Against the ClockBeta

Goal

Drive three rally stages and finish with the Clock as far ahead as you can. Each sector of a stage has a number, and you play cards onto it to reach that number exactly. A time bonus counts +1 on the Clock and a time penalty counts −1.

Cards

Use a standard deck with both Jokers.

• The gears are the numbered cards, face down in three piles. 1st gear holds the Aces, 2s, and 3s, 2nd gear the 4s, 5s, and 6s, and 3rd gear the 7s to 10s. An Ace is worth 1.
• Queens are Boosts, worth +1. Jacks are Brakes, worth −1.
• Damage is the two Jokers. Each bust turns one face down.
• The Clock counts your time bonuses and time penalties, up to 16 of each. The four Kings keep count (see Playing with your own deck).

Setup

1. Gears. Shuffle each gear face down.
2. The stage. Take 2 cards from 1st gear, 4 from 2nd gear, and 8 from 3rd gear. Shuffle the 14 together and lay them face down in a row. Each card is a sector.
3. Boost and Brakes. Set out 4 Queens and 4 Jacks face up.
4. Start. Turn the sector at one end face up.

Play

1. Play cards onto the sector to reach its number exactly. Take the top card of any gear, which you see only as you play it. Play a Queen for +1 while you’re under the number, or a Jack for −1 while you’re over it.
2. Exactly the number with one card gains a time bonus. With more than one card, you gain and lose nothing.
3. Moving to the next sector while under the number costs a time penalty for each point you’re short. You can move on without playing a card, which costs the sector’s whole number.
4. Over the number is a bust: a time penalty, and one Joker turns face down. If you have the Jacks to bring the total back to the number, you can brake instead and lose nothing.
5. Then turn the next sector face up and play on it.
6. At the end of a stage, every numbered card goes back into its gear. Stage 2 is 12 sectors (2, 4, and 6 from the three gears) with 3 Queens and 3 Jacks. Stage 3 is 10 sectors (2, 3, and 5) with 2 of each. The Clock and the Jokers carry on.
7. The rally ends after stage 3, or at once with a loss: a 16th time penalty disqualifies you (DSQ), and a bust with both Jokers face down means you didn’t finish (DNF).

Scoring

Your score is your time bonuses minus your time penalties.

• +1 or more: you beat the stage time record. This app counts it as a win.
• 0 to −2: a great race. You’re on the podium.
• −3 to −6: you’re in the middle of the pack.
• −7 or less: you’re at the back of the pack.

Playing with your own deck

The four Kings are the Clock. The two red Kings count time bonuses and the two black Kings count time penalties, 8 on each King.

• For each one, turn a King of that color 45° clockwise.
• After 4 turns it’s upright again. Turn it face down and keep turning.
• After 8 turns, set it aside and start on the other King.
• Your score is the red Kings’ turns minus the black Kings’. With both black Kings set aside, you’re disqualified.

How this version differs

• A Queen only while under, a Jack only while over. The rules let you play either at any time. Played the other way, either one only moves the total away from the number, so this version doesn’t offer it.
• The stage always starts at the same end. The rules let you pick either end. Both are face down, so the choice tells you nothing.
• Moving on without playing a card is allowed. The rules describe moving to the next sector after playing at least one card. Here you may move on at once, for the sector’s whole number in time penalties.
• Forced results happen by themselves. A total that reaches the number finishes the sector. A bust that your Jacks can’t bring back is taken at once, and so is a sector with no card or Queen left to play.

Open the rules page