GAME DESCRIPTION

Route 66 is a game where players compete to be the first to travel between Chicago and Santa Monica. The game uses digital Dice and digital Route 66 Draw Cards. There are two versions of the game (Easy and Advanced). Each version works differently. In the Easy version, players compete against each other, but they don't attack each other. In the Advanced version, players both compete with and attack each other.

In the Easy version, players take turn rolling dice. A 1 or 2 will result in drawing a Route 66 Draw Card which will be either a SIDE TRIP or a ROAD HAZARD. Side trips cause the player to lose that turn, so they make no further advancement in their race to Chicago. Road Hazards cause the player to lose two turns, so they make no further advancement in their race that turn, and they lose their next turn as well. A 3 or 4 roll will advance them 1 segment. A 5 or 6 roll will advance them 2 segments. A 6 roll will also result in them getting to roll the dice again.

The rest of this document will talk about the Advanced version of the game.

The Advanced version of the game pits player against player. Each player is dealt 4 cards. Players take turns playing one of their four cards. There are 4 types of Route 66 cards: Side Trip, Road Hazard, Move Ahead, and Fix-It. Side Trip and Road Hazard cards are played on another player. Move Ahead cards are played on yourself. Fix-It cards are used to immediately fix a Road Hazard. When a Road Hazard is played on a player, that player will either play a Fix-It card or they will roll the dice. Depending on their roll they will lose up to 3 turns. When a Side Trip is played on a player, they will lose their next 2 turns. When a player plays a Move Ahead card on themself, they will roll the dice to determine how many segments they will move ahead (a six roll will let them roll the dice again). As each Route 66 card is played, another automatically replaces it so that each player will always have 4 cards to choose from. The percentage breakdown of the different types of Route 66 cards are: Move Ahead (50%), Side Trips (20%), Road Hazards (20%), and Fix-It (10%).

SEEING RESULTS OF OTHER PLAYERS MOVES
You will always see the results of your own plays immediately. But in order to see the results of the other players moves, you will need to choose one of two ways. The best way is to tap the AUTO CHECK button. Players will see that button when it someone else's turn (the button is not visible when it is your turn to play). Tapping it once will result in the game checking for new results every 4 seconds. The second way is for each player to tap the CHECK ONCE button whenever the other players tell them that they have finished their play. Think of the CHECK ONCE button as a screen refresh that allows you to see the current status of the game. Players can cancel the Auto Check feature by tapping the STOP AUTOCHECK button which replaces the AUTO CHECK and CHECK ONCE buttons when auto check is activated. Some iPad users find that auto check causes screen flickering. Changing the frequency of checks to every 8, 10, or 12 seconds (see next paragraph) may fix that. Some players prefer to turn off Auto Checking. They tap the STOP AUTOCHECK button and then tap the CHECK ONCE button whenever another player announces that they have finished their play.

CHANGING FREQUENCY OF AUTO CHECKS
Players can change the frequency of checks by tapping the ADJUST TIMING button found at the bottom of the screen (section 6 of basic layout). When you tap it, you will need to scroll down to see the timing choices (check every 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 seconds).

STARTING THE PLAY
Sheila has been selected to go first. The Basic Layout image for the Advanced version is what she would see. Her name is in RED letters to help her quickly see her location and status. Since the host chose to have this race to travel East (go from Santa Monica to Chicago), Sheila and the other players all start in Santa Monica, and all are ready to advance.

The other players will tap their AUTO CHECK buttons. Sheila will tap her AUTO CHECK button after she completes her first turn. For now, she needs to choose one of the four Route 66 cards to play. Each player is randomly dealt 4 cards at the start of the game. Sheila was very lucky, and she received one of each (how convienent), so she has a full range of options open to her. She can choose to attack one of the other players by tapping either the pink colored SIDE TRIP card or the pink colored ROAD HAZARD card. After tapping the card, she would then tap the target button for one of the other players. The Side Trip card carries a mandatory loss of two turns for the person she plays it on (there is no defense against it). The Road Hazard carries a possible loss of 1-3 turns, but there is a chance that the person it was played against may have a green colored FIX-IT card which they can play. The Fix-It card immediately "corrects" the problem, and the "target" player suffers no loss at all. If the target player does not have a Fix-It card, or if they choose not to use it, then they will roll the dice to determine how many turns they will lose. A good row of 5 or 6 will result in them losing only 1 turn. A poor row of 1 or 2 will cause them to lose 3 turns. A mediocre row of 3 or 4 will cost them 2 turns. Sheila chose to play a Road Hazard on Bill.

HAZARD CARD PLAYED ON BILL
All players will now see same top section of the screen, telling them that Sheila has played a Road Hazard card on Bill (his car battery is not charging), and that he must now either play a Fix-It card or roll the dice. Each player will only see their own 4 Route 66 Draw Cards. Bill sees his own cards, and he happens to have a Fix-It card. He can either play it (and not lose any turns at all), or he can choose to roll the dice and hope to roll a 5 or 6 (only losing 1 turn). He might choose to do that with the intent of keeping the Fix-It card for the end part of the game when it might make a Win or Lose difference. Since I'm Bill, and I don't worry about that possibility at the very start of the game, I will choose to play my light green Fix-It card (and yell "Ha"). To do this Bill simply taps his Fix-It card.

BILL FIX'D IT
Bill fixed the problem, and so he does not lose any turns. And, since Bill follows Sheila, he gets to play now. Notice that he again has 4 cards. He still has the 3 cards from before, and his Fix-It card has been replaced with a Side Trip card. Also, notice that since no one has advanced anywhere yet, all players are still in Santa Monica. The other players will know that Bill has played a Fix-It card because his "Last Action" now says "Mater AAA Garage fixed Road Hazard" (shucks).

Being vindictive, Bill decides to play his Road Hazard card on Sheila. He taps the Road Hazard card, and then he taps Sheila.

SHEILA HAS HAZARD CARD PLAYED ON HER
Bill has played a Road Hazard card on Sheila. Note that her Road Hazard is different. She has received a speeding ticket. Road Hazards are chosen randomly. There are 20 different ones. All can be fixed by playing a Fix-It card (please don't ask me how Mater's Towing Service can fix a speeding ticket - just go with the flow). Sheila will choose to roll the dice (and keep her Fix-It card for later). (This is not a poor decision she is making - it is simply my way of showing what happens when a player rolls the dice.) Sheila will tap the TAP HERE TO ROLL DICE button.

SHEILA ROLLS THE DICE
Sheila tapped the TAP HERE TO ROLL DICE button, she now sees that she rolled a 3, and will lose 2 turns. Notice that her location bar is still GREEN, and that her STATUS shows "Ready" even though her last action was receiving a speeding ticket. This will change as soon as she taps the TAP HERE TO CONTINUE GAME button (this is because a Road Hazard might be immediately fixed). It wasn't Sheila's turn to play (because Pat follows Bill), but the attacked player has to deal with the Road Hazard (or Side Trip) that is played on them before the game continues with the next player's turn.

PAT'S TURN
Sheila tapped the CONTINUE button, and it is now Pat's turn to play. Notice that Sheila's location is now in RED to indicate that she is stopped. Her status shows that she loses two turns, and her last action continues to show that she received a speeding ticket. Pat decides to play a Side Trip card on Bill.

BILL ACKNOWLEDGES SIDE TRIP
Bill must acknowledge that he is taking a side trip. Notice that since Bill is in California, his side trip will be to some location in California. Also notice that Bill and Sheila are both stopped, and that both of them show that they will lose 2 turns. This is because there is no getting out of a side trip - so the game is able to show the current status right away. Bill will tap the CONTINUE button.

SHEILA ACKNOWLEDGES LOST TURN
Pat played the Side Trip card on Bill. He acknowledged it, and it is now Sheila's turn. Other players will see the message that Sheila is stopped and that she must pass to the next player. Only Sheila will see tap the TAP HERE TO PASS button.

BILL ACKNOWLEDGES LOST TURN
Bill now needs to TAP HERE TO PASS as well. Notice that the game status now shows that Sheila only needs to lose 1 turn. Bill still shows that he needs to lose 2 turns - but this will change as soon as he passes.

PAT'S TURN
Sheila and Bill have both passed once. They both now show that they still need to lose 1 more turn. Pat plays her light green MOVE AHEAD card on herself. She taps the MOVE AHEAD card and then she taps the PAT button.

PAT'S ROLLS THE DICE
Pat now must roll the dice. She does this by tapping the ROLL DICE button. Only Pat will see the ROLL DICE button.

PAT ROLLS A SIX
Lucky Pat rolled a 6. She will get to move forward 2 sections, and then she will get to roll again.

PAT ROLLS AGAIN
Pat is now ready to roll again. Notice that her position now shows that she has moved two sections and is about to leave Needles.

PAT ROLLS A TWO
Pat rolled a 2. Her position hasn't changed yet, because she needs to tap the MOVE FORWARD button.

SHEILA PASSES
Pat tapped the MOVE FORWARD button and her position now shows her entering Flagstaff. Play will now pass to Sheila, who will have to PASS again.

BILL'S TURN TO PASS
Sheila passed (not shown). The game now shows that it is Bill's turn to pass. Note that Sheila's status now shows that she is ready to play again. Her two lost turns are finished. You'll also notice that her last action still says "Speeding ticket". That is because her last action (passing your turn doesn't count as an action) was getting the speeding ticket. The key is that her status now shows "Ready" which means her lost turns from the speeding ticket are now over. On her next turn she will be able to play again, and her status will change to Ready to Race Again, or Moved ahead, etc. Bill stills show 1 more lost turn penalty, and this will go away after he passes.

AND SO ON
Play will then continue until some player reaches Chicago and is declared the winner of the race.

There is also a "Discard" target button. A player has the option to tap a card and then tap the DISCARD button. The card they tapped will be discarded, and they will receive a new card in it's place. This will end their turn. When would you do this? You might find yourself in the position of not having any valid plays. If you had 4 Fix-It cards and it was your turn to play, there would be nothing you could do except to discard one of the Fix-It cards and hope to receive a MOVE AHEAD card in it's place. Or possibly it is your turn to play, and you only have a Road Hazard card, a Side Trip card, and two Fix-It cards. If all other players were already stopped (red bars), then there would be nothing you could do except to discard one of the cards in your hand.