A strategy cycling championship inspired by the courage, suffering, intelligence, and unpredictability of professional cycling.
The first version of the game that would eventually become RollCycling was created in 1987 while I was still a student. As a cycling fan, I always wanted to experience the emotions that make people fall in love with this sport and understand the courage and sacrifice of these warriors of the bicycle.
At that time, cycling in my country was living through a special moment. We had an entire generation of cyclists that people admired deeply, and this admiration was born in me long before the game itself existed.
During the 1970s my father used to listen to cycling races on the radio together with my brothers, and while listening he would give each of us nicknames inspired by riders and competitions.
Those moments created in us a fascination for the sport that would remain for many years.
As children, my brothers and I built small circuits on the dirt using marbles as cyclists. We took turns trying to complete stages and compete against each other to discover who would become the best rider.
My older brother often designed the circuits, and we could spend hours there imagining attacks, mountain stages, victories, and dramatic finishes.
Without realizing it, those childhood games slowly planted the idea that many years later would become RollCycling.
That inspiration finally evolved into a cardboard stage-racing game created in 1987 where we already had a multi-stage championship system and competed across different stages and classifications.
Although simple compared to the current project, the essence was already there: strategy, attacks, suffering, risk, and the emotional uncertainty that exists in every cycling competition.
Today my admiration for cyclists around the world remains stronger than ever, regardless of nationality or era. Professional cyclists constantly demonstrate the courage, endurance, discipline, and determination that human beings are capable of reaching.
RollCycling was created as a tribute to all of them and to the emotions that this sport can awaken in those who truly love cycling.
More than simply creating a game, the purpose of RollCycling is to allow players to experience, even in a symbolic way, the tension, hope, attacks, recoveries, crashes, strategy, and triumph that make cycling one of the most demanding and beautiful sports in the world.
The Queen Stage represents a long mountain cycling stage with sectors of climbing, descending roads, and fast flat terrain where every rider begins the race as a professional cyclist in normal condition.
Throughout the stage, special route sectors can transform the rider into a sprinter or climber depending on the square where the cyclist lands.
These transformations are temporary racing conditions that simulate the qualities professional cyclists develop during different moments of a race.
Sprinters become more effective on flat terrain while climbers gain advantages in mountain sectors.
The maximum movement always remains six spaces, but when the rider receives a low dice value the terrain bonus helps maintain a smoother and more efficient rhythm compared to riders without these special conditions.
When the dice value is three or lower, sprinters and climbers receive a movement bonus according to the terrain that favors them.
There is also a fatigue condition represented by special sectors that work in the opposite way.
A rider who falls into fatigue loses any previous condition and becomes fatigued. In this state there are no bonuses. Instead, if the dice value is three or greater the rider suffers a reduction in movement, representing exhaustion and loss of rhythm during the stage.
Dice values of one or two are considered survival effort and do not receive additional penalties.
A fatigued rider can only recover when the terrain changes or when landing on a transformation square.
However, recovery does not immediately grant the sprinter or climber condition again. The rider simply returns to the normal professional cyclist state, moving exactly the value indicated by the dice.
If a climber lands on a sprinter sector, or a sprinter lands on a climber sector, the rider loses the current specialty and returns to normal cyclist condition.
Throughout the route there are dangerous crash sectors.
If a rider moves into one of these zones and the next movement cannot clear the danger area, the cyclist suffers a crash and loses a turn.
Another type of crash occurs when one rider lands directly on a square occupied by another rider inside the danger zone.
There is also a chain crash mechanic that can happen anywhere on the course.
These moments recreate the tension, chaos, and unpredictability often seen in real cycling competitions.
The Criterium stage represents a fast and aggressive city circuit race that can contain up to three laps, each one different from the previous.
Riders constantly attack, create breakaways, and stretch or compress the peloton according to the curves and rhythm of the circuit.
Unlike long mountain stages, the criterium is built around speed, positioning, risk, and relentless pressure from the beginning to the end.
One of the main mechanics of this stage is the attack system.
Whenever a cyclist comes from behind and successfully overtakes another rider, the attack is activated automatically.
The attacking rider immediately receives an additional turn, simulating the acceleration and momentum created when gaining position inside the peloton.
Consecutive overtakes can continue triggering new attacks, allowing a rider to rapidly move through the group, open gaps, or even escape ahead of the race.
Because of this mechanic, the pace of the criterium changes constantly.
The peloton can remain compact for moments and suddenly explode into multiple attacks and counterattacks.
Just like in the Queen Stage, crashes can also occur.
Most crashes involve three cyclists: the rider who gains the position, the rider who loses it, and the cyclist directly behind.
When a rider suddenly loses position it is as if the cyclist brakes or loses balance, causing the riders behind to lose control and end up crashing onto the asphalt together with their bicycles.
Only the attacking rider keeps the advantage while the others lose positions and turns.
These moments recreate the tension and danger often seen in real criterium races where riders fight aggressively for every meter of road.
Even after suffering a crash, these warriors of the pedals only think about standing up, recovering their rhythm, and continuing the battle for victory.
The final result of the criterium can often be surprising.
For the best experience, playing at least two laps is recommended.
Those who continue into the third lap will discover that in a race like this, absolutely anything can happen.
Finally, we arrive at the stage that will decide who becomes the overall champion.
The Time Trial is the final battle against time itself, where every second gained or lost can completely change the final classification of the championship.
At the beginning of this stage, riders do not start together.
Each cyclist begins according to the current general classification standings. The rider occupying the last position starts first, while the overall leader starts last.
Between every rider there is a separation of two turns, creating realistic time gaps across the course and reproducing the feeling of an authentic professional time trial.
Because of these starting differences, cyclists may eventually catch riders ahead of them on the road.
When a rider reaches and overtakes another cyclist, a bonus is awarded that can provide one or two additional spaces of movement.
In the same way, if a cyclist who was overtaken manages to attack again and recover the position, the bonus is also granted.
This creates a constant fight against time, rhythm, and pressure where every movement can change the destiny of the championship.
Unlike the chaos of the peloton seen in the Criterium, the Time Trial becomes a more psychological and strategic experience.
Throughout the stage, a dynamic results table continuously updates the positions and times of every cyclist.
This allows riders to know their exact differences and keeps the tension alive until the very end of the competition.
As the stage progresses, the battle for victory intensifies.
The final results table reveals the definitive classification of the championship and determines who will be remembered as the winner.
After completing the championship, players are invited to participate in the geometry rating system created for RollCycling.
If you reach this point, we sincerely thank you for supporting and experiencing this project.
RollCycling is currently not available for sale in stores or through any external marketplace.
Future availability, official announcements, and purchasing information will always be communicated exclusively through this website.
At the present time, the project remains under active development.
The first commercial version is planned to be released as a printable board game package designed in a standard board format together with the official game rules and stage system presented in this championship experience.
The purpose of this development stage is to continue improving gameplay balance, mechanics, stage variety, visual presentation, and the overall player experience before the final physical version becomes publicly available.
We sincerely thank every player and supporter who participates during this development process.