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Vapor's Gambit Design Notes

Vapor’s Gambit is the first release of newcomer game publisher, Hyperion, Inc. Releasing this month, Vapor’s Gambit is a fast-paced hoverboard racing game with gorgeous production values, including six individually sculpted metal racer figures.

In Vapor’s Gambit, players race at breakneck speeds down a trench of scarred metal with only a few inches of charged air between their hoverboards and disaster. The track itself changes from moment to moment: ramps rise from the floor, pits open, and power surges in the track accelerate boards to deadly speeds. At all times the other racers remain a constant danger as they attempt to win by any means necessary. In the city of Vapor they have a saying: “You don’t have to be the fastest if you’re the only one left standing.”

This highly competitive game is made up of interchangeable track segments that can be rearranged or expanded to create whatever configuration suits the fancy of the players. On each turn, players advance their racer figures, try to dodge obstacles thrown in their path, and smash into other racers in an attempt to knock them down. All players have a hand of event and obstacle chits that can be played to hinder opponents or help themselves. Turns are short and hazardous and players always have the opportunity to play chits during another player’s turn, wheeling dumpsters into their path, distracting them with the roar of the crowd, or sending unfortunate racers careening into the walls. Hoverboards are sabotaged and lose speed, once deadly obstacles are cleared at the last second, and precious character abilities are used once per lap to provide the crucial edge that will put a racer into the lead.

The game also includes optional team play rules, in which the racers compete in pairs. In team play the racers usually split into roles of speed and blocking. One team member tries to cover as much distance as possible, conserving beneficial chits and discarding offensive ones. The other racer is concerned only with causing as much destruction as possible, ramming racers, playing a barrage of obstacles, and placing ramps right in front of turns in the track to plunge opposing racers through the air and into walls.

However you play, victory is never certain, and defeat is never far removed. In a typical session the lead racer changes many times. The game is crafted with an eye to keeping the pacing fast and the players engaged. It’s the kind of game that is likely to have players jumping out of their seats, throwing chits down with vehemence, and doing victory dances.

When asked about the game play style, designer Benjamin Baraga said, “The most important element of a racing game is that it has to move, and move fast. It’s crucial not to get bogged down in the physics of momentum and turns, or to end up with long thoughtful contemplation of strategies. The game should represent these things in a simple and intuitive way that maintains the feel of a race: hectic speed and reflexive reaction to a barrage of potential disasters. Equally important is to ensure that players always have the opportunity to do something – when it isn’t their turn they are still engaged trying to screw over the other players. Nothing’s worse than just sitting and waiting for your turn to come around again.”

Baraga designed and developed Vapor’s Gambit over a period of three years while he was the owner of the Colorado game store Edwolf’s Games Pit. During this period he had the advantage of access to dozens of gamers each night. Gambit was fine-tuned over literally hundreds of playtest sessions. The store hosted regular Vapor’s Gambit league nights, in addition to daily pick-up games, all presided over by Baraga and his notebook. It was through input from these sessions that the team play option was developed as well as the final balance of many of the abilities.

Hyperion has brought this game to market as a high-quality, premium production. Quality cardstock, individually sculpted metal miniatures, glass beads, color rulebook, and a custom vacuum tray all enhance the game experience. Baraga sums up the production as follows: “Gamers like good games, but they also want games that look good. Games that look cheap are treated that way.”