Test version v5.2
How to play
The game has five tabs along the top. Tap one here to jump to it, or start with how a week works. Every picture below is the real test. Ready? Play the test, then tell us what you think.
How do you play Bullring Boss?
You inherit Uncle Earl's run-down short track and run it one race night at a time. You never drive. Each week you settle arguments on your desk, make the calls on race night, and live with what happens next. Nothing is marked right or wrong. Your choices change how people feel about you, and they remember.
- The bar at the top of the game shows the season, the night (out of 12), your cash and last night's crowd against your open seats.
- A season is 12 nights. Then comes the off-season, and a new season.
- Your game saves on its own, in the browser you play in.
Tab 1
Race night
Where the week happens. On the opener you watch Earl's crew run things their way. After that, every call is yours, and Squint (the race director) and Ronnie (the announcer) argue about all of them. Both work for you on the Staff tab.
1. The pre-race meeting
Three decisions before the green flag: how hard to run tech, how quick to throw yellows, what to say at the drivers' meeting, who Ronnie hypes. Squint pitches one way, Ronnie the other, and B is usually the middle. Side with one too often and the other one notices; the track tab keeps count.
- Which of the three meeting calls this is.
- Squint's pitch.
- Ronnie's pitch.
- Your three choices. The small line under each says whose way it is.
2. On track: live calls
Each class runs its feature. When something happens (a wreck between two drivers with a grudge, a car that's suspiciously fast, a spin in the groove, a jumped restart) you get a live call, up to three a night. Decide with what you know right then. You can't look anyone up mid-race, so the gossip you read earlier is what you've got.
- The class, its nickname and the race length.
- Ronnie on the PA.
- The call: what just happened.
- Squint and Ronnie disagree, again.
- Your choices. A sends the car to tech right now.
3. The post-race review
Two more calls after the checkered flag, like a protest at the scales or whether to park someone for next week. Drivers remember these.
4. The report
Squint and Ronnie grade the night. Then the gate: how many came, crowd energy, and which kinds of fans showed up (more on that under The track). Then every dollar in and out, what happened because of it, and the results for every class. Tap Start night when you're ready for the next one. If something is waiting on your desk, handle that first.
- The crowd against your open seats.
- Crowd energy and who came, by kind of fan.
- Money in and out. The purse and staff are your biggest bills.
- What happened because of it: no-shows, short staff, a new driver stepping up.
Your desk
Between nights, people bring things to you: a driver wanting a bigger purse, a sponsor offer, the rival track poaching drivers, the county with a noise complaint, your promoter with an idea. Each has three choices and none is marked right or wrong.
Pick one and you'll see how it landed and why. Some pay off later, some cost you later, and the people involved remember it. The neighbors in this one are part of the town on the People tab.
- How many calls are waiting.
- Who's asking, and what they said.
- What you know going in.
- Your three choices.
- What you picked.
- How it landed.
- Tap Next for the next call, or back to race night.
Tab 2
People
Everyone at your track: drivers by class, then staff, the regulars in the stands, and the town. Tap anyone to open their card. Learning names is the game.
- The number box is their car number.
- Hero and Villain show how the crowd sees a driver. Fans love to hate a villain, and that sells hot dogs.
- The five squares are how they feel about you, from hostile to loyal.
- Field fillers are unnamed cars that pad the field. Win a few and one becomes a name you know.
- The class, its nickname and how many cars run.
- A driver: car number, name, class and wins.
- Villain or hero, in the crowd's eyes.
- How they feel about you.
A person's card
- Their life outside the track and what's on their mind right now.
- Who they're feuding with and who their fans are. Tap a name to jump to that person.
- Talk to them once a week. Each talk shows a little more: skill, wallet, ego, temper, loyalty and honesty, up to 6 out of 6.
- Follow their drama to star someone. Their news stands out in the gossip.
- Drivers come and go. Unhappy ones leave for the rival track, and some come back. This one has left, so you can't talk to him until he does.
- Car number, name and tag.
- His life outside the track.
- What's on his mind.
- Feuds and fans.
- How he feels about you, what he wants, and what you've learned.
- Talk and follow. He's gone for now, so talk is greyed out.
Tab 3
Staff
The seats that make race night work: race director, announcer, promoter, tech inspectors, safety, pit steward, scorer, track crew, gate and concessions. Some start empty.
- Hire fills an empty seat. Three people want each job. A cheap hire might be great or might not. A pro moves the needle, for a price.
- Everyone has a seat they want, a seat they dream of and a seat they won't do. Talk to them to find out which.
- Open someone's card to move them to another seat or let them go.
- Volunteers work free but sometimes don't show, especially unhappy ones.
- A promoter leans the track toward their style (see the star) and brings ideas to your desk.
- Further down: Equipment. Tow and push trucks unlock a real safety crew.
- The seat and what it does.
- Who's in it, what they cost a night and how they feel about you.
- An empty seat. Tap Hire to see three people who want it.
Tab 4
Gossip
What the pits and the stands are saying, newest first.
- Each line is marked with the season and night, like S1·N4.
- People you follow are highlighted.
- Tap any name to open that person's card.
- Read between the lines. Hints about cheating, money trouble or a short cash drawer show up here before they show up anywhere else, which helps on live calls.
- When it was said: season 1, night 4.
- Who said it. Tap the name for their card.
- What they said.
Tab 5
The track
The big picture, and where you spend money.
What the town calls your track
A five-point star: proving ground, outlaw wild, spectacle circus, corporate, family fun. Every call pulls the dot toward a point. There's no wrong point, and the middle is balanced but muddled.
- The five points.
- Your track: the dot.
- The score behind it.
Who comes to your track
Five kinds of fans, how much of the crowd each makes up, how they feel and what they want. Early on, the biggest group becomes your key crowd. Further down the tab:
- Squint vs Ronnie: how many times you've sided with each at the meeting.
- The books: cash, ticket price, capacity, the track surface, purse, sponsors, upgrades and loans.
- Stands: build bleachers or grandstands on the frontstretch and each end. Old stands wear out, and the county can close them.
- Points standings for every class, and Start over for a new inheritance.
- Your key crowd.
- Each kind of fan: their share of the crowd.
- How they feel, and regulars you know among them.
- What they want from your track.
The off-season
After night 12, eight steps set up the next season: the banquet, the rules meeting, sponsor deals, upgrades, staff, the schedule, big nights (touring series and special events) and driver moves. Then the gates open again, back on race night.
- Which of the eight steps you're on.
- Winter bills.
- Your champions.
- Squint and Ronnie pitching Driver of the Year.
Tips
A few things worth knowing
Learn names before numbers: the people are the game. Money is tight in season one, and that's on purpose. Watch the neighbors; late nights and loud ones add up. You can't fail. The worst that happens is a lowball offer for the place.
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