Thunder Road Retro Review - Still Worth It?

[@jamessettle3259]

I really liked this game back in the day. Me and my little Brother played it a lot, and it was one of my favorites. We were both teens, so maybe not too sophisticated. But it's one of the games I have the fondest memories about playing. (I was thinking of giving the KickStarter a shot, if that's still an option and not defunk.)

[@robertflinch2447]

The Restoration games version of this is pretty fun. It's the lightest version of this concept without being a luck fest. Death Road is probably better if you just want pure vehicular combat, but I find that it doesnt work as well with light groups

[@BoardGameBollocks]

How much is the new version?

[@iansutton7416]

@@BoardGameBollocks ~ £45 for the base game

[@BoardGameBollocks]

No thanks

[@dejahthoris1808]

I really appreciate your honesty about the board games you review, though sometimes I don't agree with the opinions you express in your reviews I still find your honesty and formula very refreshing. The board game Wreck and Ruin did some interesting adjustments to the Thunder Road formula and is worth a look for anyone who is totally not a fan of Thunder Road. Cheers!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@FakeDonut]

Recently bought the new version, I'd be interested what you have to say about that one.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

The KS is incoming

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Thunder Road Vendetta KS is live right now with a few days left. It's very successful this time. I guess Google can see my Kickstarter browsing history cuz it recommended this video. Anyways, can't really tell how good a game it's going to be. The latest milestone added cards that allow you to switch out the dice for cardplay, thus making it less luck-driven. I'm leaning towards getting it but I admit I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Not worth the risk

[@KMReviews]

Have you tried the updated version of this? They fixed a lot of the issues with it. Gave a lot more control over the chaos. More control over repairing yourself. Assymetric powers. Etc. Seeing a lot of the playthroughs it’s seems super fun. Whereas the original was totally random.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It’s was a KS at a ridiculous price. We avoided it.

[@KMReviews]

@@BoardGameBollocks I hope you play someone else’s copy! It was expensive but they definitely improved gameplay.

[@iansutton7416]

@@BoardGameBollocks Well it is out at retail now, and having seen the differences between the games, I have to agree that there's a lot more game than the original. Looking at the original, I don't disagree with the criticisms. It's more of a pure roll to move, with dull collision resolution and unmitigated player elimination. Very much a child of its time, but not something that could hold up today. I'm impressed with how they've taken the core concept, addressed all of those issues, but also made it into a more interactive game with the ability for comic/memorable chaining. Let's take those issues: - Roll to move. Yes that's still there to a larger degree than I'd like, but there's now good mitigation through the 4th die and its usage, with 'nitro' giving a boost for a lower number. It's still variable, to a degree that a pure beige eurogamer couldn't tolerate, but that's not you from what I can tell. - Dull combat. Comparing numbers on dice rolls is very immersion-breaking and dull. The new system is much more engaging and indeed thematic. Collisions have a pair of dice to decide which of the 2 vehicles gets muscled out of the space, with advantage to the larger vehicle, plus where they go to, and this key change really transforms the game. Now you get chain reaction collisions, as a car gets bumped into another car, and so on, all of which is resolved very fast. Now everyone at the table is interested, as that collision may well end up impacting them, or comically ending up with one of the the aggressor's cars ending up a wreck. - Player elimination. They've stolen a good idea from Black Angel, with modular boards, where the new front piece is placed and the back piece removed. It's still a cool concept. However it also allowed them a simple way to reduce the time for which a player is eliminated - once the 1st player is completely eliminated, the finish line is placed, meaning it's likely to be just a round (or maybe 2) before the race ends. Other improvements: - The helicopters add a very interactive / combative element (at the expense of using the spare die for something else) - Drift (with the dice from destroyed cars) allows an element of catch-up, but one that's not overpowered. - Boards are clearer, and appear to be a little better designed / interesting, with good spice from hazards, with damage nicely done as well, but there is still insta-death for vehicles which might be too much for some, but I think is ok and makes for a more raucous game. - Player powers and vehicle upgrades (in Choppe shoppe) give some personality that seemed missing from the original. - There's greater asymmetry in the expansion that adds the road train 'big rig', plus the 5 motorcyclists. Not an expansion I'd want to start new players on, but in time they should spice the game up even more. - More dangerous tracks, including jumps, ice and fire in another expansion. Again one that I think is destined for later games, as a way to spice things up, but as so often with KS, I fear some may never actually play with these. It may also have that same feel to Roborally, that a vast array of new board effects starts to detract from the core of the game. KISS might apply, but for those that play it to death, this expansion might turn out to be essential for longevity. So in short, I'll join the voices saying 'give it a go' if someone brings it along to game night. I reckon it's a very impressive re-imagining of a game that wasn't fit for purpose any more, but they've done well to put the fun back into it. Criticisms that remain: - It is still very much influenced by dice rolls, albeit now with lots more mitigation and ways in which players still remain engaged with the game - The finish, whilst strongly mitigating the player elimination issue, might be a little anti-climactic e.g. one player gets eliminated, then the finish is revealed and the next player in turn uses their die to move over the finish line.... perhaps overtaking the leader whose turn is next, but never gets another go. I don't know what would have been better, but fear it's going to be a dull finish to an interactive/raucous experience, and ending on a flat note isn't a great memory to leave.

[@nallekanki]

Good review. Good voice. Honest opinions... Instant fan.

[@zombierich]

Just dug this out my loft but haven’t got around to playing it, don’t think I’ll bother 😂

[@petermillen6924]

I don’t believe in ‘guilty pleasures’, if I take pleasure in a game then I refuse to feel guilty. So, Thunder Road... Sure it’s a game for kids. Kids need to learn from games - like life is unfair and often random and sometimes you are out of the game before you’ve had a chance. Man up. There have been plenty of variants posted, with decks of cards and rules tweaks to make TR into a strategic experience, to which I say ‘phwbbpt!’. I think you will agree that disposes of the argument. If you want a serious version try Car Wars, or Battlecars, or Gaslands. Look alright, I know it’s rubbish. But sometimes on a games night, the sight of that battered box is like an old familiar comfort blanket and I set aside rationality for a while.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

If I want to teach my kids that life is unfair I lock them in the garage with a bowl of gruel…they then thank me for not making them endure Thunder Road.

[@Twotailedkit]

I like this this whenever I want a more euro-e 4x. I agree that comparing this to TI is a disservice to this game as TI is more an experience and story

[@themainman2827]

I recently bought a 3d printer and the first thing i want to make are the tokens for this game.

[@warface4881]

It does look cool. Maybe some house rules would help make it more enjoyable.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

There are loads of the site that’s cannot be named.

[@burlesonpirate]

I used to play FunDuhRoad when I was a kid. I even remember listening to AC/DC FunDuh while I played.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Augmented reality

[@theshogunstein6475]

Not exactly the same, but check out how the Fast and the Furious game did the road mechanic, pretty good game for a IP Mass Market game

[@artyhowlin]

A refreshing honest review, I wondered why I only played it once long ago and now I know!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@Fiddleback]

Ahh Thunder Road. What a terrible game. The one time I played it I remember focusing entirely on the buggy and moving it as quickly as possible onto the next section of road, thereby removing all other players from the game by the third road change without ever having to do any combat at all.

[@rebweems3811]

The for the heads up. Almost bought this mess.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Dodged a bullet there

[@superspecky4eyes]

I don't understand the hate for "roll to move" in board games. Dice are random, thats' their purpose. Unless we are going to get arsey about any game that uses dice I don't know why "roll to move" gets called out specifically when we use dice to dictate all sorts of mechanics. Is it because its seen as a hangover from the crap games of our childhoods like Monopoly and Cluedo? Maybe I am just a simpleton that likes rolling dice. 🤣

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Not all roll and move games are crap, it’s just this one is.

[@theboardgameguy87]

This video should have clearly ended with you setting the box on fire and throwing it into the creator's house. Maybe next time...

[@kidmarine3994]

As shit as this looks (theme aside), I don’t reckon it’s half as bad as Jumanji, which is without doubt the biggest pile of utter bilge I’ve ever played.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Jumanji is a real game?

[@kidmarine3994]

Yep, it is now. Complete toss

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Film was crap too…roll and move if inremeber

[@feralgamersincrpg]

Looks like the Kickstarter was cancelled

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Any idea why?

[@feralgamersincrpg]

@@BoardGameBollocks Didn't get close enough to the funding goal, and will return in January, both of which may not be good ideas as you shouldn't cancel a KS and January is a bad month for money, anyway, that's what they are saying.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

To be fair Rob Daviau has a track record of creating disasters.

[@theshogunstein6475]

@@BoardGameBollocks mountains of madness was the single worst game I ever played

[@joshcara5345]

Well I think the kickstarter got cancled

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Back next year. They didn’t think they’d get funded…I could’ve told them that.

[@theshogunstein6475]

RD's game Mountains of Madness was probably the worst modern board game I ever played

[@theboardgameguy87]

It's really bad. Monopoly level bad (and I mean those monopoly game adaptations that are simply a cash grab)