[Old Gaming Notebook] Auto Arena

(The following information is presented as it originally appeared in one of my old gaming notebooks.)


In a Nutshell
In a future where extreme sports have become the most popular forms of entertainment, this violent update to the traditional demolition derby has become the most popular of them all.  Competitors drive cars equipped with weapons and armor in a demolition derby style event set in a hazard-filled arena until the last car is left standing.

Components
1 circular map board
1 square map board
x# car counters
x# hazard counters

(note: "x#" means an unspecified amount to be determined later)


Expansion Material
Ideas for game material that could be added later.
Arena Pack: A pack of new map boards, cars, & hazards.
Counter Pack: A pack of extra car & hazard counters for extra players.
Racing: An expansion with a new map board and rules for oval track racing events.
Scenario Pack: A pack of new scenarios; examples include amateur night, team play, etc.
Unsanctioned: Guidelines for outlaw and unsanctioned events.

Notes

• Auto Arena will be set up in a league similar to NASCAR; different towns have different courses.
• Would like to use modified Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars to represent the players.
• The basic game would include a stock car list.
• A later expansion would include rules for car customization and design.
• Rules for setting up and running a league season with a championship.

(This ends the Auto Arena entry from my old gaming notebook.)
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(Information from this point on was not part of my old gaming notebook.)

I know, I know - there's not a whole lot of detail included in the information above.  In the absence of Car Wars, I would definitely still like to design and play this game.  Honestly, when it comes to game design, board games are not my thing.  I have had several ideas and I will detail some of them here but I never seem to be able to get past the initial stages of design on a board game.  Maybe one of these days I will dust this off and give it a whirl...

[Old Gaming Notebook] Overview

I imagine that many role-players have a notebook, or notebooks, that they keep all sorts of information stored. I always liked to use a 5 subject spiral notebook.  The information I included in these notebooks were D&D characters, game ideas, setting notes, house rules, and other assorted ideas; sometimes, I would include other non-gaming stuff in them also.  Of course, with the advent of computers I have pretty much migrated any gaming stuff I do to folders on my laptop.  I ran across one of my old gaming notebooks recently.  It was probably the most recent of the notebooks.  Anyway, let's take a look at the contents of this notebook.

Board Games
I have had several ideas that I would like to turn into board games but I have never actually completed the design of one of them.  I had ideas for 3 board games written in this notebook.

Army Men: This would probably more accurately be described as a war game instead of a board game.  I spent 8 years in the Army and I remember playing with those old plastic Army men out in the sandbox growing up.  I wanted to do a simple set of rules for fighting out battles with these figures because the mass of armies would be easy to purchased and assemble due to low costs.

Auto Arena: I was a big fan of Car Wars by Steve Jackson Games.  When it went out of print I was not happy.  My rules were misplaced years ago.  I started on an attempt to do a new version of vehicle combat rules.  It would share some similarities with Car Wars such as being set in the future and have fighting cars but it would also be different.  Auto Arena would be set up like NASCAR in a league format.  The drivers would go to different cities throughout the season and compete in an ultimate demolition derby type event.  Instead of just ramming, the drivers would also have guns and other equipment to use in the event.  The arenas at each location would be different in layout and makeup.

Dungeon Crawl: This would be a board game for when you were just in the mood to pick up and play.  It would be more detailed than the old DUNGEON board game from TSR but less complicated than D&D.

Role-Playing Games
I began playing D&D in 1980 with the Holmes Basic set.  Shortly after I began playing I started having ideas for games of my own.  I have designed several role-playing games but these three are subjects that I never finished.

A World In Ruins: Gamma World was probably the 3rd RPG I purchased.  I always enjoyed the game but I also wanted a grittier version of the setting.

Old School Role-Playing: This was actually planned as a series of games.  The first planned game was to be Old School Role-Playing: Fantasy Rules.  The inspiration for these rules were the games that followed after D&D early in the hobby.  Basically, the fantasy rules would be similar to D&D but include more options, more rules, and more crunch just as the early competitors did.

To The Stars...: This was to be inspired by the science fiction of the '50's and '60's films.  Of course, that means flying saucers, little green men, ray guns, and everything else.  I still think this could be a fun game to do.

House Rules
I also had various notes written down about house rule ideas for several games.

AD&D: Ideas about a new Ability Score generation method, a Hit Points variant idea, and a note that a racial bonus of +1 allows a score of 19.


D&D 3E: A breakdown of the racial traits listing in the race entries so custom races could be matched to the official entries.


RIFTS: Ideas on a low attribute table for the Palladium Megaversal system.

Risk: Submarine rules for the RISK board game.

I will post this information her soon...