The Game:

Thunder Alley is a racing game based off of NASCAR, without the license. Players take control of a team of 3-6 cars depending on player count and earn points for the finishing position of each car on their team. There are 4 main actions that move cars.

1. Lead movement (which pulls a line of cars directly behind)
2. Push movement (which pushes all of the cars in directly in front)
3. Draft movement (which both pushes those in front and pulls those behind)
4. Single car movement (which only moves the active car)

Players will try to keep their car connected to a pack of other cars to take advantage of other players movement while trying to get their own cars to the front of the pack.

The winner of the race isn’t necessarily the winner of the game.

In the Heats, we will aim to have 4-player games, and will use 3- or 5-player games where necessary.< p>

Each round will use a different track.

• Heat 1: Yunta Brothers Velodrome. This is the standard sized oval in the base game
• Heat 2: Verghn’s Grove. This is the road course in the base game
• Heat 3: Saint Adriana Speedway. This is the largest track in the base game
• Semifinal: Pullingers Pyramid. This is the 3 corner “Pocono” triangle track
• Final: The Grand Prix expansion track Tieran Raceway. We will use the oval track, but will go 5 laps not 4.

Rules Notes: When deciding to pit, the 1st place car decides then the 2nd place car, and so on in that order.

When a yellow flag comes out, lapped cars that have not yet been removed from the track are saved from going a lap down.

Cars in the pit lane are considered to be in that sector. You cannot use a clean air card to bypass cars in the pits.

Timing:

This game should take you less than 2 hours, but commonly goes over this mark. You will have 3 hours to complete your games, and that should be far more time than you need. The last turn of this game has a major impact on the final scores, especially in the event of a yellow flag right before the finish. Please don’t be the reason this game needs to be adjudicated. If adjudication is required, the GM reserves the right to penalize slow players if such can be determined easily.

Advancement:

Advancement will be based on the Heats Most Wins – Timing standard tie-breakers listed below. The number of Semifinal games will be determined by field size and we will optimize the Semifinal round to get 6 people into the Final. Depending on the size of the field, we will advance as many as we can to fill up to 6 Semifinal tables. We will aim to have 4- or 5- player games in the Semifinal, but depending on entrants, that might mean 3 Semifinal tables or 6. The Final will be a larger 6-player table. I will post a list of winners and alternates on the kiosk as soon as possible after each Heat. If you win a heat and know that you will not be attending the Semifinal, I would appreciate knowing that ahead of time.

Notes: Event Sheet: For a game to count, a summary sheet must be accurately completed recording ALL pertinent info and submitted promptly to the GM. Winners are responsible for seeing that this is accomplished. Summary sheets will be handed out by the GM before play begins.

Have fun!

Additional Prizes: All winners take home a checkered flag. Additional prizes for the top six will be provided but have not been determined yet. Last year each finalist got a custom painted 1/64 scale car with WBC logos.

HEATS: MOST WINS - TIMING (HMW-T):

1. Most Wins (e.g., total in all heats entered)
2. First Win
   • First Heat played
   • Second Heat played
   • Third Heat played
   • Fourth Heat played
3. Fewest Heats
4. Most Second Places
5. Fewest total points behind first place in second place finishes. Not playing in a heat counts as an N/A for this criteria, not 0 points
6. Fewest total points behind first place in all finishes. Not playing in a heat counts as an N/A for this criteria, not 0 points
7. Highest total points ahead of second place
8. High dice roll.

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