JRAOnline - 3-Lap/Cup Rules

J.R.A. Formula De/D

3-Lap/Cup Rules

- House Rules Disclaimer -

These rules are specifically modified for play in games with the J.R.A. We have messed with quite a few of them and want to warn anyone looking at this site that we in no way claim ownership or rights to these rules. They are only for personal use. Please drive responsibly.

Pit Lane/Pit Grid Turn

Exiting the Pits

Finishing

The Basics

Gears

The cars have 6 gears, each gear has its own die. The numbers on the dice tell you how many spaces to move the car. The higher the gear you choose, the faster and further the corresponding die will allow the car to travel (see movement table below). You are not allowed to skip gears when accelerating (e.g. changing straight from 1st to 3rd gear). You are allowed to skip 1, 2, or 3 gears when braking (e.g. from 6th to 4th or from 4th to 1st gear); however there is a penalty for doing this which will be explained later.

Driving

As in real life, the car starts in 1st gear. Then you shift up to 2nd gear and so on up to 6th gear, in order to move as fast as possible. When it is a driver's turn, they announce which gear they have chosen, move the gear stick on their dashboard accordingly, and then rolls the die which corresponds to the chosen speed. They then moves their car forward the number of spaces indicated on the die. When the move is finished, the car "stops". This concept is important especially in the corners.

Order of Play

In each round, the drivers play according to their car's position on the track.

In this example, Car "A" is in front of Car "B", so Car "A" would go first.

Same Position

If two cars on the track are level with each other, the driver with the highest gear plays first.

In this example, we are assuming that Car "A" is in 3rd gear, and Car "B" is in 2nd gear.

If both cars are in the same gear, the car nearest the inside with reference to the next (or the current) corner plays first.

This is a change from the "Whoever arrives first" rule from Formula De.

Driving Code

The cars drive in the track lanes. Different driving codes apply to corners and straights. Driving through other cars is generally not allowed - they must be driven around. Driving backwards is also not allowed.

Driving Code in the Corners

To drive through a corner, a car must stop a minimum number of times (indicated in the yellow box) within the limits of the corner. After the requisite number of stops, the car may exit the corner on its next move. To make it easier to drive through the corner, the driver should consider the indicated number of spaces. The number in the green box refers to the longest path, the number in the red box refers to the shortest path.

In this example, you would need 2 stops for this corner. The shortest path is 5 spaces, and the longest is 10 spaces.

Driving Code on the Straights

Straights are the portions of track between corners. Depending on the length of each straight, cars may need several rounds before entering the next corner.

Examples:

A - While driving in a straight line, a car may change two lanes in one direction.
B - "Zig-zag" driving is allowed when overtaking another car.
C - "Zig-zag" driving on a straight is not allowed (Except when passing). A cat may not change lane and return to the same lane during the same movement.
D - A further example of illegal movement.

Important: In Example "B", the maneuver must be completed using the smallest number of spaces possible.

Wear Points

Wear Points reflect the ability of the car to stay on the track and survive events during the race. Each car has a certain number of WP at the beginning of the race, which are divided up between six different categories. These points are distributed as seen in the Base column on the left.

Tires are used when overshooting corners. Soft and Hard tires have different base values
Brakes are used to slow the car
Gearbox allows you to skip gears while downshifting
Body measures physical damage/strength of the car
Engine is used only when a driver rolls a 20 or 30
Road Handling is grip and down force

Note: Values for some of these have changed

Car Construction (Cost) & Pit Repair (Pit)

In a 3-Lap race, each Team gets 4 points to allocate to Both of their cars using the Cost column in the center. This means that they can allocate 2 points to each car, or 4 points to just 1 car, etc...

When executing a Pit Stop, each car gets 3 points to spend from the Pit column on the right. Note that the cost of repair is sometimes different than the cost to initially upgrade. See the Pit Stop section for more information.

Weather

Beginning of a Race

Rain can play a crucial role in any race. At the beginning of a game, before driver tire choice, but after qualifying, a black die is rolled. The results are compared to the chart on the track board. One of three options will result:

Sunny Weather: A sunny dry day. It is less likely that you will see rain today
Changeable Weather: The possibility for instant rain is there
Raining Weather: The track is starting wet (And the Wet Weather Conditions rule is now active)

During a Race

When any Critical Event happens (20 on the blue die, 30 on the purple die, Driver Elimination), a weather check is rolled, and the results are compared to the chart on the track board. What results is based on what the weather started as. Use the list below to resolve any weather check:

Sunny > Sunny: Permanently Sunny (Do not roll weather for the remainder of the race)
Sunny > Changeable: Changeable
Sunny > Raining: Changeable
Changeable > Sunny: Sunny
Changeable > Changeable: Changeable
Changeable > Raining: Raining
Raining > Sunny: Changeable
Raining > Changeable: Changeable
Raining > Raining: Permanently Raining (Do not roll weather for the remainder of the race, and the Wet Weather Conditions rule is now active)

Wet Weather Conditions

This condition, when active, negates the multiple tire compound requirement in a race. Additionally, once active, this condition remains active for the remainder of the race, regardless of weather changes. It can be activated in one of three ways:

Raining Weather at Beginning of Race: If the initial roll for weather indicates Rain
Permanent Raining Weather: If the Permanently Raining condition is met during a weather check
Sustained Raining Weather: Using the Raining Turn Counter, add a tick each time a Turn starts and the weather is Raining. If the counter reaches 4 ticks, this condition is activated

To indicate this condition is active, flip the Wet Weather Conditions Marker from Inactive to Active

Tires

The correct choice of tires is fundamental, both for Qualifying and the Grand Prix itself. Soft tires allow you to go much faster, but also have less stamina. Hard tires have significantly more life, but they also do not give any benefits. In many ways, a successful tire strategy can win or lose you a race. It is extremely important to understand the benefits and detriments of each type in each weather condition.

Important: With the exception of Wet Weather Conditions, which were discussed in the previous section, it is required that each car run on 2 different compounds during each Grand Prix. You MUST pit at least once to change your tires for a different compound.

Dry Weather Conditions

Hard Tires: Hard tires in the dry provide no bonus to speed. They always start with a base WP of 6
Soft Tires: Soft tires in the dry gain a +1 movement bonus in corners and straights on every roll of the die. They always start with a base WP of 4
Wet Tires: Wet tires on dry track are terrible. They take a -1 on both corners and straights. They always start with a base WP of 7

Wet Weather Conditions

Hard Tires: Hard tires in the wet are squirrely. They gain +3 movement bonus in all corners, and -1 movement bonus on all straights. They always start with a base WP of 6
Soft Tires: Soft tires in the wet are squirrely. They gain +3 movement bonus in all corners, and -1 movement bonus on all straights. They always start with a base WP of 4
Wet Tires: Wet tires in the wet gain +1 movement bonus in corners and straights on every roll of the die. They always start with a base WP of 7

Tires with No WP Remaining

Any car with no WP remaining in their tires suffers a -1 movement bonus in corners and straights on every roll of the die. This is in addition to any modifiers for tire type and weather

Racing

Preparation for Play

The race is held on the circuit of your choice. The two halves of the game board are spread out on the table side by side. Each driver is given a car (or cars), a scorecard, a dashboard and a gear stick. The selected gear is marked on the dashboard with a gear stick piece. Each driver places a marker in each car zone - next to each part listed in the scorecard.

Qualifying

At this time, qualifying is a matter of chance instead of a matter of skill. There are currently 2 options for Qualifying:

Standard: Every driver uses the black die in order to determine the starting position of their car. The driver rolls twice, taking the higher of the two rolls. Whoever rolls the highest number gains pole position. The other cars are positioned in decreasing order according to the numbers rolled.
Elimination: Qualifying is done in 3 phases, eliminating the slowest cars in the first and second phases, and setting the cars grid position (In a 10 car race, the slowest 3 cars are eliminated in each phase. In an 8 car race, the slowest 2 cars are eliminated. In a 6 car race, the slowest 1 car is eliminated. In a 4 car race, phases 1 and 2 can be skipped).
- First and Second Phases: Every non-eliminated driver uses the black die in order to determine results of the phase. The driver rolls twice, taking the higher of the two rolls. The drivers with the lowest scores then set themselves on the last remaining places of the Grid Order Sheet, in descending order of their roll
- Third Phase: Every non-eliminated driver uses the black die in order to determine results of the phase. The driver rolls twice, taking the higher of the two rolls. The drivers then set themselves on the last remaining places of the Grid Order Sheet, in descending order of their roll.
- Setting the Grid: Cars are transferred from the Grid Order Sheet to their respective places on the starting grid

Important: For all qualifying types and phases, in the case of a tie between drivers, all concerned drivers roll an additional time to resolve their relative positions

Race Start

Before engaging 1st gear, every driver rolls the black die to see how successfully they start.

Pushing Your Car

In all cases of pushing your car, the Penalty is only applied if you must draw from a pool and cannot

(This is a change from the previous rule, where some pools took the penalty when you lost the last WP)

Overshooting

If a car passes through a corner at the end of its turn without making the required number of stops, it overshoots the corner. The number of spaces the car overshot the corner by is deducted from the car's tire WP as a penalty. You may overshoot the corner by as many spaces as you have tire WP for.

In this example, the car would lose 3 Tire Points. One for each space it overshot by.

Corner with 2 Stops: If the car has made no stops, it is automatically removed from play.
Corner with 3 Stops: If the car has made no stops, or only one stop, it is automatically removed from play.

When coming out of a corner after overshooting, the car may not change lanes, but must stay in the same lane. If the move ends in another corner, this stop does not count for the new corner. If the car is blocked by another car, they cannot drive around it and have to brake.

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, it spins around in a circle. The car is placed on the space where the penalty was applied, pointing backwards. The driver must turn their car round again and drive off in 1st gear when it is their next turn. If they overshoot a corner again, they will again spin around in a circle.

Braking

A driver may use their brake WP at any time to avoid having to advance the full number of spaces shown on the die. This can help to prevent losing tire WP if they would otherwise overshoot a corner, or in strategic placement of your car on track.

In this example, assume the driver must move 3 more spaces to complete their move. The driver decides to move only 1 space to avoid overshooting a difficult corner and therefore loses 2 Brake Points

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, it is unable to use braking in any form. This includes overshooting in to other cars.

Overshooting in to other cars: A driver can find themselves blocked by one or more cars which they are unable to overtake. After the driver has moved their car forward as many spaces as possible, they count how many spaces they would have moved if they had not been blocked. The table below shows how many brake WP and tire WP the car loses as a consequence. This wear is in addition to any wear used in overshooting a corner.

Note: If the car must draw from Brakes but cannot, count the brake requirement as satisfied

Gearing Down

A driver can skip one, two or three gears when changing gears down, however this wears out their gearbox, breaks, and possibly engine. As a result, the car then loses a certain number of brake WP, engine WP and gearbox WP. The table to the left lists the corresponding wear.

Note: It is not possible to skip four gears (from 6th to 1st gear)

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, the driver can only change down one gear at a time.

Vehicle Damage

Collision (D:1/W:1-2)

Whenever a car ends its move on a space next to or behind one or several cars, there is a risk of collision. All drivers involved in this situation must roll the black die to see whether there is a collision or not. First each threatened driver rolls once and records any damage. Then the driver who threatened the collision rolls once for each other car they are threatening.

Dry Weather: If a 1 is rolled, their car loses 1 car body WP, and 1 debris is placed on track
Wet Weather: If a number between 1-2 is rolled, their car loses 1 car body WP, and 1 debris is placed on track

In this example, the driver of Car "A" provokes a collision risk with the Cars "B", "C" and "D". Procedure is as follows: The drivers of Cars "B", "C" and "D" each roll the black die once to see if they collide with Car "A". Then the driver of Car "A" rolls the black die 3 times (Once for each car threatened) to determine whether they collide with them.

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, it is eliminated from the race.

Engine Damage (D:1-4/W:1-3)

If a driver rolls a 20 in 5th gear or a 30 in 6th gear, this puts a strain on their engine. After their car has finished moving, they must roll the black die to test whether their engine has withstood the strain.

Important: All drivers who are driving in 5th or 6th gear at this moment must also perform this check

Dry Weather: If a number between 1 and 4 is rolled, the corresponding car loses 1 engine WP, and 1 debris is placed on track
Wet Weather: If a number between 1 and 3 is rolled, the corresponding car loses 1 engine WP, and 1 debris is placed on track

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, it is eliminated from the race.

Damage and Road Handling (D:1-4/W:1-6)

Each time a car loses a car body WP or an engine WP, a damage marker is placed on the space where the move ended. The same applies whenever a car is eliminated from the race for whatever reason. These spaces are judged to be "dangerous" from then on. If a car passes over one of these spaces or lands on it, the driver must roll the black die.

Note: These dangerous spaces can be avoided by changing lanes

Dry Weather: If a number between 1 and 4 is rolled, the car loses one road handling WP
Wet Weather: If a number between 1 and 6 is rolled, the car loses one road handling WP

Penalty: When a car must draw from this pool and cannot, it is eliminated from the race.

Advanced Equipment

DRS (Drag Reduction System)

There are always 2 DRS Zones on each track. If a car drives in the wake of another car inside a designated DRS Zone, they can gain a significant advantage.

For the two concerned drivers, DRS is possible from the 4th gear on, and the car must be driving as fast as or faster than the car in front.

If a car wants to profit from DRS after moving, it has to stop directly behind another car. From this position they can then add 3 spaces onto their last move. The driver can move forward 3 spaces in the following ways:

- Change a lane, overtake the car in front and return to the original lane
- Change a lane and move two spaces in a straight line
- Change two lanes and move one space in a straight line

The driver must move a total of three spaces in any case. (However, the driver may use brake WP in order to reduce this number of spaces.) If DRS brings a car up immediately behind another car, they can carry on DRS (and so on).

Some notes:

- If a car is carried into a corner by DRS, they lose a brake WP (without the number of spaces being reduced).
- Braking in order to take advantage of DRS in the wake of another driver's car is not allowed.
- Drivers do not have to use DRS!
- Collision should happen in order (In case a double DRS happens)

KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System)

After completing EACH lap, a car gets 2 KERS points to spend (A car does not have KERS on the first lap). A car can have a maximum of 2 KERS points at any time.

A driver can spend one or both of their KERS points at any time. For each point spent the drivers car advances 1 extra space. All normal rules apply when using this extra space.

Pit Stops

At the end of any lap, a driver may decide to make a pit stop to regain all the tire WP they have lost. The Pit Lane has special rules that differ from the original game.

Note: The rules for gearing down, collision, braking and engine damage do not apply in the pit lane. Overtaking is not possible as it is a single lane.

Entering the Pits

To enter the pits you need to roll the minimum number required or higher to cross the Pit Entry Line (A). As soon as the car enters the pits, it receives all its tire WP back. It is then placed on the Pit Grid (B)*, In Car Pitting, in the order it arrived in the pit.
* See Pit Lane/Pit Grid Turn below

At this time the driver must declare two things:

1. What type of tire they will be using
2. What type of pit they will be taking (Quick Stop or Full Stop)

- - If choosing to Full Stop they must also declare what points if any they are spending on car repair. using the chart provided

Full Stop (Recommended): If you choose to execute a Full Stop, your car remains on the Car Pitting row in the order it arrived. During a Full Stop a car can swap its tires AND spend up to 3 points to repair their car. Remember to record any unused points as these add to your bonus coming out of the pits.

- Full Stop: Place your car on the first open spot in the Car Pitting row on the Pit Grid (B)

Quick Stop: If you choose to forgo repairs to your car, and are willing to take the risk of botching your stop, you can attempt a Quick Stop. During a Quick Stop you regain only your tires, but have the chance to gain an advantage over the other people pitting with you. Roll a D20 and consult the following list:

- Roll of 14-20: Quick Stop!! Place your car on the first open spot in the Quick Stop column on the Pit Grid (B)
  - This should be placed after any cars already in the Pit Lane Entry row.
- Roll of 6-13: Minimal Advantage!! Place your car on the Car Pitting row, at the top of the column, on the Pit Grid (B)
  - If there are other cars in the pit column that have advanced from a Botched Stop, or chose to Full Stop, the car will be placed before these cars in the column
  - If other cars have attempted to Quick Stop, and gotten a Minimal Advantage result, the car will be placed after these cars in the column
- Roll of 1-5: Botched Stop!! Place your car on the first open spot in the Botched Stop row on the Pit Grid (B)

Note: All cars are placed in order from first to last starting at the top of each row.

Additional: The costs of repairs was changed. Engine now costs 2

Pit Lane/Pit Grid Turn

At the end of the turn, after all cars On Track have gone, the Pit Lane (C) and Pit Grid (B) go.

Cars move in order from closest to being track, to furthest (On the Pit Grid, this is from Right to Left). See below:

1. Cars in the Pit Lane (C), starting with the car closest to the Pit Lane Exit Line (D) and working backwards

- - Cars may not exceed 4th gear while in the Pit Lane (C). No car may pass another while in the Pit Lane (C)

1. Cars in the Pit Lane Exit row move on to the Pit Lane (C) in order (See Exiting the Pits)
2. Cars in the Working on Car row move to the Pit Lane Exit row in order
3. Cars in the Pit Lane Entry/Quick Stop row move to the Working on Car row in order
4. Cars in the Car Pitting row move to the Pit Lane Entry row in order
5. Cars in the Botched Stop row move to the Car Pitting row in order

Finally, all cars remaining in the Pit Grid (B) are moved Up in their respective columns. This is only needed to place each car next to one another in the row. (This one is much simpler than it sounds. Just move em up so there are no spaces between cars in each column.)

Exiting the Pits

You've made it! Your pit crew has released you and you are exiting the pits!
(This should only be if your car spent this turn in the Pit Lane Exit and you are now in the Pit Lane/Pit Grid phase of the turn)

Important!! Drivers have to be patient and wait until the car ahead of them moves forward, regardless of selected gear and with no effect on their WP. You may not pass in the Pit Lane, but you do not take penalties to your car either.

To reenter the track from the Pit Grid, use the following steps:

1. Place your car on the first space in the Pit Lane (Marked as C above).
2. (Optional) If you elected to Full Stop, move your car forward any number of spaces up to the number you have remaining from your pit. You may not overtake another car in this way. This option is not available to those that Quick Stop.
3. Select a gear to start in. You may not start in any gear above 3rd.
  - Important!! Be sure to think about things like other drivers, the distance to the pit exit, and the distance to the next corner.
4. Roll a die and move that number of spaces.
  - Reminder: You may not overtake another car in this way.

You are now in the Pit Lane, and on the next turn you will go according to the order in the Pit Lane/Pit Grid Turn section.

Finishing

The driver whose car passes the finishing line first (after the determined number of laps) has won the race. The race ends when all cars have crossed the finishing line and negotiated the 1st turn, in order to enable ranking.

Important: In order to confirm the victory, the driver must successfully negotiate turn 1. They are allowed to use points from their car to accomplish this. If they fail to negotiate the turn, they are disqualified.