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BREAKING AWAY

 

August 1st 1991                            Postal Rules - Version 2.2

 

 

1.      INTRODUCTION

Breaking Away is a race game loosely based on last year's trendy sport of cycling. Players each run a cycling team, consisting of four cyclists, and compete to have the top team at the end of the race.

 

 

2.      THE TEAM

2.1         Each player has four cyclists on his or her team.

 

2.2  The four cyclists on each team are graded A, B, C, D. The gradings come into effect when determining the order of movement.

 

3.      BUILDING YOUR TEAM         

3.1   At the beginning of the game, players choose 3 cards numbered between 1 & 15 inclusive for each of their cyclists (but see rule 3.1.4 for an exception concerning cyclist A). The choice of cards is subject to the following restrictions:   

 

3.1.1                The sum total of cyclist B's cards may not exceed 25.

3.1.2                The sum total of cyclist C's cards may not exceed 20.

3.1.3                The sum total of cyclist D's cards may not exceed 16.

3.1.4                Cyclist A may start with 3 or 4 cards (player's choice).

3.1.5                The sum total of cyclist A's cards may not exceed 30.

 

3.2         Given below are some examples of legal starting line-ups:         

                                          A: 10, 10, 10        A: 1,2,12,15

                                          B: 8,8,9                B: 2,10,13

                                          C: 3,8,9                C: 3,6,11

                                          D: 5,5,6                D: 1,1,14

 

 

4.      THE RACE TRACK    

4.1         The track is 120 squares long.

 

4.2         There are no lanes on the track.

 

4.3       Sprint finish lines may be found between squares 40 & 41 and 80 & 81. The significance of these will be explained later.

 

4.4         The finish line is between square 120 and "square 121".

 

5.      THE SPRINTS

5.1         The first eight cyclists past a sprint finish line score points as follows:

                                  1st = 10 points         5th = 4 points

                                  2nd =  8 points         6th = 3 points

                                  3rd =  6 points         7th = 2 points

                                  4th =  5 points         8th = 1 point

 

 

6.      RACE POINTS   

6.1         See rule 5.1 for points earned in the sprint stages.

 

6.2         The first eight cyclists across the finish line receive the following points:

                                  1st = 20 points          5th = 8 points

                                  2nd = 16 points         6th = 6 points

                                  3rd = 12 points         7th = 4 points

                                  4th = 10 points         8th = 2 points

 

6.3       Race points are accumulated over the course of the race, including the sprint stages. At the end of the race the points earned by ALL the cyclists on each team are aggregated to give a total team score. The team with the highest score wins. In the event of a tie, the finishing places of the teams involved in the tie are consulted: the team who had the highest placed rider wins the tie break.

 

6.4       Places in the sprints and at the finish line are determined on a first past the post basis, not furthest past the post.

 

7       THE MOVEMENT SYSTEM

7.1       Movement round the track is effected by the playing of a card for each cyclist each turn.

 

7.2       Players may only play a movement card for a cyclist if that card value is present in that cyclist's "hand". For example, if Percy Vere's selection of cards consists of a 7, a 14 and a 23, he may be ordered to move either 7, 14 or 23 squares.

 

7.3         Once a card is played from a cyclist's hand it is not returned.

 

7.4       Each cyclist's hand is replenished with a new card, the value of which is determined according to the cyclist's position in the field of riders.

 

7.5       To determine the value of the new card for any given cyclist, the GM will count the number of cyclists in an "unbroken string" ahead of the cyclist in question and add that number to 3.

 

7.6       An "unbroken string" is defined as a group of cyclists occupying every square of a section of track. In other words, a string of riders is broken by an empty square.

 

7.7       An example of how to calculate the value of a replenishing card is given below:

 

Percy Vere is on square 38. The positions of the other riders are as follows:

 

Square

Riders

 43:

Fred Bare (Winner of sprint = 10 pts.)

 

                      

 42:

Empty

 

                      

 41:

Empty

 

                      

 40:

Dick Scratcher, Pete Sake

 

                      

 39:

Jeff Andum, Dick Envy, Ben Doone & Phil McCavity

 

                       

 38:

Percy Vere, Harry Carey, Walter Raleigh

 

                      

 37:

BMX Bandit

 

 

      Percy has an unbroken string of six cyclists in front of him (Scratcher, Sake, Andum, Envy, Doone & McCavity), and so therefore replenishes with a 9 (6 + 3).

 

      Note that Percy does not receive anything for being behind Fred Bare because square 41 is empty, and therefore breaks the string (as indeed does square 42). Also note that he receives no bonus for being on the same square as Harry Carey and Walter Raleigh. However, BMX Bandit, tucked in behind on square 37, receives a new card of 12 (9 + 3), because he receieves a further bonus for being behind Vere, Carey & Raleigh.

 

7.8       Breaking Away - there is a special rule for a cyclist who has made a break from the rest of the field. On the turn he establishes a lead he replenishes with a card equal in value to his lead over the second placed rider. Thus if he leads by 5 squares he replenishes with a 5.  If he remains in the lead on subsequent turns he replenishes with a 3 as per usual.

 

7.9        First turn only - if at the end of the first turn (only), any square has 5 or more cyclists on it then the square in front is treated as if were blank for card replacement purposes.  For example:

Square

Riders

Replacement card

7

Empty

n/a

6

Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe

3

5

Ipp, Dip, Sky, Blue, Bottle

3

4

Get, Outof, Derway

8

 

 

Square 5 is the overcrowded square (it has 5 or more riders on it) so Square 6 is treated as if it were blank. This means Ipp, Dip, Sky, Blue & Bottle  replenish with a 3 and not a 7. This has a knock-on effect to the riders on square 4, who replenish with an 8, not a 12.

 

 

8.      ORDER OF MOVEMENT         

8.1       Movement is always processed from the front of the field to  the back, with the race leader moving first and the man at the back moving last.

 

      In the event of two or more cyclists occupying the same  square, the order of movement is determined by a succession of  checks, detailed below.

 

8.2.1    Grade A cyclists move before grade B cyclists, who move before grade C cyclists who move before grade D cyclists.

8.2.2    If cyclists of the same grade occupy the same square, priority movement is given to the cyclist playing the highest card that turn.

8.2.3    In the event of rule 8.2.2 failing to resolve the tie, priority movement will be given to the cyclist with the highest card available for play in his hand.

8.2.4    If rule 8.2.3 fails to resolve the tie, the GM refers to the second highest card available for play (and if that fails the third highest and - if applicable - the fourth highest).

8.2.5     If the tie is still not resolved, priority will be given to  the cyclist who arrived on the square first. (On rare occasions, a cyclist will have occupied the same square on  every turn as another cyclist, in which case it will not be  possible to determine which cyclist arrived on the square  first. In these situations the cyclists move simultaneously and any sprint points gained by them on a turn are shared  between them.)

 

9.                NMR's

9.1       For those new to postal gaming, "NMR" stands for "No Moves Received". In the event of an NMR, the GM will automatically play the highest value card for all of the cyclists under that player's control.

 

10.     GETTING DROPPED BY THE PACK

10.1                It is possible for a cyclist to get dropped by the pack. It will usually be obvious when this has occurred and the GM will indicate that the cyclist has been dropped. It will then not be necessary for the controlling player to continue submitting orders for the cyclist (unless he's a masochist).

 

Ó JOHN HARRINGTON August 1991

 

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS

Breaking Away is available as a board game from Fiendish Games (co/ John Harrington, 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 3UW) for a price of £16, inclusive of postage & packaging, for European customers and £18 for American customers (p&p included, air mail).  UK customers can make cheques payable to Fiendish Games, overseas customers should make money orders to John Harrington.

 

Further details are available on www.fiendishgames.demon.co.uk or via e-mail from [email protected] .