Papryk Ash

Thank you for these kind words – it is the greatest praise the designer can get. I hope it works out for you to arrange the league competition – we'd love to do it ourselves too, yet the game-related issues have managed to consume our lives completely (I can virtually hear them smack their lips). Still, if everything continues the way it is going at the moment, we will soon have a great news for all speedway fans worldwide. It was great to read the story about your son – when running a MCS competition in Bydgoszcz (4-team meeting formula), one participant was about 6 years old and to see him make all these tough choices in the bend was one hell of a watch (you can see him qualifying for the next stage in the link below, pic no. 13 – btw, he elimated his dad in the process ) http://prostozpudla.pl/2013/04/xx-noc-planszowek-galeria-zdjec-2.html (In the last picture you can see the finalists - the little guy in the middle almost won the entire competition!) Btw – may I ask how old is your son? I still would love to read your impressions after a four-team meeting – they tend to get pretty wild with everybody fighting for him\herself. Yet, the tactical aspect is a tad reduced, as you can rarely predict what bizzare an idea your opponents may come up with, particularly in the bend. For groups that don't enjoy this high level of unpredictability, there is always a possibility of playing two vs two match which also introduces quite an interesting cooperating factor. Anyway, I'm glad the game did not dissapoint, as it may always be the case with so many people and so many tastes. We will do our best to keep it up.

As I've promised, a new MCS website is up and running. I've tried to include there everything you need to know to play the game (step by step tutorial, exemplary videos, game overview). As for those who've already got the game, there is a FAQ section (frequently asked questions) with answers to the most recurring questions asked by Polish gamers. Hope it helps. Should you have any questions, feel free to ask. We are at your disposal. www.mcsgame.com

Can't wait. I'd love to read the session report. In a 4-player variant (each man for himself) have each player discard the highest rider card (numbered17-20) prior to the game so as not to favour the "home team". Should you have any questions, feel free to ask here (if moderators don't mind) or on BGG forum. Also, I will be putting up a new English website (possibly this week) with FAQ and forum to address any in-game issues.

As I have promised, in the links below you can find the presentation of MCS in action. This is a two-team match seen from the perspective of a visiting-team player. As for the riders representing the visiting team... well, you definitely did not expect to see THEM . Enjoy!

Nice to read that - thank you. We would like to make one more video, in which we would just be playing the game with English commentary. Perhaps this could give you even better idea how it plays. As for buying the game, an Italian distributor has just put up MCS on sale. Find it on our Board Game Geek profile under the game description on the left in a box called BGG marketplace. Still, I'm afraid the shipment costs can make it too expensive for your liking. Another option is to have somebody from Poland going to the UK take it with him/her. Once we were in talks with one club about the possibility of Polish riders doing just that. Perhaps you have this kind of opportunity as well. We could even arrange to send the game to such person as far as he/she is in Poland. The last, but probably the most reliable method is to have some UK retailer order 12 games from us (that's the smallest amount we ship to UK). If you found 11 interested people and a retailer, then there would be no risk involved (for the retailer) and it would make sense for all the parties. We could even negotiate the price with the retailer so he could lower the price slightly. Anyway - we are open to any suggestions should you have any. Regards

We have finally found time to dub the MCS videos on YT, so if you wish to check out the game components along with the actual gameplay, follow the links below: 1. GAME OVERVIEW 2. EXAMPLE OF PLAY Btw, if any of you happen to be in Italy this weekend - I seriously doubt it but it never hurts to ask - MCS is going to be presented at the gaming festival in Modena PLAY 2013. Visitors will be able to play the game, take part in some tournaments and get the game at a promotional price. Look for PORTAL PUBLISHING stand.

Unfortunately, the guy's lost the black leather:

Well, here in Poland we've had the entire first round (scheduled for 1st April) called off due to bad weather. There's snow everywhere and it's freezing cold.

As for the rider's cards distribution, there are 5 for each helmet colour. See below: The key here was to give a slight advantage to the home team, so if one were to analyze it more closely, it would turn out that red's and blue's total is bigger than the opponents'. That's why, in a 4-player meeting we will recommend to play without the last 4 numerals (17-20). As for racing cards there is one deck of 48 cards with each manager drawing them randomly. You must start each heat with 5 racing cards, so if you are short of this number, you just draw new ones. As far as running out of racing cards is concerned, Fourentee was right - during a battle in the straight, the winner gets to draw a free card. Additionally, there are some effects which - when triggered - let you draw a free card or, even better, steal a card from your opponent's hand. Of course it is possible to run out of cards during the race, although it's never happened to us. Again, as Fourentee rightly remarked, sometimes it pays off to let your opponent trigger his effect in the bend and hope for another exchange knowing he has less cards. What's more, each lap cards deck has different finish-bend-straight distribution, so it is more unlikely to get the finish line early. This is also an element of tactics, as you may try to remember which cards have already been used and anticipate what is going to happen in the next lap. As the pricing goes, I completely agree with both of you (21 century heathen and Fourentee). When we started in Poland we also got our share of stick from some speedway fans who thought the price for a "dumb game" unrealistic. It took about 3 years of marketing the game (mostly via the internet) to get the ball rolling but in the end it worked out. As for the UK it all boils down to the shipment costs (which we unfortunately need to cover). Were it not for them, the price could drop significantly. The smallest amount we ship to Britain is 12 - so actually it is all about finding those 12 people willing to buy the game from one retailer for him/her to order it. Once we do that we believe the game will do the rest. Soon, we will be posting video gameplay for MCS, so perhaps it will give potential retailers better idea of what we are offering them.

I will desribe an exemplary heat (for two players). 1. Both managers assign two rider’s cards (secretly) for the upcoming heat (red and blue for the hosts, yellow and white for the visiting team). Each rider's card has a different value on it ranging between 1 and 20. These values reflect how quickly a rider will gate. 2. After all rider's cards have been assigned, they are revealed and the race order is determined. The bigger numbers go faster. So let's say the cards for this heat are as follows: red - 20, blue - 8, yellow - 6, white - 13. In this case the order in the heat is (from left to right): 3. Next, we reveal the topmost card from the 1st lap deck and check what happens. The options are as follows: -----------FINISH LINE------------------THE STRAIGHT---------------THE BEND--------- 4. Finish line indicates that the heat finishes instantly. It means we witnessed a dull race – gating turned out to be crucial and nothing happened from start to finish. Points are awarded for each place, rider's cards go into the discard pile and managers select new ones for the next heat. 5. In the straight, riders who are directly after the opponent can try to overtake (charge). Both managers choose from their hand one racing card (they start each heat with 5 of them) and place it (secretly) on the table. Next the cards are revealed and the managers check whether the charge was successful. To do so, they must place them with their top edges touching and check the result. In this example the charge was successful, for the holding-off rider (green letters) did not manage to block all lanes attacked by a charging opponent (red letters). Assuming it was white attacking red, the new race order would be as follows: That sums up the battle in the straight. 6. Battle in the bend is bit more complicated as it is all about various symbols in the lower part of each card. One manager starts by playing a card with an effect he would like to trigger, i.e. 5:1. Now the opponent can replace it with his/her card provided it will have the same color along the left edge or the same effect. Below you can see exemplary exchange: Let's assume that the visitor ran out of cards which could match either the green colour or 5:1 effect. As a result the host triggers his/her effect, taking the 5:1 lead. 7. And that is more or less all. Next, we draw a lap card from the 2nd lap deck and again check if it is the finish line, straight or bend. The rules are easy to pick up and the game can be played almost instantly, even by newcomers. Only later, once we get to know all the cards (and our opponent’s style of play), strategic thinking kicks in. We start to analyze what cards have already been used, what our opponent might do, whether we should start the battle in the bend with our best effect or keep it for later use (or even keep it for the battle in the straight), etc. And finally we can throw actual riders and teams into the mix and this is where the real fun begins...

I'm at work until 6p.m., but after that I'm planning to do some nice little overview (with pictures) on how one heat plays.

We uploaded the rules only yesterday - so excellent timing, fourentee For anyone interested, download the full rulebook (also in English) from here.

Glad you see the potential. We also believe this may vastly enhance the experience.so we've decided to take it one step further and started contacting clubs from the Polish Ekstraliga to release expansion packs with their riders. It's looking very good at the moment as we have obtained the initial permission from the first two we have got in touch with. Of course, those expansions will not be necesarry to fully experience the game,- everyone is invited to use the names without having them spelled on the cards -,but I believe some collectors will consider it worthwhile (particularly that their price will be much lower as each "booster" pack will include only 20 cards). As for the mechanics, we are already on Board Game Geek and I think I will upload the full rule booklet there tomorrow. I'll inform about it as soon as I do that. During talks with the authorities of the Ekstraliga we were told that if the game is ever going to be released, we must remove a card called "biased referee" (which swung the heat's outcome one or the other player's way) - apparently it would ruin the speedway image for good . So I'm afraid no Frank Ebdon for you, sir. It is not that exact simulation You might be surprised if you knew how popular card games are. Just take a look at the Games Lore - UK's leading online retailer when it comes to board/card games. Just see the "card games" section - there are hundreds of them and I guess those guys are not doing it just for fun.

I believe that the nearest comparison to our game is "Arcana" made by the same manufacturer with exactly the same components (box, rule booklet, cards). , you can see what Arcana looks and plays like. It was initially sold at 25 euros - since it is out of stock now and there are only remains left, it dropped to 22. You can see it being sold here.I believe your assessment results from the fact that we are talking about two completely different kinds of games. I do not want to disparage "Top Trumps" - instead I will invite you to have a look at the general description of how MCS plays. We did. Within the first week of pre-order we sold 100 copies. We encourage you to have a closer look at MCS as we believe it to be a game which would greatly appeal to speedway fans. I assure you it is not a one-time experience. The replay value is immense - you can easily play entire seasons and still want more (as we did). And just imagine throwing actual riders into the mix - of course you can do it on your own, although we are already discussing terms with clubs from the Polish Ekstraliga to replace the default in-game rider cards with actual riders. @Fourentee You hit the nail on the head with almost everything. It IS light strategy/hand management mechanics and the comparison to Top Trumps is indeed invalid. You are also right about the problem with falling between two markets - the prices are nothing out of ordinary for board/card players, but speedway fans find them high. When we started promoting the idea of the game about two years ago, Polish fans reacted in similar fashion to the initial replies I got here. They claimed that for the game to sell for 18 pounds, it would certainly have to contain some electronic gimmicks. Only after we introduced them to the market of the "new wave" of board/card games, did they realized what we are offering. I hope we will get opportunity to do the same in Britain. Ask me anything. I can describe the gameplay in the slightest details P.S. In case you have some new questions I will not be able to answer them until tomorrow as I am a new user limited to only 3 posts per day.

Since youngsters tend to get rebelious I believe they need stimuli that engage them without them knowing that they are being engaged. This is exactly what we are trying to achieve here in Poland with the card game I wrote about in another thread. Simply speaking, the idea must come from the kids - or at least they need to have this impression. Not only does the game meet this criteria, but it is also contagious. You need one kid who enjoys it and he or she will gladly share the interest with others. What's more, since playing is fun in itself, those who do it don't even have to be speedway fans. They may start with the game and later ask friends what is this thing. I have this story from one board game convention where we were presenting MCS using cards with actual riders. One kid (about 13-14) spend a few hours at our table playing the game. Finally, having completed another match he said: "You invented a great sport, but tell me: where are you taking all these names from (funnily enough, he asked this question while looking at the card with Gollob)". So, as you can see, the guy had no idea that he was playing an existing sport, though I guess that after this convention he did find out what speedway is. Therefore, I think that voluntary fun is the way to go when trying to make speedway exciting to the young ones.