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Old 04-28-2019, 10:36 PM   #1
TheAmishStig
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lancaster, PA
Default 6th Edition Movement Sticks for Classic in 3D

I present, for your consideration, The Jericho---wait, no, that's not right...a "Car Wars Classic Turning Stick". https://i.imgur.com/bsLFuko.jpg

The big problem with playing Car Wars in 3D is the offical Turning Keys; in-scale ones take up a lot of real estate. Playing with cardboard counters and graph paper it's no big deal, but once obstacles are made out of wood and the cars are miniatures, the amount of space needed for a proper Turning Key becomes a precious commodity.

For the past 3 years I've been trying various options for a more "3D-friendly" version...but without much success. Ones that are used with the side of the car can only ameliorate the problem and not solve it; ones that are used with the front of the car require...feats of manual dexterity, let's put it that way...to both position and write on legibly.

In that respect, the trip to Texas a month ago was fortuitous: one of the things that was just plain elegant during the 6E games were maneuvers. Lay the stick alongside the car, line up the 'start' mark, move the car to the 'finish' mark, and if bending rotate the car over the stick [the center of the base is elevated for specifically this purpose]. Laying sleepless in the hotel, planes roaring overhead and needing to be up in 4 hours for my flight home, it dawned on me: a 6E style stick could be the solution to my problems. A laminated print-out could be slid under the car when there was no room to place a stick beside, neatly solving the 'no free space' problem...and even in places where front-rear space is an issue, using a thin enough pouch would leave it flexible enough to cope.

Too many hours in GIMP and about a half-dozen friends/relatives turned into guinea pigs later, and what's linked above is the result. It's for 2X, so is 6 1/2" long, 1" wide, and laminated in a 3mil pouch. The dividers for bends assume the car is on top...to use it 'beside' the car, use the opposite bend [left bend beneath = right bend beside] and invert the D ratings...6 becomes 1, 1 becomes 6, etc.

Not pictured: It's double-sided, with left Bends and left Drifts on the other side.
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Old 04-28-2019, 11:58 PM   #2
svawter
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Default Re: 6th Edition Movement Sticks for Classic in 3D

Having just run a 4th ed game using Micromachines at Slug-A-Thon 25 in Santa Cruz using home made scaled up turn keys which I apparently mis-sized a bit (the full move is shy about 10% 😒) I was just thinking how much I love the new CW 6th ed turning tongue depressors and how I'd have to make some prior to my next game!

Any chance you have a PDF of these so we can PnP our own? Although, not sure how SJG will feel about such a play aid made by fans... "should"™ be "fine"™?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAmishStig View Post
I present, for your consideration, The Jericho---wait, no, that's not right...a "Car Wars Classic Turning Stick". https://i.imgur.com/bsLFuko.jpg

The big problem with playing Car Wars in 3D is the offical Turning Keys; in-scale ones take up a lot of real estate. Playing with cardboard counters and graph paper it's no big deal, but once obstacles are made out of wood and the cars are miniatures, the amount of space needed for a proper Turning Key becomes a precious commodity.

For the past 3 years I've been trying various options for a more "3D-friendly" version...but without much success. Ones that are used with the side of the car can only ameliorate the problem and not solve it; ones that are used with the front of the car require...feats of manual dexterity, let's put it that way...to both position and write on legibly.

In that respect, the trip to Texas a month ago was fortuitous: one of the things that was just plain elegant during the 6E games were maneuvers. Lay the stick alongside the car, line up the 'start' mark, move the car to the 'finish' mark, and if bending rotate the car over the stick [the center of the base is elevated for specifically this purpose]. Laying sleepless in the hotel, planes roaring overhead and needing to be up in 4 hours for my flight home, it dawned on me: a 6E style stick could be the solution to my problems. A laminated print-out could be slid under the car when there was no room to place a stick beside, neatly solving the 'no free space' problem...and even in places where front-rear space is an issue, using a thin enough pouch would leave it flexible enough to cope.

Too many hours in GIMP and about a half-dozen friends/relatives turned into guinea pigs later, and what's linked above is the result. It's for 2X, so is 6 1/2" long, 1" wide, and laminated in a 3mil pouch. The dividers for bends assume the car is on top...to use it 'beside' the car, use the opposite bend [left bend beneath = right bend beside] and invert the D ratings...6 becomes 1, 1 becomes 6, etc.

Not pictured: It's double-sided, with left Bends and left Drifts on the other side.
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Old 04-29-2019, 01:10 AM   #3
schoon
 
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Oakland, CA, USA
Default Re: 6th Edition Movement Sticks for Classic in 3D

Excellent work!
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Old 04-29-2019, 09:48 AM   #4
TheAmishStig
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lancaster, PA
Default Re: 6th Edition Movement Sticks for Classic in 3D

Quote:
Originally Posted by svawter View Post
Having just run a 4th ed game using Micromachines at Slug-A-Thon 25 in Santa Cruz using home made scaled up turn keys which I apparently mis-sized a bit (the full move is shy about 10% ��) I was just thinking how much I love the new CW 6th ed turning tongue depressors and how I'd have to make some prior to my next game!

Any chance you have a PDF of these so we can PnP our own? Although, not sure how SJG will feel about such a play aid made by fans... "should"™ be "fine"™?
If someone official comes along and weighs in on my uncertainties re: protocol (below) with a "if you do [this], you're good to go"...sure!

Generally 'Da Rulez' for play aids are "If it's for your own personal use, more power to you and thank you for being so passionate about our games"...it's distributing them where SJG then requires licensing agreements, adherence to the Online Policy, and etc.

For these...I'm not sure on the protocol. They should fall under 'Adhere to the Online Policy and you're good', but I don't know what to do about satisfying the disclaimer requirement. I could put the necessary disclaimers on the pages easily enough, but I don't know if that'd pass muster because the pages are meant to be cut up and turned into individual sticks; there's no room on the sticks themselves for a readable disclaimer, that's for sure.
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Ogre 134th Battalion

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Last edited by TheAmishStig; 04-29-2019 at 02:00 PM.
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