional. Three dimensional pyramid pyramid. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, yeah. Said again that game it's I guess is that best thing at a man that is it just feel more chaotic than down Force. But we had, we had the original Should which I think didn't have the ones that go the opposite way, right?
But I mean, it's wooden components versus more of a plastic one but they gave yourself. Yeah, an absolute blast again, end of night, but end of gaming evening, the game of camel camel up, or sometimes called camel Cup by some people. That's right in its own right, isn't that right? Yeah, this log into that. But yes, except on Camel on Camel up. Yeah, just do this really good laugh. Just, you know, oh yeah, being around sitting room. Friends again, you can be reasonably.
Yeah. In terms of moving them along, which one you're going to move and who, who's going to move where it's great for one of those tents, you know, you have those game nights where it's like a tent game of Nemesis or dead of winter or something with a Trader mechanic, or they just got everybody on Edge. Kamloops a great way for people to just forget about what happened and just just cut up and laugh. And yeah, yeah, I'm Patty apples around On the board. It's awesome.
So that's a great racing game. I love that Camel. It has a similar game. That's probably replaced. It camel camel up for us. I've now got a camel copies in my head has been long shot if he played long shot. No, I haven't. But I know I know a lot of people have been, you know, talking about and playing recently I haven't experienced it yet, the Rollin Rollin right but with a with a board and no, it's not. Yeah. So you roll a dice You're taking
off things. You can basically move the horses around the track and save again. You're betting on which is going to finish first, second third, but again, you can cut look like it's got like an element of bingo for different horses. Selected gives you bonus points. Bonus coins, plays up to 8 players, small form box. So again it's we played that a lot.
I think we picked up When we're in America, he puts it up the we put the Barnes & Noble who had their own copy and with some extra cards in it. It was a Kickstarter. I think released about then, as same time, they managed to get the kickstarter version in in the game's Expo which had extra bits in it. So I have the complete copy with all the extra cards case which is nice but yeah it's again that's the fun fun game horses racing around rolling dice.
And it's pretty quick because everyone's, everyone's having a go at the same time. So I gotta ask about your last trip to the United States. Did you do anything other than shop for board games? Because you always tell a story about. I picked this up at Barnes & Noble. I pick this up at Target. I picked it up when I was in New York, it doesn't matter.
I think the onus of you, whether I could go to any city in the world, I have plans on my little map, you know, solution, whichever mobile folks, I've met Might be used to using has got stars of where the ball game shops there and I'm like oh look there's a ball game shop over here. What I'm going to them and then we go and then we will always well, it'd be rude. Not to buy Game. Wouldn't it in another another city, another country. So that's true. Yes, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. So yeah, I think there's a few things in New York, he picks up. But yes, we did do lots of sightseeing and eating and seeing friends and then that's it. For my next question to you, I know. Tired my racing games but a little off topic for a moment. You would use brought up games Expo. I've been thinking about how the season of Game conventions kind of has started off tantrum. Khan was in North Carolina week a week or two ago, there was something actually gonna come starting next.
That's what I was going to be kenned next weekend, which is what I was. That was my question to you is, will you be going to aircon at all even for a day or any things for our drawing? I've okay so enough what's stopping you? I don't I don't see a problem, should be no more hours. It's it's quite a little drive to for a day. You know stay overnight and then you come home the next day. It's fine. Just to clean my diary. In fact, I've got Friday off work, its my anniversary with Carrie.
So happy anniversary. Well, isn't she going to be lucky? Yeah, but need some plans and now we have I said nothing. Yeah, she actually can listen to this on Tuesday and then she can hear what her anniversary surprise. Oh, that's great. Carry surprise. Happy anniversary. You're gonna go to aircon. Yeah, perfect. Perfect ending. Okay. The four-hour drive the light. Make sure you give her flowers though, don't just don't make aircon. The only surprise right? Shocking.
Find a pool game that would be suitable for farming mailing that met when I didn't. Forming a farming game in space, a farming gaming. So, you know, wouldn't that be terraforming? Mars know, as little animals, but maybe it needs to be a farming gaming space? Well, yeah, kind of like the motion like he's like he's forming potatoes, right? He does. Yeah, and I've destroyed that carries perfect game.
I ain't gon lie wave. Arming we've digressed onto but the okay, yeah, we're not going, but I do wish I was. And if I do happen Now, get way that fantastic ideas. So thank you for the suggestion. Absolutely. So the race to the next game. I like Grace and next game we're gonna go for. So I want to talk about Mississippi Queen. I've tell me more, never heard of it. I've mentioned it a little bit. It's came out or I guess it was, it came out of second time.
Second edition in 2019 by Warner Hodel or Hodel. Okay, this game is really cool. We played it in Gen Con in the games, library, and Katie, and I just fell in love, right? So it's a river paddle boats. Yeah. Along the Mississippi River. Like, in the eighth, the 19th century 1800s, and it's just so good. So, you've got these beautiful plastic paddle boats, and on the left side, you've got like this dial with red numbers to indicate how many spaces you can move, right?
And you can turn it up or down. So one is six up or down one for free. If you want to do it again, you have the right wheel, which has black numbers which represents your coals Supply. So you know, if I'm a tattoo, which means I can move, two, hexes forward, but I really want to move three to get ahead of you if I want to turn it to the three because I'm only going, you know, you can only do one then, I have 2K dial down the coal.
If you run out of coal, you can only move one hex until you stop at like a little I'll deck a doc to refill your coal, if they show up because it's one of those where you you put new tiles out as the game goes on. So you can't see the route of the river ahead of you which is that is that's really cool but you have to stop and pick up two passengers along away and at the end you have to drop them off. But if you're going to stop at a dock to pick up passengers, You have to stop.
You can't like if you're going on red lighting, grab them and keep it here. If you're red, if you're red rolling, you read. If you're a three and your three hexes away and you stop that doesn't count your paddle, has to be on a one because you have to be going slow enough to stop at the dock to allow the passage to get on board.
So there's a little bit of a timing issue and so yes we're racing but we're also racing to pick up passengers as they were Revealed in the course of the game so good and you roll a die and the direction of the arrow will tell you where to put the next tile left straight or right. So yes, you're building the course as well as yes. Exactly. Exactly. And what's it called again? Mississippi Mississippi, Queen
Queen, so good, so good. And not just because I grew up along the Mississippi River and grew up with paddle boats, you know, in New Orleans and whatnot. But She's such a good game, like we played it with our gaming group, when we finally got a copy and like, we're all standing up with our hands on our hips. Looking at the map attic is really got really tense. It's like, you know, it's like a little, you know, a little
paddle boat racing game, right? But no, all these grown men were like, oh God. And how close is it? What do you mean? And says, it's intend to finish the GDP. Japanese. They quite close together. For is there pretty much. So inevitably what happens is one person gets ahead and again you have to pick up two passengers so whoever picks up two passengers. First is then just they're focused on on running right. But you got to go around islands and sandbars. It slow you down.
So you've got to be really cautious too. So if you get too far ahead, you can get yourself into trouble. So Think about like downforce, but that game because you're because there's three ways to earn cash or lose money. Or you can buy the cheapest cars. You can actually not even try to win, you can just go to bet on the right cars. It's not necessary at the race and I but yeah, but you still end up some cars coming quite
late. So the game can be finished in one car, but could you still playing cards right? Till the end right here, isn't that? It's just one winner and the updates they just going and Mississippi Queen plays up to six. Okay. So you're mean so unlike downforce were you just playing cards and you move cars that maybe aren't your car that you bought in the auction. Mississippi Queen you. It's your paddle boat. You're trying to navigate your boat for the win and it's pretty cool. Yeah.
Yeah it's very cool game. That's not including a very interesting concept. Yeah. And the components are really nice. It's not a theme. You see? No no not at all and it was really Rising. So that is Mississippi Queen. Mississippi Queen for y'all. Get on that paddle boat. Yeah and go down the Mississippi River and you win that race you hear me? But taking two things. Bracing along flame, Roose. Next, he played Fame Rouge, I have nine, I want to so much so
he looks almost a cycling game. Yes. Okay, so we did automobiles then we did camels then paddle boats and now bicycles our horses. We did horses. Longitude horses? Yes, and I love it. I love. This is great. So farmer Mississippi, Mississippi Queen. I'm Remember these games? Yes, a flame Rouge neck. Switch. I'm also a cyclist so theme-wise I love, I love flame Rouge again. Track loads of track pieces, you put the track but like a skillet
trick to beginning. So you're kind of a whole just build the track as a group, okay? Then you've got two cyclists, a sprinter in a roller. So one is very good. Quick Dash has the other one is just consistent set of cards that use the card once job done. So little bit like downforce, but the card is only for either
Sprinter or the rotor. And you just got it slightly but if you have four cards behind you pick one, discover the three then you draw back up so you're cycling through the deck. Quite rapidly. The course, you might have a number between this, a three and five four, three and six. So you may not, you may not have the card. You need for that turn. You can get drafted by sitting be sitting behind the Peloton group, and it's up hills.
There's downhills this, you Cain's, there's expansions with the, whether it's problem I've seen people build really Be nice component courses that actually that have power polystyrene that look amazing, that's plain rude and Italy more recently the same designer has created heat pedal to the metal which was a massive hit me. Yeah laughs. Yeah I think it's that I think it's a valuable watch. The second print runs landed in the UK yet but certainly very
similar mechanics. Now, I've I haven't bought heat but I wish I could but we played it coming but you played it. We played it somewhere and the Kerry was like, it's too much like flame Rouge because it's very similar cycling cars but it's nice car racing cars in it. Oh, I mean, like it needs to be part of the collection at some point I say, I is known. Yeah, same designer, really enjoyed it.
You kind of got this bit about changing gears and going faster, but whether you prefer the car version or the flame Rouge, with the cycling, both are fantastic. Sing game mechanic, that sounds great. It sounds really good. Yeah, I guess I can, I can get behind that. You were talking about changing gears. So changing games, how about formula D? Or formula day where you roll a different dye says that state five dice East Isis represented by the games, three, four, five,
six, seven, seven sided. You got admitted? Yes. You got to D4. Yeah. And then a D6 and then ad8 and then a Attend. Yeah. And then a D12. And then there's a D20. That's right. They were different colors and they represent the six gaze of the car, right? Yeah, it's a game. We played quite a bit. I don't, you think we've passed it on again. Probably when we didn't have a very large group, but now we have, I'm a little bit disappointed. But yes, that's a nice, very nice racing game.
We gave me feel plenty of expansion packs. What I like about that game is the big boards, like you've really big tracks printed on they already picked? I like that. What I don't like about the game. Is it? That plastic cars are so many really smooth? Yeah, they really small. I like the size of the cars in downforce. Yeah they're just satisfying they're the right size tactile wise and it's just I like moving them across the board. I think Soviets about is between
the between, is it? Yeah, they're not there. Okay. But yeah, yeah, so if you could apply the mechanics of Formula D. D to the game components of downforce. I just think I will be Choice. Yeah, there's a game called formula 90. That was a Kickstarter. I'm going to say about a year ago which I completely missed. Which components wise I think is kind of middle of the middle of the road. Yeah from a simulation of F1 that pit stops and just more of an F1 experience.
It looks like it's Probably the best one that gives you that 4matic car car racing. I think think it's it's yet this one I'm going to keep an eye out for and see if I pick up a you know retail copy or a round kick starter pledge, thinking about all the games, I remember there was a game called formula one which I think came out in 1962. You're going back now. So tell me more think it was waddington's. Now I remember this game as a child. Now remember, whether my mum and dad oh.
Did it or whether my grandparents did. They both had lots of ball games in the family collection? That I know that one of our Southampton group has a copy of this. We've not yet concert table where again, it's the race race track little cars but you've got kind of like an A7 A5 kind of steering wheel with little markers. Little dials that change the speed and change the gears. That I remember this Nostalgia kicking in. It was a really fun racing game,
so that's one that I guess game. No game long way back in the world of ball games. I'd like to Dragon. So at some point, Gareth you're listening, we need to get that to the table. Hey. So what about you were telling me earlier? Was it pitch car, which car racing intricate? Yeah, it's kind of like a so I've played this once. Haven't got a copy it's like a Skeletor extract. Really is its huge. Many Is a table hog and you build a track and it's a flicking game.
So I your discs and you have to flip them around the track or so you can come off the track and obviously you can look at the people off. But yeah, the boards are amazing. Oh my gosh quite expensive. I'm looking at, I'm looking at images right now and I'm like, man, these are huge. Yeah, huge Pitch carp, each car racer. So yeah, somebody bought onto a games Expo that we are at and it was set up and but again, everyone standing up around the table is no chairs involved.
So you've not, it's not just the people playing it, everyone is watching as well. So it's quite a nice spectator sport because you can, you know, the the simple Miss flick, and there's Carnage kicking in just like smell terrible. Overtaking the wrongdoing. So, what happens if you flick and it goes off them, got member okay, thank you to reset, okay, because I mean, I might with these dexterity games but it's always my problem is I'm afraid I flick too hard and You would
go wild. Okay, with a flicking. Its when you got balance things up, I'm rubbish, rubbish. Ah, yeah. But that's, yeah, I'd love to. That's what I'd love to own a copy of. It's the only way you store it, the end up in a Cupboard somewhere and get any end up at conventions, where there's Beauty, big enough tablespace. So, for those of you listening, I mean, look up Pitch car on Board Game Geek and just look at the pictures. This is huge.
They are, they don't take up a lot of Garrett's not, you're not. But you're not exaggerating. Like there's a I'm looking at one image where they have like four folded having a yeah amazing lined up. I'm like wow. Okay I might be cute, maybe it's two sets other than how many sets here in. It would definitely not fit on your dining room table and now we can eat. We need two of those. Yep, I've got one last game on my list. Well, the game control to the automobiles, which is a Bag
building racing game. So pretty simple track ice. It's rub, it might even just be a, a loop, you know, just just a vigorous 40 figure and you start with very different, colored cubes in your bag. And as you move your, your car, you car finishes in different colored zones, like white, or black or brown, that's basically how much wear and tear. You've got on your car. You can give upgrade to buy
extra. Moments which might be a new engine in might be Chasse my beautiful breaks and those cubes go into your bag and as you draw they help you go faster. And so they see again, your lapping cars around the track really nice bag Builder. I then again I think it might be out of print. I haven't seen it for a while. Let me an expansion that I have. This is like a hold of. This was by David short it's by AEG games. It looks like you can Copy for $150.
Yeah, I know Prim Prim but yeah, if you like the bag Builder and you like car racing, me then didn't automobiles is for you, who doesn't like a good bag build. I know it's the best of both worlds. So I guess, I guess what makes a good racing game from everything we've said today. There's this random element that in some games, you don't tolerate but with a racing game long as you can mitigate, there's always a bit of luck.
Yeah. And planning, but whether we've talked about, you know, from downforce, where you can be a bit of a douche down, to even, you know, camel up flame Rouge. They've all got elements where you've got a chance. Make the best decision. But doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win the race. Yep, which makes me he's is that it's fun. Just fun games to have around the table. Yes, very fine. Very fine, a play. Absolutely. So I guess it's time for our, I guess our little, our little
Lagniappe at the end. Right. What have you got this week? So I want to tell you a quick story. There's a game that's coming out by Samuel bar mettler, it should be. It was kick-started last year should be shipping this summer, and it's called outrun, the bear outrun, the bear tell me more. So, Katie and I got an opportunity to play test this. At Gen Con and the Double Exposure playtest Hall and this
was great. This was a fun game and you want to talk about, you can't take yourself, seriously. So the idea is that you were a bunch of hikers in the woods and there's a giant hungry bear and the Bear Just moves forward and you're trying to run to the parking lot. At the end of the, at the end of the route and you can you have
like a series of cards. In your hand, that might be like, eat an energy bar, and you can move two spaces forward or, you know, yeah, I'll help you give you an advantage or you can't rip your opponent's, right? And you have interrupts. So that's where there was a moment. When we were play testing where three players played a card simultaneously and you could tell at some point we had all played Magic the Gathering and so well I think we all play this card and then in the question so
which one triggers first? It was a really fun moment. But needless to say, I did not outrun the bear, but Katie did. So I got that going for me. When what I'm saying it is it mole, Eunice, it's well, yeah, I mean each, you and you're out of the game and you move on and like the bear is this really big? Because the, I think that the, the the mat are the tiles for the router, maybe maybe six or eight inches wide, and the bear is that why to?
And it's like this Big tall acrylics on a miniature. It's like a standee but it's acrylic and you just it just it's got a two legs on that, sit on the outside of the track. So it slides very nicely and it just moves forward. So it doesn't matter that the route might be curvy printed on the tiles and you're trying to run across them and some terrain, like some trained might slow you down because there's fallen leaves or, you know, whatever, but very, very cool
game. Mmmmm plays very quickly. That's another filler game or end of the night. Hey, you know what, let's try to outrun the bear that shipping them. Now will shipping to this summer. I believe it was the shipping. Yeah, it's bad. Outrun the bear. So that's why a little Lagniappe for this week so I still fit. Oh yeah. Well, thank you for sharing. I should look forward to hearing about more best stories and with that I'd like to thank everyone for listening and we'll see
everybody soon. Thanks everyone for listening, Please Subscribe. And as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so make sure to leave those in the comments and don't forget, you can also chat with us, both on Instagram at me. People to meet people.