On game night we tried the Championship Series – 1962 season for Heat: Pedal to the Metal. It is a set of three games using all of the modules: Weather, Garage, Legends, Sponsorships, and Events. We randomly determined starting positions, and I was in last place. That meant I got to draft first from the garage cards, which meant my “car” (my deck) could be unique. I decided that this was a race, and chose a “Cooling System” card with a speed of 4. It allowed me to cool one heat and then milled two cards from my deck.
We started on the Italia track, a short affair with a nightmare of a hairpin turn. Worse, there would be three laps. I did not regulate my speed well from the back of the pack, and I spun out on the second lap. Fortunately, I picked up some good Sponsorship cards by slipstreaming past Press Corner and had an amazing 22-space dash on the straightaway. I finished second behind Paul.
We moved on to the second race in the series: Great Britain. The weather was tough: there was bright sun on a crucial leg in between two tight turns. There would be no cooling when it was needed the most. Off we went to the Garage. I selected a set of tires. They only had a speed of 1, but they also increased the value of a corner by 1. I certainly thought I could make it work.
We all avoided “Wings:” a card with a speed of 6, that allowed you to add +3 to a corner for a cost of 2 heat. We all knew heat was going to be a problem! Who was going to have two to spare? Paul still decided to take it. It turned out to be a stroke of genius.
What we failed to see was that Wings applied its increase to not just one corner, but every corner passed during that turn. Paul could glide past the two interior corners in second gear for only two heat. And the event for this race required an extra lap on this track. Paul won handily.
We decided Paul’s championship was assured. He would need to finish dead last in the final race in order for anyone to compete. The problem was that the two Legends automata “drivers” couldn’t keep pace with our souped-up cars and sponsorships. Paul would get at least fourth place, which was enough. Good job racing!
