Tech Race is a medium-weight Euro-style strategy game that brings the fast-paced, high-stakes world of tech startups to your tabletop. In Tech Race, players step into the shoes of ambitious startup founders, hiring employees, developing futuristic technologies, and racing to achieve the highest company valuation.
The game takes place over 9 rounds, each comprising 3 phases: Staffing, Action, and Lobbying.
1. Staffing: You hire and train employees to unlock new abilities and build your company. Each employee needs a salary, so keep an eye on your payroll costs!
2. Action: You use your employees’ actions to drive demand, expand your territories, obtain new customers or steal existing ones from your competitors, and collect materials to develop futuristic technologies. These resources are limited, so you may have to bargain with other players!
3. Lobbying: Compete in bidding wars to implement new policies that can earn you rewards or trigger chaotic events. Collusion is not just allowed, it's essential!
The game is for players aged 14 and up, supports 2-5 players, and typically plays in about 90 minutes.
Why you will love Tech Race:Deep Dive Into The Startup World
Tech Race captures the thrill of building a startup with gameplay inspired by real-world tech industry challenges. Designed by Ionah Hang Nguyen, an indie board game designer with an MBA and extensive work experience in business and the tech industry, the game reflects the highs and lows of building a tech company. Learn to manage cash flow, make hiring decisions, adapt to market shifts, and more - all in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
Dynamic Gameplay Mechanics
This medium-weight Euro game is a strategic delight, blending engine building, resource management, trading, and bidding mechanics. It’s designed to strike the ideal balance between depth and accessibility, making it a great fit for both seasoned gamers and newcomers.
Striking Visual Design
WE DO NOT USE AI IN OUR DESIGN. Oksana Mykytiuk, our talented illustrator, brings her incredible skill to Tech Race, crafting stunning visuals that immerse you in the high-stakes world of tech startups. From vivid tech tokens to enchanting character art, every piece adds depth and vibrancy to your gameplay.
Humor That Stands Out
Tech Race isn’t just about strategy - it’s got a cheeky side, too! With parody company names and clever policy cards, we’ve infused plenty of humor to keep your game nights fun and light-hearted.
- Theme is well done and integrated with actions.
- Components are decent.
- Rulebook does a decent job.
- Iconography is clear.
- Game look is generally liked.
- Basic gameplay idea is enjoyable.
- Teach is pretty quick.
- Game itself is pretty quick.
- Staffing phase is done simultaneously.
- Player turns are pretty straightforward.
- Company boards lack differentiation.
- Some rules aren't clearly defined.
- Gameplay isn't overly engaging.
- What you do in the first round is identical to the last round.
- CEO balance is questionable; some are more useful than others.
- The resource token market is annoying and luck-dependent.
- Players take rare tokens just to block others.
- Policy cards, especially level two, are disliked and feel out of place.
- Gameplay isn't engaging on subsequent plays.
- No clear alternative approaches to the game.
- Randomness of research tokens impacts the game significantly.
- Award tiles seem geared towards the player already in the lead.
- Repeated plays weren't enjoyable, didn't want to come back to play again.
- Running a brand new startup, hiring employees, developing new technologies, and winning customers to be the most successful company.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players establish headquarters in regions to sell goods and can market regions to generate interest.
- Hand Management — Players hide a number of coins in their hand for bidding on policy cards.
- Resource Management — Players collect resource tokens to develop new technologies.
- Set Collection — Players collect customer cubes that match the color of their technology.
- Variable player powers — Each player gets a random CEO card with a special ability.
- Voting — Players vote on policy cards which can help or hurt their company.
- Worker Placement — Players use employee tokens to perform various actions like researching technologies, getting customers, opening new headquarters, and marketing regions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- So, although not a novel or exciting theme, it's actually well done in this one.
- What you're doing in the first round is identical to what you're doing in the last round.
- But that market is so annoying.
- I really, really dislike them, especially the level two ones.
- Would I recommend this game? No, I would not.
- I dislike the randomness of those research token and the impact they have on the game. If you don't get them, you will not win.
References (from this video)
- Becoming the CEO of a tech startup vying to achieve the highest startup valuation and outwitting competitors
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — The game takes place over nine rounds, each comprising three phases: Staffing, Action, and Lobbying.
- bidding — Compete in bidding wars to implement new policies.
- employee management — In the Staffing phase, hire and train employees to unlock new abilities and build your company.
- Set Collection — In the action phase, players use employees' actions to drive demand, expand territories, obtain new customers, and collect materials to develop futuristic technologies.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This video sponsored in part by brain Hardy their new game Tech race is coming to Kickstarter on the 21st
- This video is also sponsored in part by Elemental Harmony Studio their new game far Mooney is coming to Kickstarter on January 25th
- so if you are a fan of the original Roco Deluxe you may want to check out this new game by Eagle Griffin Games latier Roco
- so if you're a fan of shm Phillips and Sam McDonald you may want to check out their newest Trilogy the South Tigress Trilogy