Colonial Canoe Race

I recently received some inquiries for my home brew canoe racing rules. So I have decided to post them here on my blog for all. They are nothing intricate, as they were devised late one night after a few pints of beer, but our club had a great time playing them the following day.

The idea behind the game was that a wealthy land owner from the Ohio Territory was offering his daughter's hand in marriage, along with a large tract of land. The invitation went out to all of the best adventurers in the colonies, and the reward was to be decided by a canoe race.

Game Set-up:

The canoes that we use are the cheap plastic ones that you can find at the local craft store. I got mine from Michael's in the section for school dioramas. Primed black, and dry brushed either grey or brown, they look pretty good. To fill out the crews, we drafted some American militia figures out of our club's French and Indian War collection. Because of the way we have them based for our F&I game, four figures fit comfortably into one canoe.

The game board could be set up in any manner. To get the best use out of my 6x8' game table, a U shaped water course would do the job. I then divided the course in two, with inside and outside tracks. When the players reached the turn in the course, canoes that were on the inside track would have to switch to the outside track, and vice versa. This would ensure that everyone traveled roughly the same distance.

Rapids were designated on the table using a lighter blue cloth (cut to equal the length of a canoe). I placed mine so that they were more or less equidistant from each other. Rocks were used to help divided the tracks visually. The table ended up having a total of seven legs with six rapids.

Each leg of the course (the area in between rapids) has a Current Rating, numbered 1 through 3. The current rating is an additional distance in inches a canoe moves each turn.

Each hazard on the course has a Rapid Rating, numbered 3 through 6. The rapid rating must be passed on a die roll for a canoe to pass safely through the hazard without flipping.

I also cut out two circular pieces of light blue cloth to represent Whirlpools, and these were to be placed directly behind the rapids. To be fair, they should be placed on the course so that each group of canoes (being on different tracks) will encounter one whirlpool.

Native Americans out of our F&I collection would serve as hostiles lurking in the forests firing at passing canoes. They can be placed randomly. We put five of them on the board, on legs two through six.

And finally, I also picked up a miniature toy bear that I found at Michael's. The bear can be placed in a rapid which is then designated as it's fishing area, ready to attack any passing intruders.

All of these things can be placed randomly on the table by the game designer or players before play begins, or they can placed as the game progresses. We have been doing the latter, so that we do not know what to expect along the course.

Each player then selected the colony they would hail from, and crewed their canoe with four strong men. We labeled each canoe so we could tell them apart. The canoes were then placed on the starting line, with half of the players on the inside track and half on the outside track.

Playing the Game:

The game is turn based, with each player doing one 'action' per turn. Player activation is done randomly. We used labeled poker chips pulled out of a bag, but playing cards would work just as well. When the player's chip or card is pulled, they activate and move, pass through rapids, etc.

The Paddle Die Roll is determined by the number of men in the canoe. With four men roll a 12 sided die, with three men a 10 sided die, with two men an 8 sided die, and with one man a 6 sided die. This die roll plus the current rate gives the total inches of movement for the turn. Movement in measured from the front of the canoe.

Number of Men Paddling:
1 Man (D6), 2 Men (D8), 3 Men (D10), 4 Men (D12)

Paddle Die Roll + Current Rate = Inches of Movement

If the front of the canoe touches a rapid, place the canoe inside the rapid area (disregarding however many inches of movement were left). When the player activates next turn, the crew will have to test to see if they pass safely through the hazard. The Paddle Die Roll is made and compared with the Rapid Class number. If the die roll is higher than the rapid number, the crew passes through safely, and the canoe is placed outside with the rear of the canoe touching the rapid. If the die roll is equal to or less than the rapid number, place the canoe in the same way but tipped on its side with the men in the water next to it.

Paddle Die Roll VS Rapid Class:
If the roll is higher than the rapid number the crew passes safely, otherwise the canoe flips.

If the canoe flips, the crew will have to try to climb back in on the following turn. A six sided die is rolled for each man to make this attempt. A roll of 3 or better is needed to be successful, otherwise the man remains in the water.

To Re-crew a Canoe, roll a D6 for each man:
1-2 Remain in the water, 3-6 Climb into the canoe

After this attempt is made, the canoe and any man left in the water, drift down stream at the current rate. On the next turn, if there are still crew in the water, the player must choose to either start paddling and leave them behind, or continue to try to get them back in the canoe. If the latter, the men in the canoe can give a Helping Hand (+1 modifier to the die roll) to any man still in the water. As long as crew are in the water, the player may attempt to get them back in, but may loose precious time in doing so. Remember to move the canoe and any 'swimmers' with the current each turn.

If a rapid shoot ends in a whirlpool, and the canoe flipped in the rapids, any men that cannot climb back into the canoe will drown. This can be very bad for players who roll poorly.

In our game, we had hostiles spread throughout the length of the course (only one per leg), taking pot shots at passing canoes. At the beginning of a turn, before anyone moves, Natives will shoot at passing canoes. If there are multiple canoes in the target area, make a die roll to randomly determine which canoe will become the target. Canoes on the inside track are at close range, and canoes on the outside track at long range.

Roll a D6 for the shot:
A roll of 5-6 kills a man at close range, and a 6 kills a man at long range

The Bear will attack passing canoes in it's fishing area. This is done at the beginning of the turn before anyone moves. If there are multiple canoes in the rapids, make a die roll to determine which canoe will become the target. The bear will first attempt to flip the canoe, and if successful, it will attack each man in the water individually.

Roll a D6 for the attack:
on a roll of 4-6 the bear flips the canoe, and a subsequent roll of 6 kills a man (roll for each man)

If the bear does not flip the canoe, the crew must still make their regular attempt to pass the rapids when they activate.


Well, that's it - simple but fun. If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave me a comment and I will get back to you as quickly as possible. Our club was also thinking of adding some crew vs crew combat to the game. No exchanges of musket fire though - that wouldn't be gentlemanly. Perhaps some paddle thwacking and trying to tip the competition's canoe. I will add any additional rules to this post when we get around to it.

Enjoy!

Movement:

Number of Men Paddling:
1 Man (D6), 2 Men (D8), 3 Men (D10), 4 Men (D12)

Paddle Die Roll + Current Rate = Inches of Movement
____________________________________________________

Rapids:

Paddle Die Roll VS Rapid Class:
If the roll is higher than the rapid number the crew passes safely, otherwise the canoe flips.

To Re-crew a Canoe, roll a D6 for each man:
1-2 Remain in the water, 3-6 Climb into the canoe

+1 'Helping Hand' modifier
____________________________________________________

Whirlpools:

Men that cannot climb back into a canoe will drown.
____________________________________________________

Natives:

Roll a D6 for the shot:
A roll of 5-6 kills a man at close range, and a 6 kills a man at long range
____________________________________________________

Bear:

Roll a D6 for the attack:
on a roll of 4-6 the bear flips the canoe, and a subsequent roll of 6 kills a man (roll for each man)