Allez! Allez! Allez! – France v Germany – A Game for Cyclists

Brainy Bikers' Suggested Rules of Play

Allez! Allez! Allez! is a game for two players - each is the ‘Directeur Sportif’ for opposing nations. The aim is to win all your opponent’s Rider-Cards by winning head-to-head races. Win a race to win your opponent’s card and ‘flip’ them over to your nation - making your nation stronger and your opponent’s weaker. Use your GOAT Cards wisely - lose them, and you’re in trouble. The better you know your riders’ strengths and weaknesses, the better you’ll do. Can you chose the winning stats to beat the other nation in the race for the line? Allez! Allez! Allez!

1. Shuffle and deal the Rider-Cards evenly between the two DS’s.

2. Each Directeur Sportif (DS) holds their Rider-Cards in a single pile with just the top card of their chosen nation facing them.

3. The youngest DS starts by calling out a stat from their top card (e.g. “Olympic Podium GOAT Points 30”).

4. The opposing DS reads out the same stat from the top card in their hand (e.g. “Olympic Podium GOAT Points 20”).

5. The DS with the highest stat* wins that head-to-head race and their opponent’s Rider-Card. This card is now flipped over by the winning DS, so the winner’s chosen nation is face-up, and placed with the winning card at the bottom of their card stack.

6. The winning DS then calls the stat for the next round from the next Rider-Card. Play continues until one DS - the winner - has won all their opponent’s cards.

*If stats are equal, the DSs place that pair of cards to one side and the caller chooses another stat from their next Rider-Card to challenge their opponent with. The winner takes their opponent’s Rider-Card and the tying cards from the previous round(s).

Geeky notes

i GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Points - these figures show a riders total points in each category using weighting factors to show the relative importance of the race and achievement. (e.g. Tour wins gain more points than Vuelta wins.) GOAT Points are the fairest way to compare the achievements of riders across eras and between nations.

ii. NERD (Nationally Equalized Rider Data) Points - these figures take into account the relative strength of a rider’s nation on their achievement. So, whilst it is common for Italian riders to do well in the Giro d’Italia, it is rare for riders from the USA to do well in this event. NERD Points factor this in. If you are the DS of a weaker cycling nation, challenge your opponent using a stat from the NERD Points column to increase your chances - if your opponent’s equivalent NERD Points stat is lower than yours, you’ve won the head-to-head race.

iii. Actual points show actual unmodified data. Use these points as part of the game or just to geek-out and discover what a rider has and hasn’t actually won. There are three types:
1. Podium Points: the number of 1st : 2nd : 3rd places a rider has achieved;

2. Jersey Points: the number of Mountains : Points : Young Rider Jerseys a rider has won in Grand Tours.

3. Stage Win Points: the number of Tour : Giro : Vuelta Stages a rider has won.

Alternative game play rules

Coming soon