In Speed Freeks, you play roving mobs of bored Orks, on the embattled world of Angelis. These Orks have taken to racing across the planet in their rickety trukks, bikes and weird contraptions.
Speed Freeks is not Gorkamorka. This is no skirmish game with a campaign mode like Necromunda (it wouldn’t be hard to refit Gorkamorka with the version of rules from the new edition of Necromunda). Speed Freeks has more in common with X-Wing.
The core of Speed Freeks has each player typically controlling a trukk (1 of 6 possible in the game) and 3 bikers. Players take ten dice, and distribute those, in a hidden manner, to either Cunning, Speeding, or Dakka phase. At least 1 dice per vehicle in your mob has to be allocated to Speeding. The number of dice allocated to Cunning is the number of dice rolled to determine Initiative. Each die has the following faces; Lighting Bolt, 2 Target faces, 2 Shield faces, and 1 explosion. For the Initiative roll A Bolt score 2 success, and explosion 0, and the other face score 1 successes. You roll off in the case of a draw.
With Initiative decided, the Speeding dice are then allocated, with at least one die per vehicle. This is done with players alternating to do so. Once the dice are all allocated, each player, again starting with the player with Initiative, alternate to move a vehicle. This is done by rolling the dice allocated to the vehicle. Again, Bolts score 2 successes, explosions 0, and the other faces score 1. For each success a movement template (gubbins) can be laid down. These are laid down end to end, to make a route from the front of the vehicle, and the model is moved along this route, checking for collisions, and the facing is always pointing along the route. Now the gubbins get a bit more complicated as each player has a set. Each can only be used once in a route. But, some more complicated ones can only be used by the entire mob once per turn. 2, even more complex gubbins, can only be used by each vehicle once per game. Also, how these complex gubbins are used will mean that at the end of the move, the vehicle must pass a test or else spin. To further add some fun movement, a vehicle can drift. So in this case the facing is now base on one of the 45 degree points to the front. Drifting with the templates then allow rather simple sliding, of more complex power slides! Some of the more complex gubbins means a vehicle moves further, but also in a less straight line, leading to lots of problems as you crash into other things.
Once all movement is done we get to shooting. This is really quite simple. The dice left over from the pool of ten, allocated to Dakka, are allocated to your vehicles, again in an alternating manner. Each die allocated is a shooting attack the vehicle can make. Each die has to be allocated to each weapon, in an even manner, so long as each weapon has a viable target in LOS. Once dice are allocated, each player takes turn use a vehicle and weapons. Each weapon allocated a die is fired, and for each die used, a number of dice are rolled vs the enemy target armour, which is the number of defence dice rolled. In this case for the shot, Bolts and Targets count as 1 success. For defence, A bolt and shield count as 1 success. The attack, if it has more successes, causes damage (depending on the weapon) for each success in excess of the defence roll. For each damage caused, a damage card is drawn. The range from a point of damage (vehicles can sustain so many until destroyed), or colourful damage like vehicles broken, or wheels flying off etc.
So how does it play. Pretty fast. Very intuitive, and lots of bluffing and cinematic motion. The Shokkjump Dragster has cool rules that let it teleport. The Kustom Boosta Blaster is festooned with guns. The Megatrakk Scrapjett of course has a turbine drill on the front.
Now where things will get complicated is the speed of the movement phase as player start to take too long agonising over how to do it. So I would opt for a 2 minute move, and once templates are laid down, that is it. No take backs.
For the price you get an effectively a trukk for free. And inside are some nice tiles perfect for a Kill Team or Necromunda table.
Personally I will be organising a race day to allow for an 8 player race, and I will see about making some new scenarios for a laugh.
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