First Game Using a Cigar Box Battles Game Mat

Since I had recently received a desert themed game mat from Cigar Box Battles (CBB), I volunteered to run my Great (Desert) Race game during our regularly scheduled HAWKs game night.  The original version of this game was run at Fall In 2011 as part of the HAWKs 1000 race event.  Details from Fall In 2011 can be found here: http://bucksurdu.com/blog/?p=831

First off, a word about the game mat....
The CBB game mat is roughly 5 x 7 'ish (60 x 80 inches) and is printed on fleece material.  It laid over my styrofoam hill very nicely without any telltale wrinkling - even though the height of the hill was three inches.  The mat doesn't show "folding wrinkles" like a felt game mat.

CBB Game Mat

The Great Race set-up

Another view of the set-up

On to the game....
The game is a parody of The Great Race movie and the Monte Carlo Rally - first raced in 1911.  Six intrepid racers and their sidekicks set off across the desert towards the finish line.  Battling the sand, other racers, a rogue camel herd, and miscellaneous obstacles.  Along the way, the racers could gain extra points by:

• Recovering the bones of a rare dinosaur
• Rescuing a stranded damsel (Naggie DuBois) whose vehicle broke down/horse wandered away/was kicked out of another racer's car for talking too much/or something
• Discovering the fate of the famous lost adventurer Amelia Earhawk
• Searching for the fabled Maltese Elephant or other treasure
• Obtaining a water sample from the mythical Oasis of Life
• And they lost points by running through the territory of the endangered Striped Polka-Dotted Desert Tortoise.

Each player also received Dastardly Deeds Cards that could be used to better themselves or hinder their opponents.

A rogue camel herd waiting to rampage across the desert

The race gets under way

A collision results in two racer's cars flipping over as everyone rushes to save the damsel

 Since we had time, we ran the game twice.  The camels blocked Geoff's path several times, Chris ran into a camel and it ended up draped across his hood.  Dastardly Deeds Cards flew back and forth across the table as players attempted to hinder one another's efforts.  The Chinese guards at the archeologist's dig site shot and killed one of Mike's crew each game.  Mike also got spun around and drove backwards across the desert for most of the first race.  All in all, a great time was had by all.

The CBB game mat worked out well.  If you need a 5x7'ish mat, I recommend you look into Cigar Box Battles' variety of mats.  They probably have one that fits your needs.  I'll be adding a mat or two to my Christmas list this year.