Attack The Pack card game

If you are struggling to get your racing fix through the winter months then the peloton-based Attack the Pack card game could be just what you need. It takes a few goes to get your head around the rules, but once you are savvy it can be quite a fun-fuelled and tense 20 minutes or so of getting your rider to the line.

• Pros: Quite addictive, the pack fits in a jersey pocket for post-ride games
• Cons: Rules can be quite complex the first few times you play

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Attack the Pack allows you to live out your directeur sportif fantasies to use your team to take the stage win. It is surprisingly addictive and fun to play once you get the hang of it, even if you are a relative newbie to professional racing. That said, the whole game benefits from a bit of knowledge so it might be a good idea to dust off that Tour de France boxset you have lingering about in the cupboard.

There is a full tutorial video here as well, which gives you an in-depth run-through of the game.

Before you start

There are three types of cards in the deck: Riders, Roads and Actions and Reactions.

Each player receives three rider cards which is their starting team line-up, and one road card showing either a choice of hill, cobbles, flat road or mountain is placed in the centre of the game; this dictates the terrain the riders are starting the race on.

The players are then dealt another three cards each, which are kept face down, and is their starting hand.

Playing the game

At the start, all of the dealt riders are in the peloton (the tutorial video shows you how to lay out the cards) and if you choose to attack, the riders are moved into the break in front.

The game is controlled by each player in turn giving their team three orders, by playing a card in their hand, a rider, an action or changing the terrain by way of a road card.

They can also draw a card from the unused deck, choose a rider to attack, refresh a rider or exhaust a rider to rest them. (It all makes sense after a few goes!)

Attacking with one of your riders is obviously the best way to win the game, and the numbers and symbols along the bottom of the card shows their ability on the various terrains. Basically, adding these numbers up for your riders dictates the amount of minutes achieved in the break.

It's up to the other players to use their riders to control the break or join the attack – just like the real thing.

There are also the action and reaction cards that can also be played to your own team, like receiving an energy gel which gives a rider +1 points, or take 1 away by dishing out an 'empty bottle' card.

Riders in the break can become exhausted, too, so this all needs to be taken into account.

The Finish

The player who draws the final card in the pack initiates the final kilometre in which each player has one last chance to get their riders into the break. Once everyone has had a final go, it's time for the sprint where all exhausted riders are removed from the break and the peloton is also removed.

A tot up of the points on offer for the current road surface for each rider dictates who moves to the front and takes the win.

Overall

This is just a brief run-through of the game, and it's difficult to portray the speed and competitiveness of playing it – but it really is good fun.

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Price-wise, £15 may look pricey for a deck of cards, but if you've seen the price of board games on the shelves of your local toy store you'll know that it is quite reasonable.

Verdict

A fun card game for those who fancy themselves as the next big directeur sportive