De-Randomizing The Circus
Circus Maximus Setup Revisions
by Bruce Monnin
Adapted from THE BOARDGAMER, Special Preview Issue, Aug 1995, pp 4-6

You've made it to the finals of the Circus Maximus tournament. Looking around at the other contestants, you see a lot of players who are known to prefer the heavy chariots and the combative style of play. So you decide to put two preparation points on team speed and one each on driver modifier and team endurance. Your plan is to outrun the pack at the beginning and then survive the gauntlet run on the final lap to claim victory. There's just one hitch to your strategy. During the setup phase, you roll a '6'; for both team speed and endurance while a couple of the heavy chariots roll '1's or '2's in these two categories. Suddenly these heavy chariots can go almost as fast (and as long) as you and your horses and chariot are doomed to be targets for many attacks from the big boys. Your whole strategy has been destroyed before the race has even started by two die rolls.

This may be an extreme example, but it happens to a lesser extent all the time. The final outcome of the race is heavily dependent on those two die rolls during setup. When you spend preparation points on the driver modifier and car type, you know exactly what you are getting. The team speed and team endurance are more of a crapshoot. In order to eliminate the problem mentioned earlier requires a system of receiving known team speed and endurance values for your preparation points.

Due to the large ranges of available team speed and endurance values, the number of preparation points has been doubled from four (4) to eight (8). This addition number of preparation points also works well in tournament play where an entrant who has won multiple qualifying heats can be rewarded (but not too greatly) with a ninth preparation point in the finals.

The Standard Game

The driver modifier remains essentially the same. You still need to spend half of your preparation points (4) to receive a 2 driver modifier. However, the option has been added to take the +3 driver, but you'll have precious few prep points left for anything else. The driver hits die roll has also been done away with. If you desire more driver hits, they can be purchased at three (3) driver hits per preparation point, although a method of more overall value would probably be to spend a second prep point to upgrade your driver a level.

The car category has been made to deliver a little more punch if you spend more than two (2) prep points and even less punch if you allocate no prep points. Also provided are five car types instead of just three to allow greater flexibility during setup. Maybe you want to do some attacking but not at the expense of no team speed. Then you can pick the heavy chariot instead of the ultra heavy, and save the extra prep point to acquire a little more team speed.

The team speed category is straightforward, with each preparation point providing an additional 2 movement factors and horse strength. Thus a team can range from a low speed of 14 (0 prep points) to a high of 22 (4 prep points). The team endurance category is similar with each prep point providing and additional 8 endurance points. Total team endurance varies from 22 (O prep points) to 70 (4 prep points).

Optional Features

The variable strength whip is one of my favorite options. Each preparation point spent gives a +1 modifier to all voluntary straining and lash attacks. The highest voluntary straining result attainable in one turn is still six (results above six are considered to provide six extra movement points and cost six endurance points, no more). An especially good choice for a light chariot, the heavier whip allows both the options of higher voluntary straining results when trying to run away from the pack and better results on the lash attack table when attacking becomes necessary. Also good for those 'sneaky' attacks, such as trying to swerve a chariot (into the spina or into another chariot), or whipping a team of horses (to speed them up before a corner or to use up their remaining endurance).

The counterweight is an option (although an expensive one) for those who like the flexibility of being able to fly through the corners. A standard chariot can only get through the ‘8' lane without risking a corner strain roll. A chariot with two points of counterweight can get through the ‘8’, ‘9’, ‘12’ and ‘15’ lanes without such a roll (and without any endurance cost). Considering that each counterweight point can save you one endurance point for each of the five corners (as opposed to gaining 12 endurance points with a prep point on team endurance), the player choosing counterweights will have to make other gains to make this option pay off. Probably best paired with some driver modifier points, the chariot with a counterweight is likely to be taking chances and rolling often on the corner strain table.

The wheel guard is just the opposite of the heavy whip. It is for the heavy chariots who wish to perform many ram attacks against the defenders' wheels. Normally a chariot can afford 1 point of wheel damage without any worry and 2 points of wheel damage with little worry. Each wheel guard point allows a chariot to perform more attacks with less chance of flipping himself. The wheel guard is probably not in the best interest of the light chariots, since they are likely to suffer wheel damage in greater bunches if they do not avoid their attackers. Therefore the preparation point is better spent on driver modifier, team speed or team endurance than on the wheel guard.

Chariot Setup Tables

Start with eight (8) Preparation Points instead of the usual four (4).

Driver Category:

Preparation Points	Driver Modifier	Driver Hits
0	0	4
2	+1	6
4	+2	8
6	+3	10

Driver Hits:
An additional three (3) driver hits may be purchased with an extra one (1) preparation point.

Car Category:

Preparation Points	Car Type	(Modifier To All Wheel And Horse Attacks)
0	Ultra Light	(-4)
1	Light	(-2)
2	Normal	(0)
3	Heavy	(2)
4	Ultra Heavy	(+4)

Team Speed Category:

Preparation Points	Horses 1-4	Total Team Speed
0	5324	14
1	5434	16
2	5445	18
3	6446	20
4	7447	22

Team Endurance Category:

Preparation Points	Endurance Points
0	22
1	34
2	46
3	58
4	70

Optional Setup Tables:

Whip Category:

Preparation Points	Whip Type	(Modifier For Lash Attacks)
0	Light	(0)
1	Medium	(+1)
2	Heavy	(+2)

Effects:
Lash Attack On Horses: Add modifier to attacker's die roll determining defender's horse strain
Lash Attack On Driver: Add modifier to lash factor
Voluntary Horse Straining: Add modifier to voluntary strain die roll (6 still the max)

Counterweight Category:

Preparation Points	Effect (Amount Added To Safe Corner Speed)
0	0
1	1
2	2
3	3

Wheel Guard Category:

Preparation Points	Effect (Starting Box For Wheel Damage)
0	0
1	1
2	2
3	3

For those of you Circus Maximus addicts, the WBC) Circus Maximus tournament is a must. Three qualifying heats are available during the week. In order to earn a berth in the championship race, you must win a preliminary heat

There is nothing quite like the feeling of being in the middle of a 12 to 16 chariot pack on the front straight and hoping you live long enough to fight it out for the whole three lap championship race.

The large number of chariots in the finals tends to make for a lot of shifting alliances as the lead switches back and forth. Everyone tries to position themselves in third or fourth place so that the other players attacker the leaders while they perform a last lap sprint for the finish line. A great time and a great experience for those who like the combination of a competition of skill where the players try not to take it too seriously.

Remember, it is better to crash in a blaze of glory than to meekly finish in the middle of the pack.

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