Stitch rally

Playing cards, winning tricks, and then really stepping on the gas to win the race with your car in the end. In addition to the hand cards and the car, each player also receives a round cardboard disc, which is supposed to symbolize the motor. This engine can be further charged in the course of the game by means of a wind-up screw, so that the additional power can be used later, quasi as a turbo. This is stich rallye from H. J. Kook (amigo games). Currently it is on sale from ca. 13.39 euro available.

How does stich rallye?

In the game, there are fifteen ascending cards in each of three colors. As is usual in trick-taking games, the players take turns to play their hand cards, whereby the first card suit laid out must be served. If all players can use the required color, the highest card in this color wins the trick. The player who wins this trick may speed away with his car on the circuit as many fields as the value of the lowest card in this trick.

Unusual stitch mechanism

It gets interesting when the other players are not able to use the required color. As soon as a second color is played, the card with the highest value in the second color wins the trick. If there are even three colors at the end, the card with the highest value in the last color played, i.e. in the third color, wins this trick. This is really an unusual score for a tricks game, but it makes it all the more interesting.

Cute cars at Stich Rallye - photo by Axel Bungart

Loading the turnbo.

As said before, the winner of each trick is allowed to move his corresponding car forward on the race track. However, all other players who have lost the respective trick are allowed to move their engine up by one counter. To do this, they simply move the pointer on their cardboard disc to the next higher digit.

Whenever you win a trick, you can use the entire value on this counter as an additional turbo, if you wish, in order to advance your car an additional number of spaces. This allows nice tactical considerations, as it has uphill climbs and also downhill again on the race track. If you come to a stop on an ascending field, the car slides back into the valley. However, if you land above the crest of the hill on a downhill field, you use downward momentum and additionally slide forward with your car toward the goal. there you have to think about when to bring your turbo into play to position your car favorably or to move additional fields this way.

stitch rally is played in three rounds and at the end of each round the players have to use up all their turbo. Whoever is the first to cross the finish line twice or is in the lead after the three rounds wins the race and thus the game.

Family game with an unusual flow

The idea is not really new, because there was already a very similar game from the series “unser lieblingsspiel” resp. The so-called pirate game from the bookmark publisher. This was also a racing game, which worked pretty much the same or. The same game mechanics possessed. It was a ship race around the treasure island, where you could move your ships by means of cards and won tricks. nevertheless, author and publisher do much better with stich rallye. The board is very nicely designed and the small cars are easy to handle. The instructions explain the rules of the game quickly and clearly. The ideas with the unusual scoring of the tricks, the ascents and descents on the track and the wind-up or wind-down system are very interesting. Switchable engine turbo, really very successful. by the way, the game also works with two players, but with three or more players the whole thing seems much more rounded.

Stitch Rally - Material - Photo by Amigo Spiele

In addition to the extra power on the racetrack, the turbo also ensures that the field of participants always stays relatively close together, keeping the game really exciting right to the end. Even if the scoring of the tricks seems a bit unusual at first, everything is kept very simple so that even children can play along without any problems, making stitch rallye a perfect family game. We liked this title very much and it will definitely not gather dust in the game shelf. Thus from us a clear recommendation!

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