Friday, April 26, 2024

Mail Room: Car Wars Bundles

The Car Wars Bundle box sets from Steve Jackson Games are fantastic. All of the original boxed games are here, and they include both the original cardstock "cut them yourself" counters and a set of very thick-stock punch-out counters for all game pieces. A Car Wars game with thick "sneeze-proof" counters is impressive.

This is the original game, with the later 5-phase turn instead of the game's original 10-phase one, and it plays faster without losing too much simulation.

There is a new version of Car Wars with 3D-printed cars and cards, but this is the old-school, designed vehicles, cycles, rigs, busses, and everything else on the road - and take them to war. This is closer to an RPG than a card game, and it is what I grew up with. I have not tried the new game, and I am sure it is fun and fast-paced, but it is not the original.

The original is more than just "car versus car" - it is a game creation kit for any automotive mayhem. You could do motorcycles versus a big rig, races, road battles, arena PvP battles, street battles, police chases, heists, offroad racing, spy car versus pursuit, and any other vehicle battle with these rules. You can design today's no-armor vehicles or future armored battle cars and battle them all with hand or vehicle weapons.

They have four boxes with a collection of everything you need to play the original game, maps, counters, road sections, rules, and the original box sets. You may want to invest in the Car Wars Compendium if you wish to use all the rules in the final form (with the most options), but the pocket boxes work great, too.

This is such a fantastic throwback nostalgia ride, and you can also base an entire roleplaying campaign around the battles with a 2d6 Traveller-like set of rules (Cepheus Light is my choice).

This is one of my best purchased this year, and will give me a lifetime of throwback, nostalgia, thrill-ride fun.

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