Tiny Turbo Cars

Mini-game #4 results! More Power cards! Mini-game puzzle #5!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 04, 2021 at 06:11:24 AM

Hello Racers!

The latest mini-game was another huge success! You submitted more than 400 points (well beyond the required 300), thus unlocking the Dogtor!

While it was theoretically possible to get to the 16th column, the best result we received was 15 (many of you achieved a 15, actually). We'd like to highlight 3 interesting takes (and the earliest 15 scores we received, incidentally) out of the many we received.

Florian went straight ahead with the first few commands (jumping over the books and recharging before using a turbo command), then made some very good diagonal movements (with an Increase, too) despite getting Slippery, before using the ability of the Time Machine to reapply the first command.

Bartosz took a different approach: after a 2 Forward, he then moved around the books to jump over the frying pan, then increased a turbo to move 3 spaces ahead (taking a damage), took a diagonal 2 to the right and concluded with a repeated forward 2 thanks to the ability of the Time Machine. Same distance, slightly different path.

Michael adopted another very interesting strategy. The first command was a Turbo (a thing that will become relevant later). He then followed a similar path to Florian, but the last of his 8 commands was a recharge... just before reapplying the Turbo thanks to the ability of the Time Machine! As you can see, there were many ways to achieve a similar result!

And now, it's time to reveal another stretch goal! Today we'll be doing another "classic" puzzle mini-game to unlock 2 additional Power cards!

When you activate the Fan, all of the movement commands in the second row of your controller get increased by 1 space. If used at the right time, this Power card can be extremely powerful!

The Jackbox, instead, allows to place 2 Jackbox tokens on the track, which not only act as an obstacle, but they will also "push back" whichever car hits them by 1 space (like a Backwards command).

To unlock these 2 additional Power cards, you will need to solve mini-game puzzle #5. You are racing with the Sonic Fish, another of the racecars included in the core game. You have 3 batteries, and your goal is once again to find which controller (A, B, or C) will allow you to move the most spaces forward! Remember that the left/right commands will become inverted if you get the Slippery token during your turn, but they will also be enhanced by the ability of the Sonic Fish!

When you think you have the correct answer, post a comment below this update (not on the main campaign page) simply stating which controller you choose: A, B, or C! We will unlock the Fan and the Jackbox Power cards if we'll see at least 30 correct answers!

Until next time!

Sincerely,

the Horrible Team

Mini-game #3 results & a new racecar stretch goal (with mini-game #4)!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 04, 2021 at 05:45:40 AM

Hello Racers!

our latest mini-game proved to be much easier for you... you submitted way more than the required 30 correct answers, without too much doubts. The two additional Power cards have been unlocked!

Before revealing our next stretch goal (and mini-game), let's analyze in detail the three options available during our previous mini-game!

Option A didn't bring you very far. It started with a "Turbo 1" command neutralized by a Decrease command, followed by a quite effective "Diagonal 4 to the left" command (thanks to the powered-up "double Increase" command of the Die Liner)... but then things start to go wrong. A Backwards command, then a "Diagonal 1 to the left" command that leads into an obstacle, a damage, and the loss of the last Battery token. The following 2 commands (and the first command of the following round) will have to be forfeited to recover your 3 Battery tokens before you can start racing again.

Option B was a bit better. It starts with a "Recharge" command, granting an extra Battery token to spend during the turn, the performs three well-placed movement commands... until it tries to perform an "enhanced Increase" command on top of a "Jump" command leading straight into an impassable wall and a damage taken. With 1 Battery left, the following command is a "Diagonal 2 to the left" command followed by... a "Backwards" command leading into an obstacle. Last Battery lost right on the last command of the turn, the first three commands of the following round will have to be used to recover all batteries.

Option C was probably the worst. It starts with a "Forward 1" command... leading into an obstacle and an immediate loss of Battery. The 3 following commands are lost to recover, then the action goes on with a "Turbo 3" command leading into an impassable obstacle (another Battery lost), a "Diagonal 2 to the right" command leading into another obstacle (third Battery lost in a single round), and finally, an "enhanced Increase" command (because of the ability of the Die Liner) followed by a "Backwards 3" command.

These three options were all hilariously bad, but the best option (or should we say the "least bad" one?) was clearly option B! And now, it's time to reveal our next stretch goal... introducing a new Racecar!

The Dogtor makes your life easier by enhancing your "Recharge" command: you recover 2 Batteries instead of 1. Additionally, if you already have 3 Batteries (the maximum amount allowed) when you perform a "Recharge" command, it will be transformed into a "Forward 2" movement instead!

The mini-game you'll have to beat to unlock it is more of a "social challenge", this time. There are no pre-compiled controllers: you must use our virtual controller to program the movements of your car and race it as far as you can! You are racing with the Time Machine, you have 2 batteries, and this is the track you'll have to deal with:

You have 120 seconds to program the movements of your car for this puzzle. When you are done, take a picture (or screenshot) of your virtual puzzle controller, then submit your answer with this form making sure to specify the number of the column that you were able to reach. This number will also be your "personal score" (reaching column #10 --> 10 points). We will unlock the Dogtor if you will collectively obtain at least 300 points in total as a community (each person can only submit 1 score)!

Until next time!

Sincerely,

the Horrible Team

Battle Pup update! Mini-game #3 & a new stretch goal!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 02, 2021 at 07:15:06 AM

Hello Racers,

the latest mini-game we proposed caused quite a bit of confusion. The main issue, we think, was a misunderstanding of the effect of carpets on the Brick Gang. Usually, any movement starting on a carpet space is reduced to exactly one space. With the Brick Gang, it becomes exactly two spaces. 1-space movements become 2-space movements. Movements that are already 2-space basically don't change, and the Brick Gang's ability may even become damaging with Turbo commands, as those will become 2-space movements even if you have 3 batteries!

Let's analyze the 3 options in detail:

Option A triggers the effect of the Brick Gang twice, and it also becomes Slippery with two diagonal movements still to perform. The diagonal movement on the carpet at the very beginning of the second Track board, just after becoming slippery, is probably where most of you made mistakes: it gets inverted (right instead of left) AND it also becomes a 2-space movement because it starts on a carpet space.

Option B also triggers the carpet-related ability of the brick gang twice, but only has 1 slippery-inverted diagonal movement. It doesn't bring you as far as Option A, but it is still close.

Option C starts with a backwards movement and becomes slippery very early on; also, it has 3 movements that start on carpets. It ends close to option B, but a bit farther from option A.

If you paid attention, it's now easy to see that the correct answer was A! Even if you needed a little hint and it took you a longer time than we initially expected, in the end you also sent more than 30 correct answer in the comments to update #4, enough to unlock the Battle Pup!

With yet another stretch goal unlocked, it's time to reveal a new one (and a new mini-game to unlock it)! Today's stretch goal is a set of 2 additional Power cards:

The Interference is a bit of a "take that" card... it is a Power that you spend to impose a penalty on another player. Basically, it has the same effect of the "Fog" board we described in our fourth update: forcing one of your opponents to hold their controller upside down during the following Programming phase.

The Air Bags, instead, acts as a sort of "insurance": you must spend it before the Programming phase to activate it, but if you do you will ignore the first damage you take during the following Race phase.

To unlock these 2 additional Power cards, you will need to solve our next mini-game puzzle.  You are racing with the Die Liner, another of the racecars included in the core game. You have just 1 battery, and your goal is once again to find which controller (A, B, or C) will allow you to move the most spaces forward!

When you think you have the correct answer, post a comment below this update (not on the main campaign page) simply stating which controller you choose: A, B, or C! We will unlock the Interference and the Air Bags Power cards if we'll see at least 30 correct answers!

Until next time!

Sincerely,

the Horrible Team

Another free stretch goal! More live streams with very special guests! The weekend! Exclamation marks!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 01, 2021 at 01:48:23 AM

Hello Racers,

we usually take a bit of rest during weekends, so this will be a shorter update, and we'll take a break on sunday (so no update for tomorrow). This does not mean that we don't have any news for you today!

We'd like to start with an update about the stretch goal that we revealed in our previous update, the Battle Pup. We'll be brutally honest here: many of you submitted an answer to the puzzle... but only a minority of you actually guessed the correct answer! This information should be an hint in and of itself... we'll check the situation again on monday, but we're sure you'll finally have unlocked the Battle Pup by then!

To console you from this bitter disappointment, we are unlocking another stretch goal straight away: we'll add a Formula 1-inspired alternative Starting Grid layout to the core game! With a narrower starting space and some early Crayon Boosters at the sides, this alternative layout will bring a whole new dynamic to the start of your races.

Today is also the last day of Castle Tricon 2021: Spring Edition, the virtual gaming con that we're co-hosting with Heidelbär Games and Czech Games Edition! Get your free ticket here to join other gamers from all over the world and play Tiny Turbo Cars (and a lot of other games, of course) with our brave demonstrators!

We'll also be hosting two more live streamed games from Castle Tricon today. You can find them here below. Remember, we will answer to your questions in real time during the stream, so don't miss them when they will go live! The first game (starting at 19:00 CET / 1:00 PM EST) will feature the full team of Tiny Turbo Cars designers: 4Brains4Games (Laura Severino, Giulia Tamagni, Alessandro Manuini, Jonathan Panada) and Hjalmar Hach! We will also have some very welcome surprise guests for the second live stream (starting at 21:00 CET / 3:00 PM EST): Ashley (from Meeple Mountain) and a duo of The Dice Tower and Salt & Sass fame, Suzanne & Mandi!

That's it for today's update! As we said at the beginning of this update, we'll take a break tomorrow. Have a restful weekend, racers! See you on monday (or at Castle Tricon, or at one of our live streams)!

Until next time!

Sincerely,

the Horrible team

Adventure Crew and Elemental Track Boards details! Social mini-game #2! Castle Tricon! More live streams!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 05:10:20 PM

Hello Racers,

it seems you liked yesterday's puzzle mini-game very much! We are also overyjoyed to announce that yes, the correct answer was indeed "C" and that more than 20 of you replied correctly to this small test... and this means that the Power cards (and associated tokens) have been unlocked! Let's get dangerous! We'll reveal our next stretch goal (and a new mini-game) at the end of this update, but before that, we have a few more topics to tackle.

First, our virtual gaming con, Castle Tricon 2021: Spring Edition, is officially starting later today at 16:00 PM CET / 10:00 AM EST! Get your free ticket here to join other gamers from all over the world and play Tiny Turbo Cars (and a lot of other games, of course) with our demonstrators! In other related news, our first live streamed games featuring game designers and guest was a blast! If you missed it, you can find it on our YouTube channel (or here below, for your convenience):

Today we'll also host another live streamed game of Tiny Turbo Cars from Castle Tricon! It will start at 17:00 CET / 11am EST. This time, game designers Laura Severino and Hjalmar Hach will be joined by graphic artist Fabio Frencl Jr.! Our brave racers will once again answer to your questions in real time during the stream, so don't miss it when it goes live!

On to our next topic! After we explained in detail the gameplay contents of the Space Team Expansion yesterday, today we're going to give you a more in-depth look at two more add-ons: the Adventure Crew  Expansion and the Track Boards Expansion! Let's start with the latter.

The Track Boards Expansion contains 4 additional Track boards (all double-sided), each one following a different "elemental" theme: Fire, Ice, Fog... and... Holes?

The Fire board contains special spaces called... well, "Fire spaces". They are a strange kind of "incorporeal obstacle": you take damage for each such space that you go through, but they won't stop your movement. Better trying to avoid those big flaming areas anyway!

The Ice board contains patches of slippery "Ice spaces" that add a peculiar twist to your races. Whenever one of your movements ends on an Ice space, that same command will be repeated until one of its iteration will end outside of an Ice space... or you crash. Ice spaces can indeed cause some hilarious crashes, but if you plan carefully, you can also use them to your advantage!

The Fog board is a quirky one. If your car is on a "Fog space" at the beginning of a round, the low visibility conditions will make your programming phase more difficult: you'll have rotate your controller 180° and hold it upside down in your hands while you program your actions for the round... "forward" will become "backward", "left" will become "right", and so on... but the thing is that before actually applying your commands, the controller will be reverted to its original orientation! A real mind bender!

Finally, the Holes board will send you into a dangerous race on an unfinished floor, with pipes and electric cables revealed through gaping holes on the racing ground. If you car enters a Hole space, your turn ends immediately, and this means that any unused commands at that point will be lost! At least you'll be able to move your car to the next non-Hole space ahead of you and restart your race from there.

The next add-on we would like to reveal in more details today is the Adventure Crew Expansion. Just like the Space Team Expansion, it contains 3 additional Racecars (tiles, meeples, and some additional tokens) and 2 Junction boards (also coming with some tokens, more on these later).

The Jungle Buggy is an acrobatic vehicle with a skilled but very risk-prone adventurer as a driver. Whenever you crash into something and take damage, you'll be able to immediately apply a free Jump command before continuing with your programmed actions. Get ready to recharge your batteries very often if you want to take advantage of the peculiar driving style of this crazy racer!

The Shinobike is the perfect vehicle for ninja fans. If you are quick enough with your programming, you will gain a special Ninja Shield token that works like a regular Energy Shield token (preventing damage or getting a speed boost at the end of your turn), but it may also be willingly spent during your turn to instantly perform a free diagonal 2 Move action (either left or right).

The Sprintarr is a racing ship-on-wheels helmed by a chaos-loving pirate. It comes with 2 Bomb tokens. At the end of your turn, you may place or move 1 of your Bombs on the track, and they act as explosive obstacles: if you hit one, you movement is interrupted and you take 2 damage instead of just 1!

The Adventure Crew Expansion also includes 2 Junction boards. The Fire Traps Junction comes with 3 Trap tokens that are 2 spaces wide. When a car first passes over a Trap token, the token is flipped and the trap is activated. At that point, it becomes a Fire space that the following racers will have to deal with!

The Quicksand Junction, instead, has Quicksand spaces that not only interrupt your movement if you enter into one (like an obstacle), but it also cancels the next command that you programmed on your controller! Avoid them at all costs, they can really, really mess up your plans!

Before we close this update... it's time to reveal our next stretch goal... the Battle Pup, another additional Racecar (meeple + tile)! When you race with the Battle Pup and you cross the "power card check-point" marked by the Power token, you take 2 Power cards instead of 1! This wooden pup means business!

Just like the last one, to unlock this stretch goal you will need to solve a new puzzle mini-game. This time, there are no adversaries to beat. You are racing with the Brick Gang, one of the racecars included in the core game. You have 3 batteries, and your goal is to find which controller (A, B, or C) will allow you to move the most spaces forward! 

When you think you have the correct answer, post a comment below this update (not on the main campaign page) simply stating which controller you choose: A, B, or C! We will unlock the Battle Pup if we'll see at least 30 correct answers (yes, that's 10 more than last time, but that's because you've been very good at the first puzzle, so take it as a sign of respect 😜)!

Until next time! Play Horrible, join the Guild!

Sincerely,

the Horrible Team