Roadkill (1993) is a later Avalon Hill game, one that moves away from the hard wargame style that they dominated for so many years. Players wanted different sorts of games and Roadkill is an attempt to cater to that, which is nice. That the game is basically a simplified Car Wars with the serial numbers filed off is less nice. But honestly, Steve Jackson was just vibing on Alan Dean Foster, right, so he doesn’t get to corner the market on post-apocalyptic road rage.

It’s card based and there are lots of fun options, from weaponry to car customization. You want to be in the lead partly because that’s where the winner traditionally goes, but also mechanically, you get to lay the course from the pole position. You can do that in a way that plays to your car’s components and against the competition’s builds. But it also invites mayhem — the car in front generally has all the guns pointed at them.

Plays fast and intense (though not nearly as deadly as the name might imply), the rules are pretty easy to pick up for an Avalon Hill game (I learned them, so you probably can too). The theme is well executed and integral to the feel of the game. I like it!