Robo Rally is turning 30 years old and Renegade who have recently published a brand new edition are doing an anniversary something that is sure to end up quite collectible.
I have enjoyed my games of Robo Rally back in the late 90s and early 00s a lot. I have very fond memories of it. Memories of chaos and fun and laughter. Also being pushed off the gameboard, shot at and driving in circles…
I currently own the Avalon Hill Edition. After hunting the OOP game for a few years on the used game stalls at SPIEL and never finding one that was worth the asking price… this edition was published. It is not a great edition. The box is terrible and off-sized. I think I played my copy once or twice and haven‘t touched the game in over 10 or more likely 15 years—except to move the box on my shelves.
Hence my question… I am awfully tempted. On the other hand I never really played after leaving university.
Have any of you played in recent years?
How does it hold up?
Have any of you played the new edition?
Game nostalgia… am I the only one considering buying new editions of old games I used to love back in the day but haven‘t played in ages?
I have similarly fond memories of sooo many games of Roborally. I also own a newer edition that is hardly ever played. No way am I going to buy another edition that also won’t get played.
I’ve no specific view on RoboRally, but I have bought/re-bought several titles I used to own or play in my youth, including the originals of The Fury of Dracula, Statis Pro Football and Pro Golf, and later versions of Survive: Escape from Atlantis, Scotland Yard (the Sherlock Holmes Edition) and Talisman. That nostalgia pull is strong and, luckily with those titles, the reward was still there on repurchase.
I can only suggest getting some games in with your current edition. With a copy already in your collection, you’re about as well placed as possible to find out whether you still enjoy it as much as you used to.
I first played Robo Rally at Gencon, one of the old editions. Thought it was fun. Picked up the new (at the time) Avalon Hill edition. Still thought it was fun, but there were a few things about it that we needed to house rule around. Also, my wife tried it and didn’t like it, so that limited the number of times I could get it to the table.
I found out about the new edition last year and got it as a birthday present for myself (not the 30th anniversary big box, just the base game and a couple of the expansions). I’ve gotten it to the table twice and it’s been a great success both times. They fixed a lot of the problems with the Avalon Hill edition (the difficult-to-parse priority, the upgrade shop, the multiple damage types that were pretty much all the same damage type except you’d run out of one and have to sub in the others).
I would choose the newest edition over the original, but there are plenty of people online who would think that’s sacrilege. Doesn’t matter to me, I have no nostalgia for the old edition and the new one is working wonders.
The only thing about it is, as my wife so conveniently personifies, everyone in the group needs to be on the game’s wavelength. You have to laugh at your plans going way off track, you have to laugh at being the one that gets completely screwed over, you have to laugh at drawing shit upgrades while your opponents get all the good ones. It’s not a tight programming game where you can craftily read your opponents a la VOLT, it’s just a goofy slapfest.
Makes me think of Galaxy Trucker, as you need a similar mindset. Your carefully* constructed ship is likely going to get blown or smashed into pieces and you need to be able to just laugh at it.
Yup, definitely similar vibe. I think the difference is that in Galaxy Trucker, you say, “Aw man, the cards and dice really destroyed me!”, whereas in Robo Rally, you say, “Aw man, [Friend] really destroyed me!” Much more PvP.
I’ve played the original version a few times, and owned the 2016 edition (just sold it).
Original: it’s fun until it isn;t, and then it drags on for ages. There’s player elimination without calling it that, as you can’t play any cards but have to keep taking your turn anyway.
2016 fixes that (and Saint Richard Garfield says that this ruins his design), but it’s still easy to get a runaway winner, and the only fix for that is a reflected course so that leaders and trailers still come into contact. Which means you should only ever play on one or two boards.
It was jolly impressive in its day but now I’d rather play Volt or Colt Express. Not planning to buy the new edition.
Mostly agree with this, although I have seen enough skill divides and moments of intended sabotage that I don’t think RoboRally is skill free. I have the Avalon hill grey edition Quinns hates so much and still love it. I’ve had much success introducing it to non hobby gamers as it’s still fun while losing for many. The danger is how long it runs so I only choose easy maps with low number of flags in those circumstances and hope for the best.
This thread got me to look at the renegade edition as I didn’t know it had been released. It actually tempts me with notions of compatibility with my current edition as I’d like to see how personal decks play and it seems less fussy than the 2016 edition. No beacon is all that I can remember as specifics on that front.
Deluxe edition, no way. The game should be able to cope with drink participants so I don’t want to feel like a possibly sticky player board or mangled card is a risk I’m not willing to take. If I was flush I’d rather buy all the expansions if the new edition is actually any good.
I think I’m renewed on RoboRally after playing Mechs vs Minions which was good but not as satisfying overall and highlighted how well RR does it’s core thing.
We still play Robo Rally just before Christmas at out games club - but using wooden Christmas tree decorations (Santas, Snowmen, Angels) as playing pieces (we call it “Snobo Rally”). We use the original version, and generally set up a course that we are unlikely to finish before the end of the night - winner is whoever is furthest ahead when we have to pack up.
We have tried the AH version, but didn’t like the fact that you could tell who was going to move first before chosing your cards. (There was also a slight preference for not having a set deck, so you always have the possibility of drawing any card at any time).