Quibbles are the small and green, domesticated amimals of the future. Many live as household pets, while others are treated as mere beasts of burden. Still others are trained to race for the betting enjoyment of half the galaxy. It is these quibbles, which comprise a kind of futuristic horse-racing, that this game is about.
In this game you control a professional gambler. Quibble racing is your life, and it is your goal to make smarter bets, better decisions, and ultimately more cash than your two opponents. Fortunately, you have more than a few tricks up your sleeve in order to accomplish this...
To play the game, find the executable "qrace.exe" and run it.
Once the game has begun you will be presented with a title screen with the following options: 'Start,' 'Options,' and 'Help.' Once you have configured the options to your liking (this is explained in detail later) click the start button to begin the game.
After starting, you will be prompted to setup the players. There are always three players in any game of Quibble Race, each of which may be human or computer controlled. Once you have this information the game will begin.
Prior to each race, all human players take their turns in sequence. On a player's turn he/she must place bets, borrow money, and manage any other necessary tasks. All of this is done on the menu screen.
At the top of the menu screen is an information bar designating whose turn it is and how much cash they have. At the left are shown the three quibbles involved in the upcoming race, along with important information about them. This information includes the quibble's name, win percentage, races run, and (in the event that the quibble has been sponsored) the name of the sponsoring player.
To place a bet, simply click on the quibble you want to bet on. Once the quibble has been selected it will become highlighted by a red box. Next, enter how much money you want to bet in the relevant text box and click 'Done' to end your turn.
To borrow money you have to talk to the loan shark. To do so, just click the corresponding button on the menu screen. Borrowing money is easy, just enter how much money you want (up to $1000) and click the "borrow" button. Paying back money can be more difficult especially when you consider interest (default is 25%.) When you borrow money, your debt will immediately go up accordingly. Keep in mind that if your debt reaches $2000 the loan shark will no longer give you any money.
Making good money sometimes requires a few shady maneuvers. There are seven specials, or actions which you can take to affect the outcome of the race. Each one costs money, and you may only take one per turn. Below are explanations of each one:
1. Steroids $50 Illegal
Description: A careful blend of chlorophetamines and wasp extracts injected into the rump of a sleeping quibble can drastically augment its stamina, if only for one race.
Game Effect: Temporarily increases a quibble's speed by 10.
2. Weights $30 Illegal
Description: These large, bulky, lead ankle weights can be attached to the legs of a quibble to slow down performance.
Game Effect: Temporarily lowers a quibble's speed by 10.
3. Poison $150 Illegal
Description: Although harmless to most humanoids, the milk of your average goat is extremely deadly to the sensitive skin of quibbles, killing them instantly upon touch.
In fact, even the smell of goat's milk can sometimes force a relatively healthy quibble into
dementia. Use with extreme caution.
Game Effect: Permanently kills a quibble.
4. Train $20 Legal
Description: The NQA (National Quibble Association) recommends a strict diet of Peanut M&M's to give your quibble's pelt a healthy luster. This, accompanied by an aggressive training schedule and an occasional beating to callous your quibble to the harshness of racing, will have a positive effect on its performance in future races.
Game Effect: Permanently raises a quibble's speed by 5.
5. Cripple $35 Illegal
Description: Make a fist - that is the size of your average quibble's kneecaps. To break them, thugs use a special club made from a tough titanium alloy. A quibble will never fully
recover from these attacks.
Game Effect: Permanently lowers a quibble's speed by 10.
6. Drug $75 Illegal
Description: One Wilma Flintstone vitamin, carefully dissolved in a quibble's drinking water will render it to become confused, and temporarily lose its sense of direction.
Game Effect: Causes a quibble to temporarily run backwards for one race.
7. Guard $25 Legal
Description: While the NQA doesn't usually take an active stance toward race tampering, getting an opponent caught in the act by hiring someone to guard your quibble will result
in a substantial fine.
Game Effect: Protects a quibble from illegal specials approximately 80% of the time.
Note: when evaluating specials take into account that each quibble begins with a default speed of approximately 30-70.
It is possible to get a little extra information on the racers if your willing to shell out the necessary cash. To purchase information just click the corresponding button on the menu screen.
There are two kinds of information available.
"Projected Rankings" will give you a fairly accurate prediction of the next race's outcome. This is much more reliable than basing your bets solely on win percentages.
"Betting Placement" will give you a report of how many bets each racer has received and how much money they total up to. This is useful for determining what the pay off will be if your quibble wins the race.
You can make a little extra cash by sponsoring quibbles. Clicking the Sponsor button will give you two choices.
"Sponsor a Quibble" will show you up to three quibbles currently available for sponsorship. To sponsor a quibble just click the Sponsor button under the quibble you want to buy.
"Current Status" lets you view and manage the quibbles you have currently sponsored (up to 3.) Once you have sponsored a quibble you can change it's name and train it. Training a quibble raises it's speed by 5. Keep in mind that you can only train a quibble once per turn. Additionally, if a quibble reaches it's maximum speed the Train button will disappear.
Sponsored quibbles earn you money in two main ways. Every time one of your sponsored quibbles is involved in a race you will earn money equal to the quibble's win percentage. (e.g. a quibble with a 78% win record will earn you $78.) Additionally, if your quibble actually wins a race, you will receive a $100 cut of the prize money.
Once every player has taken his/her turn all specials take effect simultaneously. Then the race will begin!
Once the race is over the winnings are calculated according to the following rules:
All the money that people bet (that would be you, your opponents, and 12 invisible gamblers) goes into a common pool, which the winners divide. How big a portion you will receive depends on how many other people placed winning bets, and how big your bet was. This means that quibbles which few people have chosen, while probably slow, will yield a much larger reward.
