Playing Dark Future: Fight on the run in the wastelands

Some more Dark Future today, to get more special rules and intense fighting.

New board display:

 

Same boring table without any scenery

The game is essentially the same, two Renegades, a lead car and a chase car. The different thing here will be turning.

You won't use turning lights

 

 If you look at the pic above, you will see that the 'tiles' have numbers in them. If you go into the curve at higher speed than it's marked, you need to pass a handling check, as you might well lose control of your car!

You may say 'well, it's no big deal, just go through the outer part of the curve'. But remember, things happen in this chase, the lead car has to think a strategy, like throwing its 'passive weapons' (oil, nails... even mines!) and forcing the chase car to dodge them.

 

This one was easy, but you get the idea: force the pursuer to go where you want him to go!

 

The chase car loses some speed, the lead car takes advantage!

Depending on the weapons mounted on the chase car, they might only fire straight shoots, with no arc of fire. Then, the chase car must be right behind the lead car to shoot. That might lead you to a trap, but you just have to take risks. sometimes...

 

Nothing happened! Lucky you!

You will not escaaaapeeee!!

Firing is quite easy due to the tile system of the game. But what happens in the curves, where tiles can be a little bit confusing? No problem, we have our wonderful 80's measuring device:

 

'Dakka dakka boom'

 

As the line of fire covers two tiles, so another shot is possible

 

But the lead car finally escapes!

As you can see, the lead car strategy is what sets the pace, the chase car can only try to gun it down taking care of the traps.

But let's see another fight to death to make things more interesting!

The table was not big enough!

We had two Renegades on the run and an Interceptor chasing them:

 

You can run, but you cannot hide...

 

We weren't strict about points and so, we just played for fun (and for the show!)

The Interceptor is a beast of the road, heavily armoured, equipped with dreadful weapons and really, really fast. What chances do the Renegades bear against it?

 

To the outer curve in order not to lose speed

They both set traps

 

What can the Interceptor do? The pursuer cannot allow losing too much speed. Hm, let's take the risk:

Boom! A mine!

#&%@*!!! Critical hit!

The Interceptor was heavily damaged, losing handling/speed/brake points. But it still was on the chase, firing and causing some damage too:

 

More traps?

'Oh, now the Renegade expects me to avoid the trap, he thinks I have learned the lesson. Thats a dummy for sure...'

 

#&%@*!!!

 

Once in the curve, you cannot turn to the inner side of it, only to the outer side (inertia, centrifuge/centripetal movement and all that science stuff). So that's the moment for another gift...

Can't believe this. Another one? Oh, c'mon...

Let's do something different: the Interceptor speeded up...

 

Whomp!

 

The damage is determined by the difference between the speed of the lead/chase car. This particular example caused no damage, but a front crash can be totally deadly!

The run went on...

 

This was so predictable... But it was the last mine!

 

Interceptor turn. Shoots with the devastatingly powerful weapon at no distance. Destruction is for granted...



A 'one'! How? Hoooowwww?

Shoot failed!
But right after that the Interceptor shot again and...

Gotcha! (Car turned for dramatical purposes. No player was injured during the action)

 

 One Renegade was destroyed, but that doesn't mean that the car must be taken from the road. Oh, no, there are special rules when a car is destroyed. The vehicle must move on on each subsequent phase, losing speed from phase to phase (If you remember, each car had as many phases as its speed allowed, one per each 20 mph). So it will be moving forward until totally stops or gets off the road.

That's what happened here, the destroyed Renegade moved along (bursting in flames and smoke, you know) while the damaged Interceptor kept on chasing the other Renegade:

 

Ooops, we're gonna crash!!

CRASH! Told you!

 

The Renegade received some damage, but managed to elude the worst part of it. The destroyed car just went out of the road and the surviving Renegade shoot at the Interceptor, finally destroying it permanently too. Phew!

That was it! As you can see, the lead car always looks to have some advantage and that the chase car has to work really hard to take the pursued one down.

Did you like these experiences with Dark Future? Maybe you will see some things more soon, as Keyan and I are working on some other concepts for this game.
Soon...
Soon...