Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog

I’m currently looking for some PDF resources for keeping track of things like Turns, Phases, Speed, HC, etc. That sort of thing would make it easier for those who don’t own the rules.

-brian

I’ve been thinking something like this would be good, too.

I use laminated vehicle sheets and it’s difficult to remember to erase the markings on the handling track at the end of each turn. If I have trouble keeping up with my handling track… then maybe my oppenent is as well. Does it make sense that maybe everyone’s current handling status should be public?

There’s one problem with the new sets here…. The counters are not named or numbered. The cars are easy enough to remember I guess, so little markers with the names of each of the cars on them will do in a pinch.

The original Car Wars pocket box and the first Deluxe Edition came with vehicle sheets that had fairly good Speed and Handling Tracks on them. These can be used as a model for the PDF design. The printout could be cut out and the taped into the center of the arena as an obstacle in order to prevent undo paper shuffling during the game. The PDF should include counters with each of the 5th edition vehicle names on them.

Along the same lines, I often wonder if everyone keeps up with their armor depletion during the game. Maybe the amount of damage that has been done to each side should be public as well? Optionally, a similar chart could be made for tracking this as well and it could be placed as a second obstacle in the arena.

The referee that uses these tools can take care of the tedious bookkeeping type stuff so that new players can focus on driving and shooting. With the referee tracking these stats publicly, duelists won’t have to worry about everything being up to date. Some of the “double blind” parts of the game can be sacrificed this way to keep everybody honest and keep the game running smoothly.

And as you say, one more item that would come in handy is a turn/phase track– the one in the SFB Cadet rules is very handy and it even includes all of the steps of the sequence of play on it. (I don’t know why it is, but none of the Car Wars rules ever spelled out the sequence step by step– it was always seperate rules for movement and fire even though they happen concurrently.)