Six years after it went out of print, cult racing board game Rallyman is back

After six years in the garage, roll-and-move racing game Rallyman is returning to the track with a tuned-up new edition.

Jean-Christophe Bouvier’s high-octane rally sim, which powers cars around twisting tracks with a simple dice-rolling engine, was originally released back in 2009 by the French indie publisher that shared its name.

Despite the limited availability, it managed to amass a passionate cult following, eventually spawning an expansion, Rallyman: Dirt, in 2011 that introduced new terrain types and tyre choices. Only 1,500 copies of Rallyman: Dirt were ever produced, and completely sold out alongside the game’s first edition.

Rallyman officially went out of print more than six years ago, but has been kept alive by a competitive scene that includes monthly challenges and an annual two-day French Championship tournament hosted by the game’s creators.

The new Rallyman is being developed by Holy Grail Games, the studio behind Museum and Dominations: Road to Civilization, marking the first time the game will be widely available after almost a decade of being self-published.

Dubbed with the new title Rallyman: GT, the upcoming revamp retains the original dice system but introduces extra mechanics, including aspects from Rallyman: Dirt, modifications for a new focus on circuit racing over rallying and to make spinning out less of a momentum killer than before.

In place of Rallyman’s four modular double-sided boards are hexagonal tiles that can be mixed and combined for a greater variety of tracks. These tracks can also be made longer than the original game’s environments.

The cars themselves will be represented by better detailed models, with the rest of the game’s visuals receiving a makeover from illustrator Loïc Muzy.

Holy Grail has also vowed to directly support the game’s community, with future events, tournaments and World Cups in the works.

The publisher has suggested that it will return to Rallyman’s rallying roots if GT proves a hit, with “another type of racing people have been requesting for some time” teased to follow by the company’s Jamie Johnson on BoardGameGeek.

Rallyman: GT is set to speed onto Kickstarter this November, with a release of the $50 (£38) core box in shops to follow – expect that sometime in 2019.