BoardGamesBot

THUNDER ROAD
IGNITION

RULEBOOK

CREDITS
©2026 Restoration Games, LLC. The following are trademarks of Restoration
Games, LLC: Restoration Games, the Restoration Games logo, the "Every Game
Deserves Another Turn" tagline, Thunder Road: Ignition, and all associated trade
dress. Restoration Games, LLC is located at 12717 W SUNRISE BLVD, #244,
SUNRISE, FL 33323. Actual components may vary from those shown. Made in
CHINA. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY PERSONS
7 YEARS OF AGE OR YOUNGER.

Game Design:
Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson,
Justin Kernppainen, and Noah Cohen

Based on Thunder Road: Vendetta
by Brett Myers and Dave Chalker
with original design by Jim Keifer

Illustration:
Marie Bergeron

Additional Illustration:
Garrett Kaida and Annie Van

3D Modeling:
Hakan Diniz and Chad Hoverter

Art Direction:
Jason Taylor

Graphic Design:
Matt Paquette & Co.

Production Lead:
Lindsay Daviau

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PARTS LIST

4 player dashboards
(4 different colors)

12 cars
(3 each of 4 different colors)

16 movement dice
(4 each of 4 different colors)

20 damage tokens

20 hazard tokens

8 double-sided road tiles
(1 starting, 3 straight, 4 curved)

4 pit stop tokens

1 first-player token

1 finish line tile

1 Direction die
1 Stunt die
1 Slam die
1 Shooting die
(These 4 dice are collectively called FX dice.)

2

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SETUP

1 Place the starting road tile with either side up (numbered 1 or 10)
on the table, players' choice, followed by 5 more tiles and the
finish line. When laying out the tiles, you can use any mixture of
straight and curved tiles and can use either side of each tile.

2 Place a pit stop token next to the starting tile and the third and
fifth road tiles. (For a longer game, place out 8 road tiles and
place a pit stop token next to the seventh road tile as well.)

3 Mix up the hazard tokens. Without looking, place a facedown
tile on each hazard space on all the road tiles.

4 Mix up the damage tokens and place
them in a facedown pile.

5 Place the FX dice within reach.

2
5
4
3

6 Each player chooses a crew
color and takes the matching
dashboard, cars, and dice,
placing their cars in the starting
area near the starting road tile.

7 The youngest
player goes first.
Give them the
first-player
marker.

6

3

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HOW TO PLAY
The game is played over a series of rounds. At the start of each
round, each player rolls all of their movement dice. The first
player takes a turn. Then, the player to their left takes a turn,
and so on. The round ends after each player has taken 3 turns.
The first player passes the first-player marker to the player on
their left; that player will go first in the next round.

ON YOUR TURN
Do these three steps in order on each of your turns:
1 Use a
COMMAND
(once per round).
» 2 MOVE
a car.
» 3 SHOOT
with that car.

1 COMMAND
Once per round, use a command on your dashboard. Put one of your
rolled dice onto the command die slot and choose which command
to resolve. The value on the die you place doesn't matter. You can
choose which turn you want to use your command. If you are not
using a command on your turn, skip to step 2.

A Slipstream: Immediately, roll the stunt die and move
one of your cars that number of spaces. You cannot
move the farthest forward of your cars. (If more than
one car is tied for farthest forward, you cannot move
either of those cars.)

B Jumpstart: After you move your car from the pit stop to the
road this turn, you can move it as normal. ("Pit Stop Exit", pg. 5)

C Drift: When you move your car this turn, you can ignore the first car
you move onto unless it is the space you end your move on. You do
not slam; keep moving your car as normal. ("Slamming", pg. 6)

D Missile: Immediately, shoot at any car on the board. ("Shoot", pg. 5)

CARS
Each player has cars of three different sizes: small,
medium, and large. Smaller cars are easier to move in a
slam but harder to shoot. Larger cars are harder to move
and easier to shoot.

Small
Medium
Large

On your dashboard, each car has a slot for one damage
token. A car with no damage or one damage token can still
run normally. If a car ever gets a second damage token it
goes to the pit.

THE PIT STOP
There are 3 pit stops in play, represented by the tokens
next to the road boards. Your cars can go "to the pit"
when they take too much damage, get knocked off the
road, or other ways. When a car goes to the pit, place it
next to the closest pit stop token behind it. The next time
you use that car, you will reenter the race from there.
("Pit Stop Exit", pg. 5)

1
A
B
C
D
Command
Die Slot

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2 MOVE

Put one of your rolled dice onto an open slot on your dashboard.
You must put it on a slot that you have not assigned a die to
already that round. Then, move the corresponding car that
number of spaces using the following rules:

* Movement: Move your car into one of the three spaces
ahead of it: front-left, front-right, or directly in front.

* Hazards: If you enter a space with a facedown
hazard token, flip it face up and resolve it. Hazards
remain on the board. ("The Road", pg. 7)

* Space Resolution: Resolve every space you enter, even if
another car is there. If another car remains, resolve a slam unless
you used Drift and still have movement. ("Slamming", pg. 6)

* Movement Limit: You must use the full die value unless
you take damage or slam another car, which ends
your movement. Resolve the slam or damage.

* Exiting the Board: If a car leaves the board from the
left, right, or rear edge from being slammed, taking
damage, or another effect, it goes to the pit.

* Pit Stop Exit: When exiting a pit stop, discard any damage tokens
from that car and place it on any road space on the back row of that
road tile (indicated with a small arrow: ))). It cannot move or shoot
unless you used Jumpstart. If placed on another car, immediately
resolve a slam.

At the start of the game, a car's first move is from the starting
area onto one of the spaces at the edge of the starting tile.

3 SHOOT

You can shoot a car in front of the car you just finished moving.
This can be a car to the front left, front right, or directly in front of
your car. You can shoot through a barricade. If there is more than
one car that you could shoot, choose which one you want to shoot
at (including one of your own if you want).

Roll the shooting die. If the die matches the size
of the car you shot at, you hit! The player whose
car you hit draws and resolves a damage token.
("Taking Damage", pg. 7)

BACK
LEFT

FRONT
LEFT

BACK

FRONT

BACK
RIGHT

FRONT
RIGHT

2

Damage Slot

Movement
Die Slot

Size

5

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THE DIRECTION DIE

You use the direction die to resolve slams and some
hazards and damage effects. The six adjacent
spaces represent the spaces front-left, front-center,
front-right, back-left, back-center, and back-right.

The solid icon in the center
of the die represents the
moving car.

The hollow icon shows the
space it moves into relative
to the space it is in.

On some of the curved road boards there are more than six adjacent spaces.
Ignore the spaces directly to the left or right, using only the directions
indicated in the diagram below. In the example below, the blue car could not
move from its current space to the space directly to its left.

SLAMMING

When a car moves into a space with another car, whether from movement or an effect, they slam.
Stack the car that entered the space on top of the other car and resolve the slam as follows:

Roll the slam die and the
direction die at the same time.
The slam die tells you whether the
top car or the bottom car moves.
The direction die tells you what
direction they move in.

If one of the cars in the slam is larger
than the other, the owner of that car
can choose to reroll. If they do, reroll
both dice. You can only reroll once.

Move the car 1 space in the direction
shown. Resolve any effect on the space
it moved into. Then, if it is in a space
with another car, that starts a new
slam. Keep resolving slams until all cars
are in a space by themselves.

6

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THE ROAD

On the road board and hazard tokens, there are several types of
terrain with different effects:

Off-Road: No effect.

Road: During your regular movement, if your
car started on a road space and only moved on
road spaces, you may move it 1 additional bonus
space. The bonus movement does not need to be
onto a road space. This bonus does not apply to
movement from the slipstream command, dazed
effect, etc. Some hazards will turn a space into a
road space.

Oil Slick: If your car enters this space, roll the
direction die and move your car 1 space in that
direction. Resolve any slam or effect of the space
your car moved into. If you still have movement
remaining, you may continue moving that car.

Rubble: If your car has one damage when it
enters this space, it stops moving and goes to the
pit. Otherwise, no effect. Some hazards will turn a
road into a rubble space.

Minefield: If your car enters this space, it stops
moving and takes a damage.

Omni-ramp: If your car enters this space, it
stops moving. Roll the stunt die and place your
car that many spaces away in the direction it was
moving when it entered the space, ignoring all of
the spaces in between. Resolve any slam or effect
of the space your car ends up in.

Impassable: If your car enters this space, it
stops moving and goes to the pit. All impassable
spaces are marked with a double yellow border.

Barricade: If your car crosses a barricade
between two spaces, it stops moving and goes to
the pit.

TAKING DAMAGE

When your car takes damage, draw a damage token from the pile.
Resolve the effect on the token. Then, flip it face down below that
car's section on your dashboard. After you add a second damage
token to a car, it goes to the pit. (If the damage token pile ever
runs out, flip all the discarded tokens face down, mix them up,
and make a new pile.)

Resolve the effect on the
token. Then, flip it face
down below that car's
section on your dashboard.

Dent: No effect.

Battery Discharge: Roll the direction die.
If there is a car in the adjacent space in that
direction, it immediately takes a damage.

Skid: Immediately move your car 1 space in the
direction indicated.

Dazed: Roll the stunt die. Roll the direction
die and move your car 1 space in the direction
indicated. Repeat this a number of times equal to
your roll on the stunt die or until your car slams into
another car or until your car is damaged or goes to
the pit from another effect.

Blast Off: Roll the stunt die and the direction die
together. Place your car that many spaces away in
the direction indicated, ignoring all of the spaces in
between. Resolve any slam or effect of the space
your car ends up in.

7

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WINNING THE GAME
When one of your cars crosses the finish line at the end of the
road – whether you moved your car or it moved as a result of
hazard, damage, or slam – place it near your command board.
If you assigned a die to it that round, place the assigned die next
to it. Otherwise, choose one of your unassigned dice and place
it next to the car. In future rounds, you will only roll three dice
and only take two turns, skipping the last turn in the round.
The first player to get two of
their cars across the finish line
immediately wins the game!

THUNDER ROAD
SMASH UP!
IF YOU HAVE THUNDER ROAD: VENDETTA or any of
the expansions, you can use this content with them and
vice-versa.
IF YOU'RE USING IGNITION CONTENT IN VENDETTA:
(1) the Jumpstart command has no effect, and (2) any effect
that would send your car to the pit eliminates it instead.
IF YOU'RE USING VENDETTA CONTENT IN IGNITION:
(1) anything that eliminates a car or makes it inoperable sends
it to the pit instead, and (2) anything that lets you use the
road die just gives you the road bonus instead. There are a
few crew leaders, upgrades, and ongoing damage effects that
won't really work in Ignition. And no Big Rig! Don't even try it!

COMMAND BOARD REFERENCE

SLIPSTREAM:
Immediately, roll the stunt die and move one of your cars that
number of spaces. You cannot move the farthest forward of
your cars. (If more than one car is tied for farthest forward, you
cannot move either of those cars.)

JUMPSTART:
After you move your car from the pit stop to the road this turn,
you can move it as normal.

DRIFT:
When you move your car this turn, you can ignore the first car
you move onto unless it is the space you end your move on.
You do not slam; keep moving your car as normal.

MISSILE:
Immediately, shoot at any car on the board.

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