Maillot Jaune

During the race, the starting pack will slowly split up in individual packs, smaller groups (2-7 riders) and soloists, all standing on their own terrain tiles in small stacks of numbered plastic pieces in the 6 team colors (for larger packs replacement markers are used). In a standard turn, the top cyclist on each tile-stack will throw the D20, and move 1 forwards on an odd roll, and 2 tiles on an even, taking the entire underlying stack along through slipstreaming. That cyclist will then have spent his energy and move to the bottom of the stack, handing over the front position to the next one in line. From the head of the race down, each tile with riders will be dealt with in turn, and that process repeats itself until all riders have completed the stage, or are disqualified for arriving too late, with a bigger time-gap to the leader than allowed.

Each standard (group) move can be modified by one special move if managers so desire, and if they have the rider(s) that can pull it off on that type of terrain. This special move can either be a breakaway attempt, a general raising of the tempo, a deliberately go-slow decision by the speed-setting rider, or a tactical manoeuvre that can cause a pack to split. Each time a rider uses a speciality point, it is marked off from his entry on the team sheet. When the last ability point has been covered up, that rider is too tired to pull off any further special moves. A rider that has spent all his bonus points will start the next stage fatigued, whereas a rider that has spared himself will enter the next stage with a bonus point, just like the new holder of the Yellow Jersey. When the race leader changes terrain type, a random event is triggered that can befall any rider in the race.

When more than 1 rider arrives at a sprint banner, the top of a mountain, or the finish line, a sprint is triggered to settle the differences. Riders who can draw on team support, or are natural sprinters can use this to start the sprint in advantageous positions.

This is a great game for fans of the cycling genre, but might be a tad repetitive for others, especially when a lot of team managers join the race and when the starting pack splits up in many different groups. It then takes quite a few die rolls before the 50 to 90 tile route has been conquered by all. As a sport simulation, it works best when a full field of riders is present, and when an entire tour is played out over multiple sessions. If you play individual stages only, the race dynamics are far less colourful since the team managers only need to focus on getting one rider through the finish line, rather than juggle positions, general fitness, and overall rankings of their entire team of riders.

Included with the set are the assembly instructions for the 14 stages, and team sheets for each team manager, detailing the individual abilities of 8 unique (real-life) riders from the 1995 tour. It isn't clear if the brothers intended to supply updated packs for subsequent tours and races, but enthusiasts have.

PUBLICATION HISTORY:

1995 Maillot Jaune Inauen Spiele - handmade limited edition - out of print

1996 Le Tour Inauen Spiele - handmade re-issue - out of print

Maillot Jaune was Patrick's debut game, and was launched at the Schweizer Spielmesse in 1995, where it sold all of 13 stickered white cardboard boxes. It re-appeared one year later in another limited hand-made production as "Le Tour". The lovingly assembled sets consist of plain colored tiles, generic plastic pieces, sticker sheets, and well-presented photocopied rules and team sheets. Both productions are long gone and very hard to trace down.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

language skill needed: language neutral. Both versions come with German rules.

english translation: None available.

artwork: n/a

awards won: none.