Squig Hopper Tunnel Race
by Avian
This is a fun little game I came up with one day while we were waiting for the remaining players to show up for a multi-player battle. Thanks to Thomas T. for helping with the rules.
Wot ya needs:
- One squig hopper for each player
- Tunnel board sections to race around on. The ones from Warhammer Quest are very good for this but it is also quite easy to make your own form carton or carboard.
- Dice - 2D6
Wot da objektive ovv da game is
The goal of the game is to be the first to race around the track from start to finish once (or to the end and back again if you have a short course).
Da field ovv battul...err...contest
Place the board sections connected by doorways so that they form a course roughly two meters long. It can be straight, horseshoe, rectangular or whatever. Most of the time there should only be one possible path to follow (this is more fun as the hoppers run into each others more often). At the starting line you could either have a large room, a branched corridor or something similar. Just make sure the hoppers start roughly the same distance from the finish line.
Roolz ovv engagement
Roll a dice to see who goes first, second etc. in the first round. When it's your turn you roll 2D6, add the scores together and move your hopper that many squares. Each square you move must bring you closer to the finish line (unless you roll a double, as explained below). You may move diagonally, but you may not move diagonally across corners.
In the picture above the hopper may not hop directly to the square marked with an 'X'.
If you roll a double the goblin rider momentarily loses control of the squig and it moves back towards the starting line instead. Move as normal, but each square you move must take you closer to the starting line. If you pass the starting line when moving backwards the squig stops there. After finishing it's move backwards the goblin regains control of the squig (at least for a little while) and it moves as normal next turn.
Squigs move by hopping and so can move over obstacles and other squigs as they move, but it is possible to end your move in the same square as another hopper. This is not a pleasant experience for the hopper being landed on and it will quite naturally startle the squig. When you end your move in a square containing another hopper you may (OK, you must) move that hopper 2D6 squares back towards the starting line, following the rules given above. A double for this distance is treated just like a non-double roll.
Da Turn
In the first turn the order the hoppers move in is decided by rolling a dice. In the second turn and all the other turns the one who was closest to the finish line at the end of the previous turn goes first, followed by the one who was second cloeset and so on. If two hoppers are the same distance from the finish line the one who got there first goes first.
Example
To make things simple (in case any halflings are reading) the track used in this example is straight. The hoppers roll for order and it's A first, followed by B and then C.
Turn 1
Hopper A goes first, rolls a 4 and a 1 and moves 5 squares. Hopper B goes
second, rolls a 6 and a 3 and moves nine squares. Hopper C goes third, rolls a
2 and a 4 and moves six squares.
Turn 2
Since Hopper B was closest to the finish line he moves first, he rolls a 1 and
a 2 and moves 3 squares. Hopper C goes second and rolls a 6 and another 6. This
would have put him way in the lead, but unfortunately it was a double and so
Hopper C is moved back towards the starting line (in situations like this it is
compulsory for the other players to laugh).
Luckily for Hopper C, though, he was only six sqares from the starting line and
so he's only moved six squares back, not twelve as he would have been if it had
been later in the race.
Hopper A, who was first in the first round rapidly dropped to third and so moves last in the second round. He rolls a 3 and a 4. This is just enough to hit Hopper C and A hops to it.
After moving into the square that Hopper C was in, player C rolls 2D6 to see how far C is moved back. He gets a 4 and another 4, meaning that Hopper C is moved back 8 squares.
After the second turn Hopper A has a clear lead, but in the next turn the two others will be coming after him.
Winning
The first who crosses the finish line wins. If more than one hopper crosses the finish line in the same round the first one to do so is the winner. The losers should buy a bottle of squiggly-beer (or some other suitable beverage) to the winner, who is allowed to jump around a bit and cheer.
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