Carabande is an unusual game for me - it's an action game
that doesn't require too much thought, but lots of manual dexterity.
Manual dexterity isn't my strong point, so I don't win
Carabande very often. Nonetheless, I enjoy it immensely
on those occasions which call for it, and pull it out at least
monthly.
Carabande is a racing game. If you've ever played caroms
you'll have a rough idea of what the game is about. The "cars" are
little wooden disks that you move by flicking with your finger. Where
Carabande differs most significantly from caroms is in
the board layout: caroms roughly resembles a square pool table, while
Carabande is a race track.
And what a track, especially if you buy the expansion Action
Set! The main set includes straights and curves which can be
assembled in many different ways. Each piece has a railing on one side
- you can remove an occasional railing for a harder track. The
Action Set includes two more curves, two "chicanes", or
tricky sections where the railings impinge into the track area, and a
jump. Definitely get the Action Set if you're going to
buy Carabande at all. You won't regret it.
So you set up the track, have people randomly draw cars (which are
numbered from 1-8), and take turns flicking your car around the track.
First one to complete three laps wins. The rules are simple: if you go
off the track, go back to where you started the turn. If you knock
someone else's car, but everyone stays on the track, that's fine. If
you knock them off the track, both cars go back to where they were at
the start of your turn. On the jump, if you land on the track you're
supposed to be jumping over, you have to redo the bit before the jump
again. You can play with the included obstacle, which, if you hit it,
cancels your turn - go back to where you started the turn, but the
obstacle, if still on the track, stays in its new location. That's
about it.
What that rule summary doesn't convey is the high level of fun,
high-fiving, shouting, cheering, and groaning that goes on during a
game. Granted, the mood has to be right - this is a mood game. I've
found it works best in the following situations:
- at parties, especially where non-gamers mix with gamers, and you
want the non-gamers to join in the gaming fun;
- at game conventions - you'll draw a crowd;
- at other conventions where games are only a minor draw - I ran a game at
the World Science Fiction Convention in 1998 that was enormously
popular;
- I bring it into work on a Friday about once a month for a
lunch-hour game - it goes over great, though Dan is awful hard to beat;
- when people are brain-fried from some deep-thought game, and need
something light to return to sanity;
- when people are brain-fried through other reasons, not that I'm
advocating any of those reasons ...
At any rate, though it's not in the same league as a Reiner Knizia
game, it nonetheless has its place. It's especially useful in getting
non-gamers to see why you enjoy the social aspect of gaming so much.
Anything which can do that so quickly and easily is well worth the
money.
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