Moto Grand Prix
Moto Grand Prix Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the Box
This box contains:
- this rulebook;
- 6 model bikes, each with a rider and a special stand;
- 12 dice (in three different colors);
- 9 punch-out cardboard sheets, containing:
- 72 racetrack tiles (straights and corners) to build racetracks
- 6 dashboards (to be assembled)
- 6 lap counting cards
- 84 corner difficulty counters and special counters
- 6 slipstreaming counters
- 4 plastic bags to keep counters in;
- 18 plastic stands for the difficulty counters;
- 18 plastic spinners (to be inserted in the dashboards).
Before you play your first game of MotoGrandPrix, you need to punch out the counters from the sheets. Keep the counters in the spaces provided in the box. You also need to assemble the dashboards and insert three plastic spinners in each dashboard.
Insert a spinner in the hole in the center of the three dials and fasten it on the opposite side of the dashboard.
Now select the track tiles and difficulty counters needed to build the racetrack you want to play on (see Circuits) and put the other tiles and counters back in the box. Keep the lap counters handy.
Each player now chooses a bike (or, optionally, two bikes of the same color if playing with two or three players), complete with rider and stand, and two dice of the same color as the bike.
If you are playing the Basic game, you don't need the dashboards (used only in the Standard and Expert games) nor the "slipstream" counters (used only in the Expert game).
How to Use These Rules
This rulebook has four sections.
First, the game components are presented.
The Basic rules are suitable for players 6+ years old. These rules are best for younger players and for casual, light-hearted play.
The Standard rules add more details and offer an excellent balance of fun, speed of play and realism.
The Expert rules add even more realism and are especially suited for motorcycle racing enthusiasts.
Finally, you'll find instructions on how to build the world's most famous Racetracks with the contents of the box.
Game Components
72 track tiles; punch them out and lay them to assemble the racetrack. Use the holes on the sides of the tiles to slot the counter stands in.
- L1, L2, L4: three different kinds of straight tiles, of different lengths.
- R1, R2, R3, R4: four different kinds of corner tiles, of different lengths and angles (45° and 22.5°).
6 bikes with rider, in 1:55 scale (2 red, 2 yellow, and 2 blue bikes).
6 dashboards: assemble them with one arrow in each dial.
12 six-sided dice (4 red, 4 yellow, 4 blue).
48 track difficulty counters: place them upon their stands, as required by the racetrack you are using. There are Downhill, Uphill, and Flat counters.
6 lap counters.
36 special counters: place them upon their stands, as required by the racetrack you are using. There are Corner, Straight, and Slipstream counters.
6 Slipstream counters.
The Track
Every box of MotoGrandPrix contains assembly tiles (the track tiles) that let you build a different board every time. Follow the track building instructions found in the Racetracks section, or just use your imagination, modifying the existing racetracks or coming up with totally new ones. You can also combine the tiles from more boxes of MotoGrandPrix to build longer and more challenging racetracks!
The racetrack is built with two types of tiles: straights and corners. Corners have curbs, the red and white dotted lines on the sides. There are three different kinds of straight tiles of different lengths, indicated by the letters L1, L2, L4, and there are four different kinds of corner tiles (indicated by the letters R1, R2, R3, R4) of different lengths and angles (45° and 22.5°).
On the outer side of any track tile there are holes where you can insert the difficulty marker stands. In some racetracks, the markers will also show some additional information (uphill, downhill, etc.).
When building a racetrack, place the appropriate difficulty marker, in its plastic stand, at the beginning of a corner. Corner difficulty is of the utmost importance as it affects the movement of bikes on the track, putting limits on how players can flip the results rolled on the dice. More about this later!
Lanes and Positions
The racetrack is divided into three lanes, represented by thin black lines. Every lane is divided into positions, represented by dots.
During the game, every bike occupies a well-defined position on the track and moves forward, moving from position to position, following the racetrack.
When moving, you may change lanes as you see fit: from a position in the central lane you can move to the next position in one of the side lanes, or from a position in a side lane you can move to the next position in the central lane.
A position can be occupied only by one bike at a time, so you cannot enter or move through an occupied position.
The lane with the darker position dots represents the best racing line (in short, "racing line"), while the lane with the lighter dots is the worst: when two or three bikes are side by side, the one with the best (darker) position takes precedence over those in the worst (lighter) positions.
Corner Difficulty
As said before, the corner tiles can be told apart from the straights because they feature curbs, pictured on the outside of the tiles in red and white. Every corner, or series of connected corners, has a Difficulty value of 1 to 3 representing how hard to negotiate they are.
Bikes
The unique 1:55 scale models included in the box have been produced exclusively for MotoGrandPrix. These realistic scale reproductions can "lean" when negotiating bends and do "wheelies" when on a straight. These special features will make your competitions even more spectacular and exciting. They directly affect play only in the Expert game.
Teams and Colors
Each color (blue, yellow and red) represents a team. Players with the same color can cooperate and advise each other about play strategies. Two bikes in the same team can be told apart by the color of the rider.
With 2 or 3 players, the game can be more interesting if every player runs a team instead of a single bike.
Basic Rules
Set Up
Choose a tabletop or any other flat surface large enough to build the racetrack you want to use for your game.
The Racetrack
Choose and build a Basic level racetrack (see Circuits) for games using the Basic Rules.
Place the corner difficulty markers to make sure players understand the difficulties of the chosen racetrack, as per the racetrack's layout. Put difficulty markers at the beginning of corner tiles to show their difficulty level. The difficulty level of a corner tile affects all the positions until the end of the corner.
What Players Need
Each player chooses a color, and takes one bike and two dice of the appropriate color.
Winning the Game
In MotoGrandPrix players win the game by crossing the finish line with their bike at the end of the last lap. If more players cross the finish line in the same turn, the player who at the end of the turn occupies the most forward position wins the game.
Lap Counters
Each racetrack has a recommended number of laps (see Circuits). At the beginning of the game, place the lap counter near the finish line and set it on "LAP 001". Every time the leading bike crosses the finish line, update the number by replacing or superimposing it on the counter. The last lap begins when the number of the last lap (as indicated by the description of the racetrack) is placed on the lap counter.
How to Play
There are two parts to a competition: determining the pole position, where the initial start positions are determined, and the race itself.
Determining Pole Position
To determine their starting positions, players must first compete in a qualifying lap. To qualify, each player rolls two dice and adds the scores. No flipping allowed! The high roller places his bike in pole position - that is, in the most forward start position just before the finish line, in the darkest colored position (on the racing line).
All other players place their bikes behind him, filling up the two positions next to the first, and then the others. Re-roll tied players.
The Race
The race is run over several laps (as shown on the chosen circuit) and is divided into turns. During each turn, all players roll dice and move their bikes on the track.
The movement order is determined by the position of the bikes on the track: the leading player acts first, then the second player acts, and so on until the last player has acted. Once the turn is over, the new turn starts from the player who is now in the leading position, and so on.
Remember that, if two bikes are equal, the bike on the best (darker) racing line moves first, while the bike in the worst (lighter colored) position moves last.
Players continue playing in turns (see below) until all players have completed the required laps and have gone past the finish line.
Dice Rolling and Movement
To move your bike you need movement points, that you obtain by rolling dice and adding the scores. Normally, any point you spend lets you move forward one position on the racetrack, and at the same time – if you choose to do so – move into an adjacent lane.
Like racers in a real competition, players in MotoGrandPrix can accelerate or brake, modifying the score on the dice. The player can flip the dice to change the result.
Bear in mind that the opposite sides of a die have numbers that always give a 7 if added. So, for example, you can accelerate flipping a "2" into a "5", or brake, flipping a "4" to obtain a "3".
This option is limited by the characteristics of the racetrack. Follow these rules:
- Braking: in any position on the track, the player can flip one or both dice to decrease the result.
- Accelerating: the player, if the limitations of the racetrack so allow (see Dice Flipping), can flip one or both dice to increase the score. Normally, you can always freely accelerate on a straight, while on a corner the acceleration is limited by the corner's difficulty rating.
Once dice are flipped, the player must add the scores and use up all the movement points he gets.
Important: it is possible, if the limitations of the racetrack so allow, to accelerate with one die and to brake with another.
Example: Valentino rolls a "2" and a "4". Since he wants to move exactly 8 positions, he can flip the "2" turning into a "5" and flip the "4" turning it into a "3". The total score is now "8", and Valentino will have to move exactly 8 positions.
The Game Turn
Each player's game turn has three phases:
- Roll Dice: the player rolls two dice.
- Flip Dice: the player may flip one or both dice, abiding by the limitations in the rules.
- Move: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points.
The bike in the lead plays first, and the player goes through all three phases in strict order. Then play passes to the players in the next positions. When the turn is completed, a new turn begins starting from the player who is currently in the lead.
1) Roll Dice
The acting player rolls two dice.
2) Flip Dice
The acting player can accelerate (i.e., flip one or more dice to increase the score) and/or brake (flip one or both dice to decrease the score) as per the following rules:
- Straight:
- the player can accelerate or brake as he sees fit (that is, flip one or both dice).
- Corner with difficulty 1 (yellow):
- the player can accelerate, flipping only the die with the lower score;
- the player can brake as he sees fit.
Example: Valentino, with a blue bike, is on a difficulty 1 corner and rolls "1" and "3". He wants to accelerate, and can therefore flip only the die with "1" turning it into a "6". So he moves forward 6+3=9 positions.
- Corner with difficulty 2 (orange):
- the player can accelerate by flipping only the higher scoring die;
- the player can brake as he sees fit.
Example: Casey, with a red bike, is on a difficulty 2 corner, and rolls "2" and "3". He wants to accelerate and can therefore only flip the "3" turning it into a "4". He moves 2+4=6 positions.
- Corner with difficulty 3 (red):
- the player cannot accelerate, and cannot flip any dice in order to increase the score;
- the player can brake as he sees fit.
Example: Dani, with the yellow bike, is on a difficulty 3 corner tile, and rolls "1" and "5". He cannot accelerate, but he can brake turning the "5" into a "2" therefore moving 1+2=3 positions.
Important: if both dice show the same number, you can consider either die as the lower or the higher scoring die as you see fit.
Example: Valentino rolls a double "3". In a difficulty 1 corner, he can flip either die, getting a "3" and a "4". The same would apply on a difficulty 2 corner.
3) Bike Movement
After you have rolled – and possibly flipped – your dice, add the scores of the dice to get your total movement points for this turn.
Each movement point allows the bike to move one position forward on the racetrack, both on straights and on corners of any difficulty.
When you move from one position to another, you can also change lanes, moving into an adjacent lane, always spending only one movement point to do so.
It is never possible to move into positions occupied by other bikes. If you can't move forward because all of the three positions you could end up in are already occupied by other bikes, the remaining movement points are lost.
Once the movement is completed, play passes to the next player.
How to Flip the Dice
On a straight, it is always possible to brake and to accelerate, flipping both dice.
On a difficulty 1 corner, it is always possible to flip one die, or both, to brake, but only the lower die can be flipped in order to accelerate.
On a difficulty 2 corner, it is always possible to flip one die, or both, to brake, but only the higher die can be flipped in order to accelerate.
On a difficulty 3 corner, it is always possible to flip one die, or both, to brake, but no dice can be flipped in order to accelerate.
Driving Hints
Tactics
Astute players will notice that the best (and safest) way to get the maximum score from your dice is to avoid ending your move in a corner, so that you aren't limited by the difficulty of the corner. Flip the dice to accelerate and brake in the most effective manner: work out the results to make sure you move through corners without stopping on them.
After rolling dice, learn not to pick them up until your turn is over, so that other players can see the results and your movement options should you choose to flip them.
Until you know how to "see" the flipped results (i.e., the opposite of the "faceup side" of the dice), learn by picking up dice, looking at the opposite sides and putting them back on the table in the original position. Remember: opposite a "1" there's always a "6", opposite a "2" there's a "5", and opposite a "3" there's a "4" (and vice versa). The sum of opposite sides is always 7.
Playing with More Than One Box
More players make for a longer and more exciting game! You can play with more than the six recommended players by using the contents of more boxes. The rules are unchanged. Using more boxes of MotoGrandPrix you can also build bigger and fancier racetracks (see the Grand Prix of Japan racetrack as an example).
Golden Rule
Remember: each participant is also a judge and any argument should be solved with fairness and common sense and unanimously by all players.
Sportsmanship should be kept in mind: the behavior of a rider on the racetrack should as much as possible reflect the behavior of a professional sportsman and his competitive spirit.
Now you're ready to play with the Basic rules. Choose a racetrack, build it and start your engine. You can find a Summary of the Basic Rules under Play Summary.
May the best driver win!
Standard Rules
Standard rules bring new elements into the game, making it more realistic and exciting.
With these rules, every bike is described by a set of characteristics that you keep track of with your dashboard. An attentive rider will use his characteristics wisely to win the game!
Entering and exiting corners become a turning point of the race, with the introduction of rules for braking point and cornering, and the risk of a contact between bikes. Approaching a corner also becomes more realistic thanks to the overtaking on bends rule.
Finally, we represent effects of movement, that is, events out of the players' control that can be caused by dice rolls. Standard Rules add the chance of redlining your bike; more effects will be introduced in the Expert Rules.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all Basic Rules apply in the Standard game too.
Bike Characteristics
Every bike has three characteristics: Front Tire, Rear Tire, and Engine.
Players keep track of the current value of the characteristics using a dashboard for each bike.
At the start of the game, place the three arrows on the dials of the dashboard in the initial, green colored position (corresponding to a score of "8").
During the race, players spend points from their characteristics to achieve certain advantages, increasing or decreasing their movement (see Riding), and sometimes they will be forced by circumstances to spend points even if they would prefer not to (see Redlining).
Every time a player spends a point from a characteristic, he must move the appropriate arrow on the dial to the next lower value, turning it clockwise.
If a player is required to spend characteristic points he doesn't have (in other words, should the arrow go below "1"), his bike can't continue the race and must drop out of the competition.
Components and Set-Up
In the Standard game, modify the set-up rules as follows.
The Racetrack
In the Standard game, you can use both Basic and Standard racetracks (see Circuits).
What Players Need
In the Standard game, every player needs a bike and two dice, like in the Basic game, but he also needs a dashboard to keep track of the bike's characteristics. Every player, in addition to bikes and dice, should take a dashboard of the appropriate color and place the arrows on the dials of the dashboard on the green initial values.
How to Play
In the Standard game, we introduce the concept of the start turn and we add more phases in the normal turns.
Qualifying Lap
When you play with the Standard rules, you can make your qualifying phase more challenging and fun by playing an entire lap to determine the start position. The ranking of this qualifying lap determines the start position of the race.
Use the pole position rule in the Basic rules to determine the start position in the qualifying lap.
Start Turn
The first turn of play, called the Start Turn, is divided into three phases for all players:
- Roll Die: the player rolls one die only.
- Flip Die: the player flips the die if he wants to do so.
- Move: the player moves his bike using the rolled movement points.
In the start turn, it is possible to spend points from your characteristics to modify your movement points (see Riding).
The Turn
The normal turns after the first have five phases:
- Check Position: the player checks if his bike is in a braking point or racing position (see below).
- Roll Dice: the player rolls two dice.
- Flip Dice: the player can flip one or both dice, as per limitations imposed by his position on the racetrack.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the movement points available, after applying modifiers, if any.
- Effects of Movement: the player checks for and applies any effects of movement that apply.
Thus, compared to the Basic game, the Standard game adds one phase at the beginning of the player's turn (Check Position) and one phase at the end (Effects of Movement).
Check Position
In phase 1 (Check Position), the acting player checks the position of his bike on the racetrack:
- if the bike is beside one or more opponent bikes in a braking point position (that is, the last position on a straight before a corner), all the players involved must resolve the braking point to determine who moves first on the bend (see Braking Point). The effects of a braking point can cause a contact (see Contact).
- if the bike is beside one or more opponent bikes in cornering position (that is, in the first position of a straight tile after a corner), all the players involved must resolve the cornering to determine who exits the corner first (see Cornering). Effects of cornering can cause a contact (see below).
- If none of the above conditions apply, go directly to phase 2 (Roll dice).
Braking Point
Like in real races, the extreme point where riders let up on the accelerator and start to brake is next to the corner. This is called the braking point in biking jargon. On the racetrack this point is represented by the last position on a straight before a corner.
If two or three riders come abreast on a braking point position, ignore the racing line priority rule: all players involved roll dice simultaneously and who gets the highest result before flipping dice wins the braking point.
The winner of the braking point can now flip his dice as per normal rules (phase 3) and moves first. Other riders follow the same procedure, in descending order based on their dice scores.
If two or more players get exactly the same score on the braking point dice roll, a contact happens (see Contact below for effects of a Contact).
Cornering
The end position of a corner has the same effects as a braking point position, and represents the moment when riders start to accelerate. Use the same rules as for braking points, above.
Contact
The players involved in a contact must choose one of the two dice they rolled and discard it. Then they can decide to flip the only remaining die and then move their bike with the result, moving in order of racing line priority. The movement must be carried out so that the bike moves towards the outer lane (lighter colored positions), ignoring any penalties deriving from the Overtaking on corners rule (see Overtaking on Corners). If the movement would end in a position occupied by another bike, the bike may end its movement in the inner lane instead.
Example: Valentino (blue bike) and Casey (red bike) are in braking point position, and both roll "9" (Valentino rolls "6" and "3", Casey rolls "5" and "4". A contact takes place. Both decide to discard their lower die and not to flip the remaining die. Since Valentino, on the straight, is on the best racing line, he moves first. He moves 6 positions, moving in the outer lane. Then Casey moves 5 positions, moving from the central lane to the outer lane, ending her movement just behind Valentino.
Bike Movement
Riding
This rule lets a player "adjust" the bike's movement by spending points from a characteristic.
-
Increase movement points: at any moment it is possible to spend Engine points to increase movement points. For every Engine point spent like this you can increase your movement points by one: in a single turn you can't spend more than three Engine points like this.
If the bike, in the turn when the Engine points are used, moves through one or more positions on a corner tile, at the end of the movement the player must also spend one Rear Tire point. If the player doesn't have enough Engine or Rear Tire points to spend when required, he must pull out of the competition.
-
Decrease movement points: it is possible to spend Front Tire points to decrease movement by enhancing the effect of braking. This is in addition or as replacement for the braking that the player gets by flipping dice. Every Front Tire point spent like this reduces movement in that turn by one. If the player doesn't have enough Front Tire points to spend when required, he must pull out of the competition.
Prevent Overtaking
A bike that moves into a position beside another bike is said to be overtaking. To overtake, you need an unoccupied lane: you can't move through a position already occupied by another bike.
Within the limitations in the rules, you can stand in the way of the opponents by occupying, at the end of movement, positions that prevent overtaking.
For all practical purposes, three adjacent bikes will prevent overtaking. The players that follow them will have to brake, by flipping dice and/or using Front Tire points. A player who doesn't have enough Tire points when required must pull out of the competition.
Example: Valentino is 5 positions behind the bikes of his opponents. They are side by side and prevent him from overtaking. He rolls dice and gets a 4 and a 3. Although he flips the 4, that reduces his speed by 1, Valentino has 6 movement points and only 5 unoccupied positions. He must move through them all and is forced to spend one Front Tire point: he had to jam the brake on.
Overtaking on Corners
To move in an overtaking position on a corner tile, it could be necessary to use additional movement points:
- Corner with Difficulty Level 1 (yellow): all the Overtaking positions out of the racing line require one additional movement point;
- Corner with Difficulty Level 2 (orange): all the Overtaking positions out of the racing line require two additional movement points;
- Corner with Difficulty Level 3 (red): all the Overtaking positions out of the racing line require three additional movement points.
If the player doesn't have enough movement points to occupy an overtaking position, he must increase or decrease his movement points (see Riding, above).
Example: Valentino's blue bike overtakes Casey's red bike on a Difficulty 2 Corner. He has 6 movement points, so he spends one point to advance to the next position and three more points (1+2) to get beside the red bike in an overtaking position. He uses his fifth point to go back on the racing line, and the last point to move forward.
Example: Dani's yellow bike overtakes Valentino's blue bike on a difficulty 3 corner, but Dani has only 4 movement points. He uses one point to advance to the next position, but to end up on an overtaking position he needs another 4 (1+3) points. He opts to use one Engine point (and also one Rear Tire point because he's on a corner) to increase his speed by 1. So he manages to move beside the blue bike, and uses a second Engine point to advance one more position and go back on the racing line. Pushing his bike to the limit, he's now in the lead!
Effects of Movement
Some circumstances may lead to situations outside the rider's control. In the game, these situations happen when the player rolls and uses a double - that is, rolls the same number on both dice. Further effects of movement are discussed in the Expert rules.
Redlining
If the player uses a double "6", an Engine characteristic test is required.
To make an Engine test, the player must roll his current Engine characteristic score or less on two dice, that is the number indicated by the arrow on the dashboard (No flipping allowed!). If the test fails, the player loses one Engine point and updates the position of the arrow on the Engine dial.
If he doesn't have Engine points to spend, the player is out of the game.
Example: Dani used a double "6". Now he must make an Engine test: his bike's current Engine score is 5. Dani rolls dice and scores a "7": he failed the test! Now his Engine points total goes to 4 and he must adjust the Movement dial on the dashboard, moving the arrow to the number 4.
Championship
In addition to playing a single competition, players may opt to play a whole championship – their games could even follow the calendar of the world competitions. These rules introduce this play option.
Riders Championship
If you want to run a championship with recurrent play, give each rider points as follows: 25 points to the first place, 20 to the second, 16 to the third, 13 to the fourth, 11 to the fifth, 10 to the sixth.
If you have more than 6 participants, continue giving points up to the fifteenth place: 9 points to the seventh, 8 to the eighth, 7 to the ninth, 6 to the tenth, 5 to the eleventh, 4 to the twelfth, 3 to the thirteenth, 2 to the fourteenth and finally 1 to the fifteenth.
Team Championship
By assigning points to the players, you can also keep track of a team championship with a separate ranking, adding the points scored by both riders (if any) riding with the same colors.
You'll have a remarkable competition that will make your games even more exciting!
Now you are ready to play with the Standard rules. You can find a Summary of the Standard Rules under Play Summary.
Let the engines roar, and happy racing!
Expert Rules
Expert rules add further details to the game and we suggest you use them once you are familiar with the Standard rules. In the Expert game, all the Standard rules are used as well.
Components and Set Up
The Racetrack
Several tracks are to be used with the Expert rules. When you are familiar enough with the game, anyway, you can invent your own racetracks. Building new racetracks is fun and rewarding, and will make for diverse and exciting competitions. Setting up a new racetrack requires a little time and attention, so before you set out to do it we recommend familiarizing yourself with the basic rules and reading carefully the Building Racetracks – Assembly Guidelines section.
Special Stands for the Bikes
The models used in MotoGrandPrix are provided with a special stand that allows you to place the bikes in different stances.
The different stances of bikes have no effect in the Basic or Standard rules, but have a specific meaning in the Expert rules.
There are three bike stances: Straight Stance Bike, Bike doing a Wheelie, and Leaning Bike.
At the beginning of the game, all the bikes are placed in the "straight" stance. They will be placed in "leaning" stance when entering a corner, and put back in "straight" stance when they are on a straight.
During the game, several events and effects of movement may require a change of the bike's stance, that will therefore be placed in leaning, wheelie or straight stance.
The Game Turn
The normal game turns after the first are divided into five phases:
- Check Position: the player checks if his bike is in braking point or cornering; check also if slipstreaming happens, and if the bike is moving uphill or downhill (more about this later).
- Roll Dice: the player rolls two dice.
- Flip Dice: the player may flip one or both dice, abiding by the limitations in the rules.
- Move: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points, after applying all modifiers, if any.
- Effects of Movement: the player checks for and applies any movement effects that apply: redlining or losing grip.
Compared to the Standard rules, we introduce additional options in the Check Position, Movement and Effects of Movement phases, as illustrated in the following sections.
Check Position
In phase 1 (Check Position), after checking if a bike is in Braking Point or Cornering position, also check if any of the following apply:
- a slipstream is created (that is, if a bike precedes an opponent's bike by only one position in the racing line): before rolling dice you must ask the following players if they want to take advantage of the slipstream (see Slipstream, below).
- if you are uphill or downhill (that is, if the bike occupies any position on a tile marked with an uphill or downhill counter): the total of movement points to be used this turn increases by one or decreases by one, respectively.
Slipstream
If a bike precedes another by only one position in the same lane, and both bikes are on the racing line, slipstreaming occurs.
The player behind may state he's slipstreaming the player in front. This must be stated before the acting player rolls dice.
When a player decides to slipstream, put a slipstreaming counter on his dashboard. The counter is discarded at the end of his turn.
Abiding by the same rules (following position, same lane, racing lane), slipstreaming can be extended to all bikes behind: each player can decide to slipstream the bike in front of him. Like this, a chain-effect can occur that ends when particular conditions apply (see below) or because a player chooses to do so.
All slipstreaming bikes, for that turn, do not roll dice but automatically "copy" the results of the acting player before he flips them, skipping the Phase 2 (Roll Dice phase). Slipstreaming players carry out their turn as normal, beginning from phase 3 (Flip Dice) and can add a +1 bonus to their movement score in phase 4 (Move).
Example: Valentino creates a slipstream condition to Dani's bike which is tailing him on the racing line. Before Valentino rolls dice, Dani states he plans to slipstream him. Valentino rolls a "5" and a "3". Dani, without rolling his dice, places them so that they show a "5" and a "3", just like Valentino's dice. Valentino flips his dice and gets 9 movement points. Dani does the same but manages to move beside Valentino's bike thanks to the +1 slipstreaming bonus.
Some special cases may apply:
- Broken slipstream: if at least two bikes are side by side, they interrupt the slipstream to the tailing player and prevent him from slipstreaming;
- Wheelie: a bike that does a wheelie (see Losing Grip) can't slipstream. A bike doing a wheelie can create a slipstream condition for bikes following it.
- Corner: bikes on a Corner tile, no matter if leaning or straight stance, can't create slipstream opportunities and can't slipstream.
Straight Bike on a Corner or Doing a Wheelie
If, at the moment of rolling dice, a bike is straight stance on a corner tile (because of a contact, see above, or a sideslip, see Effects of Movement below) or doing a wheelie (see Effects of Movement, below), subtract 1 movement point from its total.
At the end of the turn, unless the player has rolled and used doubles again (and therefore new effects of movement apply), the bike stops doing the wheelie if on a straight tile (pull it down), or goes back to a leaning stance if on a corner tile.
Effects of Movement
In the Expert rules, not only can bikes be redlined, but we add a further movement effect: losing grip.
Losing Grip
When a player rolls and uses, without flipping them, two dice with the same result (double 1, double 2, etc.) the bike loses grip. This must be compensated for by a wheelie (if on a straight) or a sideslip (if on a corner).
Wheelie
If the bike ends its movement in a position on a straight tile and loses grip, it must do a wheelie (put the front wheel of the model up). During next turn, the player will have a -1 movement point modifier, as per the Bike Movement section.
Sideslip
If the bike ends its movement in a position on a corner tile, leaning, and a loss of grip happens, a sideslip occurs (basically, this means the rear tire is sliding). The bike immediately loses one Rear Tire point. In addition, the bike must be straightened. The player will have -1 movement point in his next turn, as per the Bike Movement section.
You are a MotoGrandPrix Expert now! You can find a Summary of the Expert Rules under Play Summary.
You can race the most difficult circuits and create your own!
Bike Movement
The Expert rules account for the fact that bikes can now lean, do a wheelie, or be straight stance, and that various events can modify this.
Leaning Bike
When a bike ends its movement on a corner tile, the model must normally lean – modify the model's stance on its stand accordingly.
When a bike ends its movement on a straight tile, the model should be placed in a straight stance (so if it was leaning, straighten it up on its stand).
Contact of Leaning Bikes
Bikes that, after a contact, end their movement in a position on a Corner tile, if they were leaning must now be put in a straight stance.
Circuits
With the tiles in the MotoGrandPrix box you can build a lot of circuits, duplicating the most famous racetracks or inventing whole new ones. You can assemble the circuits following the schematics in the next pages, or let your creativity run free, customizing these circuits as you see fit or building totally new ones. You can also combine tiles from more boxes to build longer and more challenging circuits.
In this edition of MotoGrandPrix we designed for you Basic (yellow) tracks to begin playing; then you can move on to Standard (orange) circuits as soon as you have familiarized yourself with the complete rules; and with the Expert (red) ones you'll have a more realistic simulation.
Basic Racetracks:
- Fabulous Driving Park
- GP Ring
- SuperCircus Raceway
Standard Racetracks:
- April Raceway
- StartLine Driving Park
- Free Speedway
- GrandPrix Speedway
- Max Speed Circuit
- Race Bike Course
Expert Racetracks:
- U.S. Grand Prix
- Gran Premio d'Italia
- Gran Premi de Catalunya
Pro Racetracks:
- Grand Prix of Japan
How to Read the Racetrack Schematics
Each racetrack schematic gives the name of the racetrack, the suggested number of laps, the number of players it's designed for, the size (in cm) of the board, and the tiles needed to build it, along with a building diagram.
Building Racetracks – Assembly Guidelines
These are not assembly rules, but simple guidelines to help you build more interesting and realistic circuits. Read them and feel free to apply any or all of them, or adapt them to suit your needs. Try, experiment, test, modify: you'll soon learn that building a racetrack can be as fun as competing on it!
- Begin with the Start Tile. Use as a start tile the one with the start/finish line and follow the direction you want to give to your racetrack. This will allow you to foresee the path of bikes and could help you to assign difficulty levels to Corners.
- Follow One Direction. Real world circuits run both clockwise and counterclockwise, so choose what is best for your racetrack. Once you build it, anyway, nothing will stop you from using it in one direction and then in the other (actually, changing direction should affect the difficulty of Corners: a corner which is treated as difficulty 2 in one direction could be more or less difficult if faced in the other direction).
- Racing Line Opposite to the Corner. The most advantageous racing line on a straight will usually be placed on the opposite side of the corner at the end of the straight. For example, if you build a straight and follow it with a corner that bends left, you should assemble the straight tiles with the racing line in the right lane.
- A Closed Racetrack. This is the only hard rule: the racetrack must be closed! To do so, the first and the last tile must join effortlessly and without bending, or you could damage the play components. If you realize that the circuit tiles don't fit together, disassemble the last part of the track and build it again, adding or subtracting a few tiles. With a wise use of the various lengths of straights and size of corners, in a couple of attempts you'll manage to perfectly fit the last and the first tile together. With a little practice you'll see it's not difficult at all!
- Start and First Corner. The first corner in the racetrack shouldn't be placed closer than 7 positions from the finish line.
- Length of Racetrack. Length of Racetrack should be tailored to the expertise of players, and should be measured in number of positions: we suggest 40-60 positions for beginners, 80-100 positions for Standard, and up to 120 positions for Experts, especially when recreating real world circuits.
- Difficulty Level of Corners. Once the racetrack is completed, it's time to think about the difficulty level of the corners. How? How can you tell a level 3 corner from a level 1? There are no hard and fast rules, so we must use common sense, our experience as motorcycle racing fans and, perhaps, our own riding experience. As a rule of thumb a corner with a 22.5° radius of curvature could be Difficulty 1 or 2, but not 3; but a 45° corner will be difficulty 2 or 3, and not 1.
- Balance of Corners. To give some game balance to the corners in your Racetrack, apply this simple formula: assign difficulty 3 to a maximum of two corners; half of the remaining corners will be difficulty 1 and the other half difficulty 2.
- Long Straight. A Corner preceded by a Straight which is 8 positions, or more, in length should have its Difficulty level increased by one compared to the same corner placed in another position.
- Long Corner. If you build a continuing Corner, more than 8 positions in length, don't assign more than Difficulty 2 to it.
Straight and Corner Counters
In some circuits, it can happen that a Straight tile must be considered for game purposes to be a Corner tile or viceversa, or that a Corner tile must be considered a Straight tile. In these cases, a special marker is placed:
- Straight Marker: this marker turns, for play purposes, a Corner tile into a Straight tile, removing the need to apply difficulty levels. Normally these represent slight variations in the middle of Straights that real world riders face without braking.
- Corner marker: this marker turns, for play purposes, a Straight tile into a Corner, requiring the placement of difficulty levels. Generally these are short Straights between two Corners in close succession. In reality, riders face them with a swift change of racing line, in which overtaking is a demanding task.
Assembly of a Racetrack
You'll find assembly information and instructions for every circuit introduced.
The corners pictured in yellow are difficulty 1; the orange ones are difficulty 2; the red ones are difficulty 3. Place a difficulty marker corresponding to the difficulty level in the first position (at the beginning of the corner).
In Expert level circuits you'll find instructions of where to place uphill, downhill and flat counters.
Racetracks
Each racetrack below gives its level, number of positions, suggested number of laps, board size (in cm), and the tiles needed to build it, followed by the designers' Notes and Hints for racing it.
1. Fabulous Driving Park
Level: Basic. Positions: 44. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 60x70. Tiles needed: L1 x2, L2 x3, L4 x5, R1 x3, R2 x4, R3 x1, R4 x1.
Notes: the Fabulous Driving Park, also called in the circus "the training ground of champions", is a simple track with several hidden pitfalls. Many riders enjoy this track even racing "backwards", that is in a clockwise direction.
Hints: the last corner, before the finish line, is the narrowest and one of the most difficult of the track, but champions hold that the first corner after the start is the real critical spot of the competition.
2. GP Ring
Level: Basic. Positions: 57. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 60x90. Tiles needed: L1 x2, L2 x2, L4 x5, R1 x7, R2 x7, R3 x2, R4 x2.
Notes: GP Ring has hosted, for a long time, exciting competitions allowing younger riders to show their talent. This racetrack lends itself to being expanded, but if you choose to do so we suggest you don't modify the stretch with the hairpin bend (corners 3, 4 and 5) because it's the one with the most "character".
Hints: the central part of the track is the slowest and needs skillful riding. There, it is of paramount importance to brake at the right braking points. The very fast end part often sees final sprints.
3. SuperCircus Raceway
Level: Basic. Positions: 66. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 70x75. Tiles needed: L1 x3, L2 x3, L4 x6, R1 x6, R2 x9, R3 x3, R4 x1.
Notes: the SuperCircus Raceway is a small racetrack that inspired the design of many other circuits. Demanding, it is well known and feared for the difficulty of the first corner, that makes the start of the competition a moment with high adrenalin content. Players who like speeding can modify the track, turning corner 5 into a straight.
Hints: the first corner is surely the most difficult hurdle, making the start a decisive moment in the competition. The SuperCircus is surely a racetrack that rewards prudence.
4. April Raceway
Level: Standard. Positions: 75. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 100x80. Tiles needed: L1 x2, L2 x4, L4 x6, R1 x7, R2 x12, R3 x2, R4 x2.
Notes: April Raceway is a racetrack that saw classic duels and takes its name from the month in which the race takes place. A track that rewards the skill of riders with extreme braking points that push the limits of traction, and long challenging corners. If you want to simplify it, lengthen the straights preceding the hardest corners.
Hints: April Raceway is a strong crescendo of emotions, with corners after corners always more difficult to navigate. The short straights preceding corners are decisive, often with braking points that offer excellent opportunities for overtaking.
5. StartLine Driving Park
Level: Standard. Positions: 86. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 120x75. Tiles needed: L1 x1, L2 x4, L4 x10, R1 x10, R2 x11, R3 x1, R4 x1.
Notes: StartLine Driving Park takes its name from the very long straight where the start line is. This stretch is one of the few where riders can catch their breath. The two narrow corners at the end of the two longer straights are the most challenging parts of the track.
Hints: it's of fundamental importance to slow down before the high difficulty corners, using the brakes if needed. It's important to spare your engine as much as possible, to push it to its limit in the last stretch: being first on the long straight is decisive.
6. Free Speedway
Level: Standard. Positions: 91. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 115x85. Tiles needed: L1 x6, L2 x4, L4 x8, R1 x9, R2 x13, R3 x2, R4 x2.
Notes: Free Speedway, with its unmistakable design, it's one of the circuits with the strongest character. With Expert rules, you can reinforce this by adding an uphill stretch before corner 4 and going downhill between corners 6 and 8.
Hints: Free Speedway is a track where each single corner can be telling. It is important to keep a consistent pace: using your bike's characteristics with moderation and constancy is the secret for a flawless competition.
7. GrandPrix Speedway
Level: Standard. Positions: 106. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 120x90. Tiles needed: L1 x3, L2 x4, L4 x9, R1 x11, R2 x12, R3 x6, R4 x4.
Notes: GrandPrix Speedway is the track that challenges the maturity of a rider and paves his way to being a pro. Thanks to its design, it's an exciting track even if raced in the opposite direction.
Hints: the secret to winning the GrandPrix Speedway is pushing your bike in the faster corners, and saving its characteristics for the middle and high difficulty ones. Riders who impose a fast pace from the beginning get an edge on this track – an edge that can lead to victory if used wisely in the final phase.
8. Max Speed Circuit
Level: Standard. Positions: 118. Suggested laps: 6. Board size: 115x90. Tiles needed: L1 x3, L2 x5, L4 x11, R1 x9, R2 x15, R3 x2, R4 x6.
Notes: the Max Speed Circuit is, as the name suggests, a track that lets bikes express their power. Playing this track with slipstreaming rules (Expert rules) will result in lively and tactical gameplay.
Hints: high difficulty corners have a long traveling time and it is difficult to pass out of them: in this case it's better to brake at the right braking points. If you play with slipstreaming rules, being involved in a "brawl" with your opponents might compromise your chances of victory.
9. Race Bike Course
Level: Standard. Positions: 125. Suggested laps: 5. Board size: 115x90. Tiles needed: L1 x6, L2 x5, L4 x10, R1 x12, R2 x16, R3 x5, R4 x5.
Notes: Race Bike Course is an extremely difficult track, and for this reason the riders that manage to win here are considered ready for the most difficult challenges.
Hints: Race Bike Course has medium and long corners. For this reason, it's important to use Engine and Rear Tire points to get as fast as possible out of medium and high difficulty corners.
10. U.S. Grand Prix
Level: Expert. Positions: 122. Suggested laps: 5. Board size: 125x135. Tiles needed: L1 x5, L2 x6, L4 x12, R1 x11, R2 x11, R3 x6, R4 x4.
Notes: The peculiar design of U.S. Grand Prix is inspired by the famous track of Laguna Seca, California. Considered the symbol of American racing, despite the modifications to meet modern safety requirements, it kept its main features. It's famous for its uphill and downhill stretches and for the very difficult downhill corner, also known as "the corkscrew" (corner 8).
Hints: U.S. Grand Prix is a special circuit because it alternates frequent and long straights to corners of high difficulty (only three corners are difficulty 1). An excellent strategy could be to slipstream the leading bikes on the straights, to go past the corners with more ease. The finish line, very close to the exit of the last corner, makes the last corners (especially 8 and 9) decisive for the competition.
11. Gran Premio d'Italia
Level: Expert. Positions: 140. Suggested laps: 5. Board size: 115x175. Tiles needed: L1 x5, L2 x5, L4 x12, R1 x11, R2 x18, R3 x6, R4 x6.
Notes: the Gran Premio d'Italia is run on a track inspired by the famous Mugello racetrack in Tuscany. One of the most loved by riders and spectators alike, but also one of the most challenging on a technical level. This racetrack, property of Ferrari since 1988, has hosted the world competition since 1991 and is one of the most advanced circuits in terms of safety and facilities.
Hints: the Gran Premio d'Italia is a unique track: the central stretch is very fast, with short and fast corners; the initial stretch and the final one are very complex, with long and difficult corners. In the stretch that requires more skill you must avoid any mistakes and use wisely your bike's characteristics. If a rider makes a breakaway, it can be difficult to catch up: the best strategy is an alternating slipstreaming game to get an advantage in the pursuit.
12. Gran Premi de Catalunya
Level: Expert. Positions: 130. Suggested laps: 4. Board size: 70x160. Tiles needed: L1 x5, L2 x6, L4 x12, R1 x13, R2 x11, R3 x6, R4 x6.
Notes: the Gran Premi de Catalunya is based on the beautiful Spanish circuit in Catalunya, north of Barcelona. Regarded as one of the best tracks of the last generation (it was awarded the Best Grand Prix in 2001), it has hosted competitions since 1955.
Hints: a very fast track, with a very long straight that allows for slipstreaming. It has three high difficulty, but fortunately short, corners. Pay attention because the very long corner 3 can be a real hurdle to tackle corner 4. The most challenging (and decisive) part is undoubtedly corners 10 and 11. Save your resources to surpass these hurdles in the best way.
13. Grand Prix of Japan
Level: Pro. Positions: 140. Suggested laps: 4. Board size: 125x150. Tiles needed: L1 x1, L2 x3, L4 x12+8, R1 x17, R2 x15, R3 x0, R4 x2.
Notes: the Grand Prix of Japan is inspired by the Japanese circuit of Motegi. This track follows the design of the challenging circuit that hosts one stage of the world championship. Originally, the Twin Ring Motegi was used as a testing track where Honda performed tests of models intended for mass production. To build this exciting track you'll need a few extra tiles from another box of MotoGrandPrix.
Hints: the Grand Prix of Japan features close corners that create long stretches to be tackled in leaning stance; often these stretches have a very difficult first corner and a second corner where a fast exit is possible: in this case, the secret is to overcome the most difficult hurdle. Corner 8 (Difficulty 3) is surely the hardest because it is uphill. Use your resources to overcome it and try to leave the opponents behind so that they can't slipstream you in the very long downhill straight.
Attention: to build this racetrack you'll need two boxes of MotoGrandPrix.
Play Summary
Basic Rules
Determining Pole Position
Every player rolls two dice to determine starting placement.
Game Turn
- Roll Dice: the player rolls 2 dice.
- Flip Dice: the player may flip one or both dice, according to the limitations of his current racetrack position:
- When on a Straight tile you can always flip both dice.
- On a difficulty 1 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the low die.
- On a difficulty 2 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the high die.
- On a difficulty 3 Corner you can always brake but never accelerate.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points.
The leading player begins to play his turn, doing all three phases in strict order. Then the game proceeds with the turns of players in following positions. When a turn is completed, play begins again starting with the player who is currently leading. This could be the same player who was leading in the previous turn.
Standard Rules
Determining Pole Position / Qualifying Lap
Every player rolls dice to determine starting order. Optionally, you can play a full qualifying lap to determine start order.
Start Turn
- Roll Die: the player rolls one die.
- Flip Die: the player may flip the die.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points.
Game Turn
- Check position: the player checks to see if his bike is in braking point or in cornering position.
- In the case of a braking point position: all the players in braking point position roll two dice; movement is performed in scoring order before flipping the dice;
- In the case of a cornering position: all players in cornering position roll two dice; movement is performed in scoring order before flipping the dice.
- If either roll is a draw, a contact takes place. Bikes involved in a contact must discard one die.
- Roll Dice: the player rolls 2 dice.
- Flip Dice: the player may flip one or both dice, according to the limitations of his current racetrack position:
- When on a Straight tile you can always flip both dice.
- On a difficulty 1 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the low die.
- On a difficulty 2 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the high die.
- On a difficulty 3 Corner you can always brake but never accelerate.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points, after applying modifiers, if any.
- it is possible to spend one Engine point to increase movement by one (up to a maximum of three Engine points may be spent like this). If the bike is on a corner, you must also spend one Rear Tire point.
- it is possible to spend one Front Tire point to decrease movement by one.
- overtaking on corners: the overtaking position costs as many additional movement points as the difficulty level of the corner.
- If overtaking is prevented: the player must spend points from his characteristics to decrease movement.
- Effects of movement: the player checks for and applies Effects of movement, if any.
- If a player uses a double "6" he is redlining. Make an Engine test, and if failed the bike loses one Engine point.
Expert Rules
Determining Pole Position / Qualifying Lap
Every player rolls two dice to determine the start order. Optionally, you can play a whole qualifying lap to determine the start order.
Start Turn
- Roll Die: the player rolls one die.
- Flip Die: the player may flip the die.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points.
Game Turn
- Check Position: the player checks to see if his bike is in braking point or in cornering position.
- In the case of a braking point position: all the players in braking point position roll two dice; movement is performed in scoring order before flipping the dice;
- In the case of a cornering position: all players in cornering position roll two dice; movement is performed in scoring order before flipping the dice.
- If slipstreaming: don't roll dice, but use the score rolled by the bike you are slipstreaming, and you have +1 movement point.
- Bike moving uphill: decrease movement by one.
- Bike moving downhill: increase movement by one.
- If the roll in braking point position or when in cornering position is a draw, a contact takes place. Bikes involved in a contact must discard one die, and if leaning they must be straightened.
- Roll Dice: the player rolls 2 dice.
- Flip Dice: the player may flip one or both dice, according to the limitations of his current racetrack position:
- When on a Straight tile you can always flip both dice.
- On a difficulty 1 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the low die.
- On a difficulty 2 Corner you can always brake, or accelerate flipping the high die.
- On a difficulty 3 Corner you can always brake but never accelerate.
- Movement: the player moves his bike using all the available movement points, after applying modifiers, if any. Normally, the bike leans if entering a corner and is straightened when entering a straight.
- It is possible to spend one Engine point to increase movement by one (up to a maximum of three Engine points may be spent like this). If the bike is on a corner, you must also spend one Rear Tire point.
- It is possible to spend one Front Tire point to decrease movement by one.
- Overtaking on corners: the overtaking position costs as many additional movement points as the difficulty level of the corner.
- If overtaking is prevented: the player must spend points from his characteristics to decrease movement.
- A bike that is straight stance on a corner (because of a contact or sideslip) loses one movement point.
- A bike doing a wheelie (because of losing grip when on a straight) loses one movement point.
- Effects of Movement: the player checks for and applies Effects of Movement, if any.
- If a player uses a double "6", he is redlining. Make an Engine test, and if failed the bike loses one Engine point.
- If the player rolls and uses any double dice score and the bike is straight stance, the bike does a wheelie. The bike loses one movement point.
- If the player rolls and uses any double dice score and the bike is on a corner, the bike does a sideslip. The bike loses one Rear Tire point and straightens.