If there was ever a boardgame that screamed for the fast-paced action that you can get from a collectible-card game treatment, it's Car Wars, a game where players race about circling one another, launching attack after attack.

A traditional card game, the aptly named "Car Wars: the Card Game", was published a few years shy of the collectible card craze. And nothing came from the talk of an expansion set. And though Illuminati was brought back in a CCG format, Autoduel fans have had to wait.

Until now. What follows are rules to create your own customizable Autoduel card game.

There are four basic elements that a Car Wars card game must include. First, it has to put the offensive power in "Drive Offensively". Second, it needs power for those Power Factors that move the duelling machines about. Third, it needs strong armor to protect you from your opponent. And, fourth, there's the human element, the skill behind the wheels and the guns.

By an uncanny coincidence, Energy, Fighting, Strength and Intelligence are the same four elements that make up every Overpower Hero and Villain. Yes, you can drive into the arena in a '47 Cyclops or a '49 Black Canary and take out the opposing Doctor Doom with AUTOpower.

Here's how each "car's" statistics break down:

Energy: This represents a vehicle's Speed Rating, which determines how fast it can move. A high number will make the car harder to hit and help it keep control after successful attacks. The Energy level also affects the amount of Armor the car can carry.

Fighting: This represents its Weapons Rating, which determines its "to hit" number in combat and the maximum amount of damage its guns can do. A high number means more offensive power, but less accuracy.

Strength: This represents the Armor Rating, which determines the amount of damage that the vehicle can absorb. A strong car also has an advantage when ramming.

Intelligence: This represents the Human Element (i.e., Driver and Gunner skills) and incorporates any targeting computer bonus as well.

The original Marvel Overpower cards didn't have Intelligence numbers, but that's okay. Most of those can be considered "Amateur Night" vehicles, lacking computers and any measurable skill on the part of the driver. However, because older versions of cards like Iron Man and Doctor Doom are quite powerful, Autopower has three Car Wars-type divisions: Division 15, 20 and 25. Total up the stats on the card to find its proper class. (So whatever version of Galactus you have, he ain't no "amateur.")

What You Need to Play

Before starting, decide if IQ cards will be used and what division the duel will be. Then decide if players will play with their own constructed decks or One Big Deck.

You'll need at least 60 Overpower cards, using only cards with at least one numbered icon. Multiple-icon cards like Training or Allies cards are recommended for as much as a third of the deck. When playing cards with multiple icons, the value that is to be used must be announced before it is used and can't be changed once it is in play.

All players select their vehicle and reveal them simultaneously. For fun, you might decide to have a Hero vs. Villain combat or even Marvel vs. DC, but that's not required. After all, fellow heroes have been known to get into fights with each other and there's no love lost between villains.

Next, each player draws seven cards. When using one deck, the player with the higher Energy number draws first. If that's tied, go down to the next stat and the next, until one player has a higher number.

Players then play Energy and Strength cards to represent their initial Speed and Armor (see description below).

The Starting Gun

The player with the higher Speed goes first. After that, play alternates, regardless of Speed changes.

Each turn consists of four parts: draw, accelerate, armor and combat.

Draw: Players draw enough cards to get their hands back up to seven cards.

Accelerate: Players may now change their Speed, according to the following rules. They may move at a Speed equal to or less than their Energy level by simply announcing that Speed for the turn. If they want to go faster, Energy cards must be played. Vehicles can safely travel at Speeds up to twice their Energy level. Anything more than that pushes the engine.

Whenever a player pushes the engine, he must roll his Speed or higher on two dice. If the Speed is more than triple its Energy level, add 2 to the amount needed.

If he succeeds, the car maintains this Speed for the duration of the turn, but another roll must be made next turn. If the roll fails, one Energy card must be discarded. If the remaining cards are still over the limit, another roll must be made. This continues until a successful roll is made or the car is traveling at a safe speed.

Note that Armor (see below) can also affect a vehicle's Speed.

Example: Longshot has Energy 3. If he wants his Speed to be 3 or less for the turn, he simply declares it. He wants to go faster and plays Energy 1 and Energy 2 cards. His Speed for the turn is 6.

Example: Black Cat also has Energy 3, but was going at Speed 6 last turn. She drew an Energy 5 card. She can now discard the current Energy cards in play and use the new card. Because this would push the engine, she has to roll 8 or higher. If successful, Black Cat moves at 8 for this turn; otherwise, the Energy 5 card is discarded.

Final example: Rhino has Energy 2 and wants to move at Speed 8. Since that is more than triple his Energy, he must roll a 10 or better on two dice to succeed.

Armor: During this phase, players may increase their Armor by playing Strength cards next to their car. Their Armor rating is the total of all Strength cards plus the original Strength number. The limit to amount of armor that your car can haul around is ten times your base Energy level. Further, each ten full points of Armor added to a vehicle reduces its Speed by 1 (assessed after rolling for pushing the engine).

Example: Martian Manhunter has Energy 4. That means that he can add up to 40 points of armor to his base Strength of 7. But for every 10 points added, Speed is reduced by 1. So if he has the following cards in play: Energy 3, Strength 5 and 6, he has Armor 18 (7 + 5 + 6) and Speed 6 (4 + 3 - 1).

Combat: Now it's time to turn your guns on the enemy. You only get one attack per turn, so choose it wisely.

In Car Wars, the weapon determines the "to hit", and damaged is figured out afterward. In Autopower, the amount of damage is chosen first and then the attack roll is calculated.

The duellist chooses any number Fighting cards to use in the attack. The amount of damage that will be inflicted on a successful die roll will be the total amount on the cards played, or double the vehicle's Fighting number, whichever is lower. The base "to hit" is the total amount on the cards played.

Example: Booster Gold has Fighting 4. If he "fires" with Fighting 3 and Fighting 6 cards, then the "to hit" roll is 9, but the damage done will only be 8 (double the Fighting score).

The "to hit" number is then modified as follows: subtract the attacking player's IQ number and add the defending player's Speed.

Example: Booster has Intelligence 3; this reduces the "to hit" 9 to 6. However, Two Face, the target, has a current Speed of 6; this increases the "to hit" to 12.

Finally, the attacking player may use his Gunner skill. That is, he may play IQ cards to lower his "to hit".

Example: Booster plays an IQ 4 card. This brings the "to hit" down to 8. He either plays another IQ card, if he has one, or can now roll the dice.

Sure, it seems like a lot of math, but if there's on thing duellists know like the back of their studded driving gloves, it's their "to hit" modifiers.

As with Car Wars (older version), regardless of bonuses, a natural roll of 2 always misses.

If the attack succeeds, the Fighting cards are put by the target vehicle. If the total of Fighting cards that have hit is greater than the target's Armor number, it has been killed. Otherwise, play continues.

After the attack, the player's turn is over.

Rule Variants

It wouldn't have the Car Wars feel if there weren't rule variations to make the game more exciting. After getting the feel of the basic game, you can try these Autopower expansion rules.

Control Rolls

Any car that takes damage from an attack may lose control. Add the damage taken to total of the Energy cards in play when it was hit. (Don't add in the base Energy level.) Then subtract the Intelligence number. You must roll this amount or higher on two dice to keep control of the vehicle.

For example, Bishop's traveling at Speed 10, his base 6 plus 4 four for an Energy in play, when he takes 8 points of damage. His Intelligence is 3. He must roll 9 (4 + 8 - 3) or better on two dice to maintain control of his car. He may play IQ cards to add to his roll to help, but they must be played before the dice are thrown.

If the control roll succeeds, the driver remains in control. If the control roll fails by 3 or less, any attack on the following turn is at -3. If the control roll fails by 4 through 6, any attack on the following turn is at -6. If the control roll fails by more than 6, the driver can neither attack next turn, nor push his engine past its regular limit.

Ramming

It aint Car Wars if a player can't run into (or through!) the other guy. One car rams its target by playing Strength cards instead of Fighting cards. There is no maximum amount of damage that can be done in a collision, but the higher the damage, the harder it will be to attack successfully.

The "to hit" is calculated as follows: total the Strength cards played and add the target's Speed, then subtract the attacker's Speed and base Strength level. At this point, either player may use their Driving skill (i.e., play Intelligence cards) to affect the outcome.

When all cards have been played, the dice are rolled. If the ram was successful, the cards are left in the middle of the table. This represents damage done to both cars.

Example: Darkseid decides to try a 12-point ram against Nightwing. Darkseid has Strength 8 and Speed 9; Nightwing has Strength 4 and Speed 4. The "to hit" is -1 (12 - 9 + 4 - 8); i.e., only a natural roll of 2 will miss. At this point, either player may play IQ cards to affect the roll -- which Nightwing had better have.

If it succeeds, both vehicles players will take 12 points of damage, and Nightwing is probably toast.

Lasers

Don't have any Fighting cards? Have extra Energy cards? Declare a laser attack. The attack is the same as a regular attack, except that the attacker only uses Energy cards. Players still roll against their Fighting number and cannot mix the two types of ammunition in a single attack.

Drawing on Skills

Under this variant, players do not draw back up to seven cards at the beginning of their turn. Instead, they draw back a number of cards equal to their Intelligence level (minimum of 1), but may not draw past the limit of seven cards. (Hmmm, maybe skip that Sentinel and take Mr. Fantastic!)

Where's the other stuff?

What about ramplates and bumper triggers? Flamethrowers and fire extinguishers? Exploding spikes and spider mines? Turrets and tires? Where are all the goodies from Uncle Al's Catalog from Hell?

Sorry. Not everything could fit into the starter set. But there's always room for expansion packs.