Designed by Mikal Krall and published by Sapient Ape, Speedcicleta is a quirky bike racing game for 2-5 players. The race will take you on a wild ride through a modular course with plenty of surprises. Beyond racing each other and trying to be the fastest, the riders also have to contest with all sorts of vehicles, pedestrians and a whole lot of wildlife. You would think that’s hard enough but in addition the players have the ability to wreak havoc on each other: the options range from causing a flat tyre to even crashing someone! Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to overcome these obstacles as long as you play your cards right...
The setup of the game is pretty straightforward and quick, and the large number of tiles opens up great variability in racing routes. Everybody gets a handful of cards and the rider who covers the distance the quickest wins the race. Firstly, there are the Move cards from 1 to 4. Then come the Affliction cards: these allow players to crash their competitors, cause a flat tyre or bust a wheel. Then come the Remedies cards: these help to counter the above effects and allow the affected player to carry on; without these, the player is forced to spend precious time (ie: four rounds) to sort out the problem. These are one-off cards but there are five Safeties cards as well which offer immunity from these problems if you are in possession of them.
Lastly, there are the other road users: the Squirrel, the Fox, the Deer, the Moose, two Pedestrians, a Car, a Truck and a Bus. The vehicles start at the beginning of the course and move a lot faster then the racers - when they overtake the riders, they move one space back. The pedestrians move slower, and to accommodate them the cyclist must slow down (ie: move one space back). To pass the animals, you need to spend at least 2-5 additional Move points, depending on the animal: as you might expect, it’s a lot easier to pass a Squirrel than the Moose! As the largest Move card is 4, the players can queue their Move cards to prepare for the move. One of the ‘Safeties’ cards allows the player in possession to simply pass the animals.
The game is pretty straightforward. Everybody starts with a hand of six cards. On your turn, you first move any of the movable obstacles, draw a card and, finally, play a card. If one has a dreadful hand, after the first step, they can forfeit the remaining steps and discard as many cards as they wish and they can draw up to the hand default of six. The rules are fairly simple, so it only takes a few rounds to get comfortable with them. Rounds are quick, ensuring minimal downtime, and optional rules let you adjust the game length for a customised experience
We've had plenty of fun playing Speedcicleta but at times it feels a bit like the cycling version of Thunder Road Vendetta (Restoration Games) because only around a third of the cards are Move cards, so players are likely to have a lot of Affliction, Remedies and Obstacle cards. In our plays at Board's Eye View, there were several occasions when a player ended up with a hand that simply didn’t contain any Move cards at all.
Despite these minor drawbacks, Speedcicleta is an enjoyable, well-produced game. Whether you're looking for a lighthearted race with friends, a family game for a rainy afternoon, or a quick and engaging game to fill some time, Speedcicleta might just be the ticket. It's easy to learn, quick to play, and offers enough variability to keep things interesting.
Speedcicleta is due to launch shortly on Kickstarter. Click here to find out more.
(Review by Balint Hamvas)