RoboRally

I found that this game can have a tendency to be a little dry to some people... especially women who are not already predisposed to any sort of *engineering* bent. It has a cute theme however and I have discovered that our "Type A" female guests who like it seemingly like it most for the cuteness of the robots. As for the game itself: it is a clever design and is a true pre-thinking game... somewhat cerebral. Its a good "mellow" game to wheel out on occasion to counter-balance the high energy action *party* type of games.

I have to admit a soft spot for games that allow the players to house rule or play in a style that suits them best. The main criticisms of the game are that it takes too long and that it is too chaotic, but you can tweak this how you want while retaining the basic programming system which sits at the heart of it. Of course, for me, carefully planning being entirely thrown out the window due to the unpredictable actions of others is gaming perfection.

Roborally is a great Ameritrash intro game. A lot of people I've played this game with get into their robots' personalities (preprinted on their cards, really adds a lot of flavor) and then enjoy the chaotic madness of trying to maneuver their little droid. But, then there are the few who get too frustrated with the gameplay and give up, but most are good sports who get competitive about getting through the flags first.

It's got variale powers and lots of different maps so it lends itself to multiple plays well.

[Legend has it that Richard Garfield pitched RoboRally to Wizards, but they weren't especially interested. They asked him if he was working on anything else, and he sold them on Magic: the Gathering.]

RoboRally is a reasonably fun game. Stick to the simpler boards and shorter races, and this is a really fun game. Longer races tend to get anti-climactic as one robot gets really far ahead of the pack. Otherwise, use a one-minute sand timer to keep the turns short and the analysis paralysis manageable.