Forum: boardgames.stackexchange.com
Tags: <house-rules><robo-rally>
Title: Robo Rally - Alternative rules for option cards?
Question: Robo Rally is a fun game but the option cards totally break it if a person just sits on the wrench and hammer and collects them all.  Has anyone tried a house rule to discourage this behaviour?  How did it work out?

Answers:
sents: text: This uses the online PDF from http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/roborally.pdf You aren't allowed to "sit" anywhere.
text: First: You have to play cards.
text: If you time-out, the player to the right plays random cards to fill out your non-locked registers.
text: (p. 4)
text: Locked registers WILL be played.
text: Second: All movement Cards used but not locked are discarded, as are unused.
text: (p. 4, 8)
text: New ones will be drawn.
text: Third: You only get one draw of an option card per turn , and only if you END the turn (and thus also Register 5's phase) on it.
text: Crossing it during the turn doesn't get you the card.
text: (p. 8) fourth: The odds are not good in 3p or more that you'll get the cards needed to return to your start space.
text: Camping on a repair spot is thus not as easy as it may seem.
text: Especially since you retain only locked cards.
text: If one gets consistently lucky enough to have the ability to return to start spot with cards alone, it's great.
text: If one is using terrain, it's skill, more than luck.
text: In short, I suspect the problem isn't the option cards, but a misread of the rules.
text: If there was no misread, one simple solution is to use a 1 per space limit; put a (custom) player token on each upgrade spot, and when you draw an option card, put that token on it.
text: When it's lost, put the token on an upgrade slot where you don't have one.
text: I've never felt it needed, and the people I've known who did usually were making one of three mistakes: 1) retaining unused programming cards, thus being able to plan multiple turns ahead 2) retaining used programming cards.
text: This makes it a VERY different game.
text: 3) allowing repairs and upgrades each register phase, rather than only at the end of the turn.
text: This makes camping on a spot far more worthwhile.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/1047/aramis
score: 7
sents: text: I someone is able to somehow null out their 5 moves to collect options - kill them!
text: Your robot has a laser for a reason :)
text: Also, most hammer and wrench spaces are hard to get to - if they sit and waste many turns collecting options you should be able to beat them in the race.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/1647/Paul Smith
score: 4
sents: text: The best way to discourage this behavior is to remember it's a race, and start racing.
text: Grabbing early options is actually a very good strategy -- it maximizes the use you'll get out of them during the game.
text: But once you've got a few loaded up, get your butt moving.
text: Every turn your opponents spend option camping is a turn you get to advance without them messing with you.
text: Unless the cards royally screw you (you don't get any move cards for a few turns, or somebody lucks into a devastating option combo), the head start they're spotting you can be very tough to beat.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/1953/BlairHippo
score: 4
sents: text: It's a lot easier to camp a "Toy Spot" than some of the other answers are making out.
text: To combat this, we institute a limit of 3 options.
text: If you would get a 4th you must choose and discard one of your options BEFORE you draw a new one.
text: This reduces the camping to a good extent, but doesn't stop it either.
text: And of course, if someone is camping constantly, coming over and shoving them into a pit, or shooting the crap out of them can be the simplest method to solve the problem.
text: Or just go tag all the flags and win while they're collecting toys.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/154/aslum
score: 1
sents: text: It's not in the current set of rules, but to avoid option hoarding my play group always said that you only get a new option card if you go to a different repair bay slot (you can use your archive token as an indicator of this).
text: So, you can go back and forth between two double wrenches to collect them.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/587/Neal Tibrewala
score: 1
sents: text: I agree that it's all too easy to rotate and get several option cards - usually other players are not close enough to 'just blast them either'.
text: So I've decided on a simple house rule that says you must move off the hammer-wrench before you can go back on to get another card - i don't mind so much if someone can go 'back 1' and 'forward 1' again, as these card combo's are much less frequent than rotate left & right.
text: It works well, simple and effective.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/18285/Rob
score: 1
sents: text: While option cards can be handy, most of them aren't going to buy you a full turn, so I'd recommend the simple strategy of: If they're behind you, just keep going and build up that lead.
text: If they're in front of you, and it's not terribly out of your way, just line up with them and drill 'em full of laser holes as you go by - if they're grinding the wall, you might even manage to push them away and make them spend a turn or two course-correcting.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/916/Allen Gould
score: 0
sents: text: I don't really see a problem with too many option cards.
text: With solid planning I usually need about 2-3 complete Turns to get to the next Flag, if the other players aren't actively blocking me.
text: So if we both start, you take 2 turns to your Repair-Shop
text: I'm already at the first flag.
text: If you stay there for 5 more turns (and manage to just collect your option cards, without people shooting at you and without a stroke of bad cards or someone pushing you) - fine you than have 5 RANDOM option cards.
text: I will at this time probably be at Flag 3 - where as you have to go to Flag 1.
text: Sure if you are lucky, maybe you get the right cards to get amazingly fast or to kill everyone else.
text: But on small maps the racer will already be at Flag 3 of 4 or 5 and will win the game before you can get him.
text: On a Big map he is probably too far away for you to actually get him properly with your option cards.
text: And if you get too strong, all it takes is 3 Players ganging up on you and shooting you and your cards to hell...
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/8291/Falco
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Remember that it's a race and grabbing options early on is a good strategy.
The problem might not be the option cards, but a misread of the rules.  The best way to discourage this behavior is to remember it's a race, and start racing.  
Grabbing early options is actually a very good strategy -- it maximizes the use you'll get out of them during the game.  
 It's not in the current set of rules, but to avoid option hoarding you can rule to only get a new option card if you go to a different repair bay slot. You can introduce a rule that says you must move off the hammer-wrench before you can go back on to get another card.