In a previous post, I reviewed the chariot racing expansion for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar called Wasteland Death Race, published in issue 518 of White Dwarf. This is a battle report of a race, using the full set of rules (with build points and Artefacts of Power).
The game rules are basically 2 pages, so it's not a very complex game. In fact it may be one of the least complex games that Games Workshop has released in a long time. For the past several months, I've found myself playing it with a lot of different people. One of the things about trying to introduce people to wargaming, I think, is explaining that this "board game" has no board, and instead has a 6×4-foot table with a bunch of models scattered across it. I think it comes as a surprise to many people, and then the next thing you know you're telling them that they also need to keep track of 8 or 20 or 50 miniatures and literal handfuls of dice. But with Wasteland Death Race, you introduce the person to the table, and all they have to worry about is one chariot (or dinosaur, or car, or whatever you've chosen to race.) And there are only 2 actions in each turn: Set your speed, and Move. It's an impressively low-pressure introduction to miniature tabletop gaming. I've taken Wasteland Death Race to my roleplaying group as a minigame, to a community board game night, and to several friends who had either played only one (Zombicide, of course) or no miniature games before.
I played this battle report with my partner. As with my first game, this race is between Muwatalli II (I played him) of Hattusia and Ramesses II of Egypt (played by my partner).
In real life, Rasesses and Muwatalli fought an epic battle in Kadesh, which resulted in what many regard as the first recorded peace treaty. In this fictional timeline, they've done what no world leader even today can do: Spare the lives of their subjects by foregoing war entirely and just settling their differences with sport.
This time, there are Artefacts of Power along the race track, which a chariot can pick up by moving over the Artefact token (the wheel icons on the map) during its turn. Once a chariot has an Artefact of Power, it can use it by rolling on the Artefact of Power random table in White Dwarf. You can only have one Artefact in your possession at any given time.
Originally I suggested that the race lasted for 2 circuits, but my partner thought it could be fun to add in some extra twists and turns, so we decided on 1 circuit following the bottom path, up and around the temple of Ishtar, and then back to the finish line. It would mean a lot of pivoting, which seemed like fun, so I agreed.
Rig points
My partner and I both coincidentally took Jittery and Armour plating for our chariots. Jittery allows you to move d6 inches before the race even begins, and Armour plating reduces all damage by 1, which we both forgot we had and never reduced damage.
My partner also took Swift, which grants her +1 to Move. I took Warning lookout, which grants me a free pivot, once a turn, if I can roll 3+.
Round 1
Ramesses and Muwatalli both roll 1 for Jittery, so both advance exactly 1 inch.
Ramesses takes the first turn because his blue chariot is furthest from the table's edge (they got swapped after a false start because I hadn't told my partner how pivoting works, so the map and the race photo don't match reality.)
Ramesses and Muwatalli both start at Normal speed, so just 12" for Muwatalli and 13" for Ramesses. Frustratingly, the extra inch scores Ramesses the first Artefact of Power.
Round 2
Ramesses moves 13" again, but Muwatalli moves 16", gambling on that free pivot. Muwatalli rams into Ramesses and wins the damage roll off. Ramesses rolls a 1 on the damage chart, but having played a game with that penalty (it reduces your chariot to Slow for the rest of the game), that felt too cruel a punishment to me. I let Ramesses roll again, and this time Ramesses and Muwatalli careen 3 inches apart, which in this case is a mutually neutral outcome.
In retribution (and, I think, because my partner was anticipating picking up the next Artefact) Ramesses throws an Artefact of Power at Muwatalli. Unfortunately, the rules that never got proof-read strike again. The magazine says:
If your racer is not behind any others, roll one dice...
Ramesses rolls 5 on a d6, for this effect:
If there is another racer within 3" of this racer and ahead of this racer, this racer can move 3" in any direction without pivoting.
That condition will never be true for any player who is "not behind any others" and has rolled a single dice. We modified the effect and just granted Ramesses a free 3" move.
Seriously, a managing editor is really important.
Round 3
Up and around the chariots go. Ramesses is taking it slow, and Muwatalli is gambling on pivots. Mostly, it's working out so far, and Muwatalli actually manages to pull ahead.
Round 4
Ramesses rams Muwatalli, sending him careening through the temple of Ishtar!
I argue that Muwatalli ought to be able to drive on through the temple, but my partner points out that it would be...well, blatantly cheating. It doesn't seem fair for a ram to benefit the loser of the collision.
Round 5
Ramesses zips around the temple, and picks up another Artefact of Power. Muwatalli slows way down, and course corrects. I forget to reduce damage (for my armour plating), and Muwatalli continues along at a slow speed while his men do emergency repairs on the chariot.
Round 6
Because I haven't gotten around to mounting my chariot models on bases yet, Ramesses loses a horse. After a quick repair, Ramesses is back on the table, still winning.
Ramesses picks up the Artefact of Power and gets another speed boost.
Round 7
Well in the lead by now, Ramesses crosses the finish line to the sound of trumpets and cheers. The race has been won, but most importantly a war has been avoided. The kingdoms of Hattusia and Egypt are destined to live in peace.
You should play wasteland death race
When White Dwarf 518 came out, its big selling point was that it marked the 50th anniversary of Games Workshop, which is definitely a big deal.
Little did I know that hidden within its pages would be a game that elegantly captures the thrill of a racing game in just 2 pages of rules and 2 pages of build options, and damage and special effects random tables. This is such a fun game, more than it has the right to be, and my greatest fear is that not enough people are getting to play it. If you see a back issue of 518 at your local game store, buy it! It's worth every penny for this game alone. You might be surprised at how fun it is, and it's so accessible that you may also be surprised at who you can get to play it with you.