Ave Caesar Variant Rules

Starting Positions

The winner of the last race may occupy position 1, the one who was second gets position 2 and so on. Adjust the seating order around the table, so everybody takes his turn clockwise.

Missed Turns

If a player may not move, he misses a turn and puts a card at the bottom of his deck, drawing a replacement.

Crash and Burn

If a player is in the lead with only sixes in his hand, his chariot crashes and blocks the square it is in for the rest of the game. This may mean that no one can win; in this case, no points are awarded for this race.

Dishonor

If a player is blocked from entering the Imperial Alley, he still must move. At the end of the race, players who failed to give Caesar his tribute are executed, and score no points.

Ausgebremst Scoring:

The scores for race rank are 9 / 6 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 instead.

Non-player Chariots

The race should have a full starting line-up. For example, if three players are playing using the 4-chariot race track, the 4th chariot will be a non-player chariot.

The non-player chariots get their cards and coins just like the players, except that they do not draw a hand of cards, playing the first card from their decks instead.

Their decks should be laid out between the last and first players. Non-player chariots move first (and occupy the first starting spaces). They move to their best advantage, even if this is to the disadvantage of a player.

In case of dispute, the majority of the players decide; the trailing player gets to break any deadlocks. Non-players that run out of cards are removed from play.

If a non-player cannot use the card he drew, put the card back under his deck without moving his chariot. The same happens if a leading non-player draws a 6. Non-players will try to stop in the Imperial Alley on their first lap.

Ausgebremst Adaptation

Three important changes in the Ausgebremst Adaptation reduce the luck factor and allow for more tactics by the players. An experienced player has more of an advantage over a beginner than in the basic game.

1. Each player has the option of bypassing the Imperial Alley if he thinks he can finish, or stopping in the Imperial Alley to collect one or two extra movement cards (put aside during set up), which can then be used to finish the race.

2. Each player, before each race, chooses among 3 possible card combinations in his color.

3. The last major change is that, before each race, players sort their cards into 3 face down card piles. From these piles players draw their two (instead of three) cards.

Imperial Deck

One or two cards are taken out of the deck and put aside to form that player's "Imperial Deck". Those cards can be recovered only if the player stops to pay Caesar's tribute (which is now optional). The specific cards put aside depend on which track is used:

Slow (normal) Race Card Deck

This is the standard 24 card deck of the following composition: 4 x "6" 4 x "5" 4 x "4" 4 x "3" 4 x "2" 4 x "1"

Average Race Card Deck

This is a 20 card deck of the following composition: 5 x "6" 4 x "5" 4 x "4" 4 x "3" 3 x "2" (the "1" cards are treated as "6")

Fast Race Card Deck

This is an 18 card deck of the following composition: 7 x "6" 4 x "5" 3 x "4" 2 x "3" 2 x "2" (the "1" cards are treated as "6")

The Three Piles

Before play, the chosen deck (once the requisite cards have been removed to form the Imperial deck) is split in three face down piles, each of which may contain cards of only one or two numerical values.

During play, each player holds only two cards in his hand and draws from one of the three piles without checking the piles' contents (i.e. he must remember how he split his cards). Each pile is shuffled separately before play begins.

When stopping in the Imperial Alley, the first Imperial deck card is used to replenish the just-played card, whilst the second Imperial deck card (if any) is placed on top of one of the three piles.

Non-players

Non-player chariots do not stop in the Imperial Alley and are played otherwise exactly as in the basic game (e.g., they do not prepare three piles nor put aside an Imperial deck but still draw their cards one at a time from a 24 card deck of 84 movement points).

No Final 6

This variant involves just the tiniest tweak to try to prevent a last card draw from ruining a player's chance of winning. At the beginning of the game, each player shuffles his deck and deals out his hand as usual.

He may then look privately at the bottom card of his deck. If this card is a 6, then he may show it to the other players, reshuffle his deck, and repeat the process until he no longer has a 6 as his last card.

The idea is that having a 6 as your last card usually is a disaster. This variant prevents that from happening, plus it provides a little information to help you plan your final run toward the finish line.

Ram

This variant is a little more vicious - you can play a 1 to swap positions with a chariot immediately in front of you (the "ram"). This tends to lead to fewer people finishing the race, but is wicked fun!

Two-player Game

To play with just two players, use Track B, and give each player three chariots, one of which will be the player's main chariot. The starting order (and turn order) is as follows:

P1, P2, P1, P2, P1 Main, P2 Main.

For your secondary decks, you simply shuffle the entire deck and place it in front of you next to its coin. For your main deck, follow the setup detailed in the Ausgebremst Adaptation (3 piles).

Draw 2 cards from each chariot's deck(s). (For your main deck, you will choose which piles to draw your 2 cards from, and for your secondary decks, you simply will draw 2 cards from each).

You should then have 6 cards in your hand, 2 of each color. Now play as normal, using the following score table for your main chariot and secondary chariot:

Play a predetermined number of races (3 is good). Keep the starting positions in an alternating fashion, but choose which player goes first, based on who placed first in the previous race (in finishing, not in total points). Your secondary chariots always start before your main chariot in the starting grid.

Three-player Game

Use either track, and give each player two chariots, one of which will be his main chariot. The starting order (and turn order) is as follows:

P1, P2, P3, P1 Main, P2 Main, P3 Main

For your secondary decks, you simply shuffle the entire deck and place it in front of you next to its coin. For your main deck, follow the setup detailed in the Ausgebremst Adaptation (3 piles).

Draw 2 cards from each chariot's deck(s). (For your main deck, you will choose which piles to draw your 2 cards from, and for your secondary decks, you simply will draw 2 cards from each).

You should then have 4 cards in your hand, 2 of each color. Now play as normal, using the following score table for your main chariot and secondary chariot:

Play a predetermined number of races (3 is good). Keep the starting positions in an alternating fashion, but choose which player goes first, based on who placed first in the previous race (in finishing, not in total points).

Your secondary chariots always start before your main chariot in the starting grid.