Pit Crew Rulebook

While the drivers receive most of the attention in racing, the Pit Crews are the unsung heroes of the sport. They keep the cars and drivers racing and are an integral part of every team victory. The precisely timed choreography of a pit stop is vital to help the Crew turn their race strategy into success – refueling, changing tires, and making engine adjustments and repairs in seconds to stay ahead of the competition.

Pit Crew is played by 2 or 3 teams, called Crews, with 1-3 players per Crew. Each Crew needs to refuel its car, change the tires, and fine-tune the engine to get it back out onto the track as quickly as possible. You need to balance taking the time to get everything tuned up perfectly against just getting out fast. The Crew whose car is leading the race at the end of three rounds wins the game!

Components

Board
2 Dice
18 Monkey Wrench cards

Each Crew has components in their color:

One Car Mat with Cars 27 and 29, and one with Cars 31 and 33. (33 is only used with the optional rules)
40 Action cards
6 Cap Cards (4 Tires, 1 Fuel, 1 Engine)
Lap Token
Car Token

Crews

Divide the players into two or three Crews, as evenly as possible.

Suggested sample Crew sizes based on number of players:

2 Players: 2 Crews, one player on each Crew
3 Players: 3 Crews, one player on each Crew
4 Players: 2 Crews, two players on each Crew
5 Players: 2 Crews, two players on one Crew and three players on the other
6 Players: Either 2 Crews of three players or 3 Crews of two players (player choice)
7 Players: 2 Crews of two players, 1 Crew of three players
8 Players: 2 Crews of three players, 1 Crew of two players
9 Players: 3 Crews of three players

Note: Two players on one Crew and three on the other is surprisingly balanced. The two player Crew gets to see more cards, and the three player Crew has more eyes and hands to place cards with.

Setup

Place the board in the center of the playing surface. Members of each Crew will need to sit together.
If there are two Crews, place one die on the space noted on the board. If there are three Crews, place two dice.
The Monkey Wrench cards are shuffled and placed face down.
Each Crew takes the set of components in their Crew color. a. Place each Crew's Car Token on the space behind the checkered line, facing it. b. Place each Crew's Lap Token on the '1' space on the board. c. For the start of the game, the 27 Car Mat is placed face up within easy reach of all Crew members. d. The other Car Mat should be placed to the side. It will be used in later game rounds. e. The Action card deck for each Crew should be shuffled and placed within reach. f. The Cap Cards should be placed nearby. g. The Engine Cap card is not used in the first round and can be placed to the side.
Draw starting cards: Each player draws cards according to the table below, not looking at them until the start of the round. (Note: there are always six cards drawn per Crew, distributed evenly to the players)

Players per Crew	Player hand size
1	6
2	3
3	2

When everyone is ready, one player says "GO!" All players can now look at their cards, and the round starts.

Playing a Round

Each round is broken up into three phases:

ROUND SETUP PHASE: This occurs as described in Setup, with a different Car Mat being used each round (described later).
PIT CREW PHASE: This is conducted in real time. There are no turns. Crews play cards as quickly as possible, working as fast as they can to get their car set. If a Crew completes their car before other Crews, they may take a die and begin rolling it to move their car on the track. If a Crew completes their car and tries to take a die, but one is not available, the PIT CREW PHASE ends immediately. So the last Crew to finish will not get to roll a die. If two Crews reach for the last die simultaneously, the round ends and neither will get to roll.
RACE PHASE: During this phase, each Crew checks to see how well they prepared their car. If they made any mistakes, they move their opponents' Car Tokens forward. If they earned any bonuses, they move their own Car Token forward. At the end of the RACE PHASE, each Crew will gain a Monkey Wrench card.

At the end of the third round the game ends, and the Car Token that advanced the farthest around the track is the winner.

Pit Crew Phase

During the PIT CREW PHASE, players place cards around their Car Mat to change the Tires, fill the Fuel Tank, and, in the second and third rounds, repair the Engine.

General Rules

There are seven areas to play cards, as shown on the diagram on the next page:

4 Tires
Fuel Tank
Engine
Discard

Any player may play to any area around their Car Mat. Cards must be placed on top of any cards that are already there. Cards, once placed, cannot be picked up or moved to another area. They may be fanned out if the players need to see what was played below, but the order cannot be changed.

When a player has fewer cards than they started with (6, 3, or 2, depending on number of players per Crew), they may draw from their Crew deck back up to that amount.

Players do not have to draw after playing 1 card.
Players can play several cards in a row, then draw cards.
Players can draw a card and play it immediately.
Players do not have to draw back up to their hand limit.
Players may always play a card to the Discard pile, but that may result in Penalty Points (see RACE PHASE)

Each area on the Car Mat has a different objective. If you make a mistake in placing cards, your opponents will get to move their cars forward on the track (see RACE PHASE).

TIRES: To successfully change a Tire, Crews need to place four cards. The first card must be exactly one higher or lower than the number printed on the Car Card. Then each card after that must be one higher or lower - not the same. 1 and 10 are considered next to each other. So 1, 2, 1, 10 is a valid four card sequence.

FUEL TANK: The sum of the numbers on the cards played in the Fuel Tank area must equal the Fuel number shown on the top of the Car Mat. The order or quantity of the cards does not matter.

ENGINE: In the first round, no Engine Repair is required. In rounds two and three, Crews will have to place cards in this area. There are two different types of Engine Repair, as shown on the Car Mats:

XX: (On the 29 Car) A pair (two of the same value) must be placed here. They can be any value, and do not have to be played at the same time. You can play one 5, and then a second 5 later, for example.
XX YY: (On the 31 Car) Two different pairs. You may, if you wish, play four cards with the same number. That still counts as two pairs.

CAP CARDS: After you are finished with one part of the car, place a Cap Card on it (Tire on a Tire stack, etc). Once a Cap Card is placed, no more cards may be placed on the stack. This makes it easy for each Crew to see how close they and the other Crews are to finishing.

NOTE: A Cap Card may be placed knowing that an area isn't complete, and Crews may intentionally make mistakes, just to start moving their car on the track as quickly as possible. But this will give Penalty Points, or may cause a crash, so be careful!

Moving a Car Token During the Pit Crew Phase

When all of a Crew's Cap Cards have been placed, they can start trying to move their Car Token on the track.

One player on the Crew takes a die from the board and begins to roll. The die may be rolled as quickly as possible, over and over. Whenever a 6 is rolled, the car token is moved one space on the track. It can be helpful if one Crew member is in charge of rolling the die, and one is watching for sixes and moving the car. If a car completes a lap, advance the Crew's Lap Token to show a lap has been completed.

When the last Crew places their final Cap Card they will not be able to take a die, as the last die will have been taken. Instead they shout "Stop", ending the PIT CREW PHASE. Other Crews must stop rolling immediately. Players move on to the RACE PHASE.

Race Phase

In the RACE PHASE, each Crew evaluates their Car Mats to see if they earned any bonuses or made mistakes resulting in penalties. The Crews go in order of completion. Whichever Crew started rolling their die first, evaluates first, then move through the other Crews in order of finish, ending with the Crew that finished up last. If two Crews finished at the same time, roll a die to see which goes first (high roll goes first).

Each area on your Car Mat may generate Penalty Points or Bonuses:

TIRES: Each card in a Tire area that is not 1 higher or lower than the card below it generates 1 Penalty Point. If there are more or fewer than 4 cards on a Tire, each missing or extra card gives 2 Penalty Points. Example: A Tire has a starting number of '4', and the cards are 5, 8, 7, 8. The Crew receives 1 Penalty Point since 5 and 8 are not adjacent numbers. The 7 is fine since it is 1 off from the prior 8.

FUEL TANK: The Penalty Points are equal to the difference between the target number and the actual total of the Fuel cards, whether higher or lower. Example: The target number is 29, and the total is 32. The Crew receives three Penalty Points.

ENGINE: Each missing or incorrect card counts as 2 Penalty Points. Example: Using the 29 Car, which needs a single pair for the Engine, a Crew plays a 5 and an 8. They receive 2 Penalty Points.

DISCARD: Every 2 cards in your Discard pile count as 1 Penalty Point. Example: A Crew has five cards in their Discard pile. They receive two Penalty Points.

Add the total Penalty Points together. All the other Crews move their car token forward by a number of spaces equal to the total Penalty Points.

CRASHING: If you receive eight or more Penalty Points in one round, your car crashes. You are out of the game. If only one car remains in the race, that Crew wins.

TURBO BONUS: If a Crew completes an item perfectly - one of the four Tires, Engine, or Fuel Tank - AND all cards used are of the same color (either all black or all white), then they receive a Turbo Bonus. For each Turbo Bonus move the car token ahead by 2 spaces. A Crew may earn multiple Turbo Bonuses for different areas on their Car Mat.

MULTIPLE CARS IN THE SAME SPACE: There is no limit on the number of car tokens that may be in the same space. The first car to enter a space is placed on the INSIDE of the space (towards the center). Subsequent cars to enter are placed towards the outside of any car tokens already there. When moving car tokens, Penalty Points are resolved before Turbo Bonuses.

LAP TOKEN: Any time a car completes a lap by crossing the Start/Finish, move their Lap Token up one space.

Monkey Wrench Cards

After resolving all the cars, each Crew will gain a Monkey Wrench card.

Draw a number of Monkey Wrench cards equal to the number of Crews, and place them face up. Each Crew gets to take one of the cards. The Crews make their selection in reverse order of standing, so the Crew in last place selects first. If Crews are on the same lap and space, the Crew to the outside selects first.

Monkey Wrench cards are kept by the Crew from round to round, and may be re-used each round. So in Round 3, each Crew will have two Monkey Wrench cards to use.

Sample Race Phase Resolution

The Red Crew is resolving their car.

They receive one Penalty Point for the '10' Tire, which goes 1/2/1/3, as the last '3' is a mistake. The other Tires are all OK, and the '4' Tire earns a Turbo Bonus, since all the cards are black.

The Engine is good with a pair of 8's, and also earns a Turbo Bonus, since both are white.

The Fuel Tank totals 31, which is two above 29, so that earns two more Penalty Points.

There is a single card in the Discard Pile, which does not give a Penalty Point, since you receive one Penalty Point for every two cards discarded.

So the total is three Penalty Points (two for the Fuel, and one for the Tire). The Green and Yellow cars are moved up three spaces. This finishes a lap for Yellow, so their Lap Marker is moved up a space.

Red then moves up four spaces for the two Turbo Bonuses, ending in the same space as Green. Red is placed to the outside of Green since they are the last to arrive in the space.

If the situation is like this after all three cars are resolved, Red will get first pick of Monkey Wrench cards, then Green, and then Yellow will get the final card.

Setting Up for the Next Round

Each Crew collects all their Action cards, and shuffles them to form a new deck. Cap Cards and Monkey Wrench cards should be placed where they are available to the Crew. Remember, Monkey Wrench cards are kept from round to round.

Each Crew takes their next Car Mat:

On Round 2, each Crew uses the 29 Car Mat, and also begins using the Engine Cap Card.
On Round 3, each Crew uses the 31 Car Mat.

The dice are returned to the board.

The players are then ready to begin the next round.

End of the Game

The game ends at the completion of Round 3, or if all cars but one crash.

The Crew with the car that has completed the most laps wins. If laps are tied, the car that advanced the furthest on the track wins. If they are in the same space, the car that is on the INSIDE of the space is the winner.

If all cars crash in the same round, whichever was in the lead at the start of the round is the winner.

Monkey Wrench Cards

Assist Can be used in place of an Action card. Before the round it is placed in front of the Crew, face up. Any player can pick it up and put it on any pile. It counts as any number of the particular color shown.

Bad Nachos One player from each other Crew has their hand size reduced by one for the round. You get to select which player it is, and you may change it from round to round. If the other Crew has an increased hand size (like from Veteran Crew), you choose who has a reduced hand size, and then they select who has an increased hand size. So these effects may cancel each other.

Caltrops One Tire from the other Crews must contain five cards, or else it will receive Penalty Points. The Crews can decide during the PIT CREW PHASE which of their Tires it will be. The Tire is still eligible for a Turbo Bonus if all five cards are the same color.

Crew Chief You only receive 1 Penalty Point for every four cards in your Discard pile, instead of 1 for every two.

Drafting If you are not in the lead after the end of the round, move two spaces forward. This may result in you taking the lead (Congratulations!).

Engine Fire Other Crews receive two Penalty Points per pair of cards in the Engine that is not the same color. If the cards are mismatched (a 4 and 6, for example) but are the same color they do not receive this penalty, although they would still receive the normal Penalty Points.

Jet Fuel At the end of the round you move one space for every card you have in excess of four in your Fuel Tank. For example, if you have seven cards in your Fuel Tank you move three spaces. You gain this bonus even if your Fuel Tank is not equal to the target. This is not a Turbo Bonus.

Nitro If you gain a Turbo Bonus for your Fuel Tank, move an additional two spaces for your Turbo Bonus.

Perfect Camber Two of your Tires only need to have three cards. This is not mandatory - if you forget and a Tire has four cards instead, that doesn't give Penalty Points (although there may still be normal Penalty Points if the cards are not correct).

Perfect Setup Your car moves an extra space for each Turbo Bonus. Normally this will be three, but it may be more due to other Monkey Wrench cards you have.

Sabotage The other Crews receive one Penalty Point for each 9 or 10 in their Fuel Tank. If they receive this Penalty Point, it cancels a possible Turbo Bonus for their Crew from the Fuel Tank.

Teamwork Can be used in place of an Action card. Before the round it is placed in front of the Crew, face up. Any player can pick it up and put it on any pile. It counts as either number on the card, and either color towards a Turbo Bonus. The same number has to be used for the entire round.

Training Can be used in place of an Action card. Before the round it is placed in front of the Crew, face up. Any player can pick it up and put it on any pile. It counts as any color towards a Turbo Bonus.

Veteran Crew Two of your Crew members will have their hand size increased by one for the entire round. When they draw back, they may draw to the increased number.

NOTE: If you are playing as a single person Crew, increase your hand size by two cards, to eight.

Veteran Driver When rolling the die, your Car Token moves one space for each roll of 5 or 6, instead of only on a 6.

The 33 Car

On the back of the 31 Car Mat is the 33 Car. The 33 Car requires three separate pairs to repair the Engine, shown as XX YY ZZ on the Engine. To receive the Turbo Bonus, all six cards must be the same color.

This car is not used in the normal game. It can be used in several ways if the players want a different challenge:

Extended Game The game is extended to a fourth round, using the 33 Car.

Challenge Game The game is three rounds, but the players do not use the 27 Car. Start with the 29 Car, and play 31 and 33 in the second and third rounds.

Handicap Game When playing with unbalanced Crews, the more experienced Crew may play the 29, 31, and 33 cards, while the other plays 27, 29 and 31.

Credits

Designer: Geoff Engelstein
Illustrations/Graphic Design: Bill Bricker
Project Manager: Stephen Buonocore
Rules Editing: T.R. Knight

Special thanks to Suzanne Sheldon for the inspiration for this game, and all the playtesters all over the world.

Penalty and Bonus Summary

Area	Effect
Tire	Each card not one higher or lower than the card below it: 1 Penalty Point. Each extra or missing card: 2 Penalty Points
Fuel Tank	Penalty Points equal difference between total of Fuel Tank cards and target number
Engine	Each missing or incorrect card: 2 Penalty Points
Discards	1 Penalty Point for every two cards in discards
Turbo Bonus	All cards in one area same color: Move 2 spaces on track
8+ Penalty Points	Crash!