Board Game Arena

Hi,

My friends and I play a fair amount of Downforce. Great game, fun, strategic, with just enough luck. One of our house rules is that you are only allowed to bet once on each car. Playing on BGA, we have to remember which car we bet on and be sure to not bet on that car again. If we make a mistake, we collectively exclude that player from the winner's podium (by relentlessly mocking him, not via any technical means).

The reason we implemented this house rule is because our games got to be somewhat predictable. Whichever car was out in front usually got most, if not all, first-place bets. That in turn pushed it even farther into the lead. When it finished the race, just about every bet was for that car so whoever happened to own it won the game just about every single time. Once we implemented the house rule, suddenly it opened up the field. The end results were no longer predictable, you could win the constructor's title but still lose the game.

Is there any possibility of adding this as an optional rule?

Hello,

you can see your past bets just near the betting lines, maybe you have missed them?

Regarding the variant, yes this is definitively planned! Maybe not that variant exactly, but I plan on working on the betting.

As a matter of thinking, the runaway leader is most likely to be seen during unseasoned players games, because betting on the leader and pushing their car is a losing strategy: you give points to someone who probably bet on the same car as you. You are actually aiming for second place.

Once players gain experience, they usually realize that it is better to have other betting strategies. But yes, this needs to be addressed.

I veen thinking that you should vote each time on 1 2 and 3rd place. More chances for betting to be different, not rewarding for wrong picks at all. Going to try this next game night w the live game

Publishers rarely permit game variants that are outside the original rules, do they?