Magnetic Fast Track Game

thingiverse

Fast Track is one of a number of North American race games in which cards are used to control movement of pieces around the board. The rules can be found on the Internet at http://www.pagat.com/race/fast_track.html I wanted something unique, so I designed pieces that could snap into place with magnets. The board is approximately 20" in diameter, so I made individual sections which could be 3D printed and then glued to a round wooden board. It takes a lot of magnets, but Harbor Freight has them in packs of 10 for $2.99 each. You will need 16 packages since there are 157 magnets total. I purchased the round board in which to mount the 3D pieces at Home Depot. I coated the round board with an epoxy coating that is glossy and looks like 50 coats of varnish. Paint and glue completes the list of materials you will need to provide. I added the railroad tracks and a train engine just for the fun of it. Fast Track.... get it. I know, my sense of humor showing. Instructions After printing all of the individual pieces, I used Locktite Super Glue to glue one magnet to one of the magnet holders and then glued that to one of the player pieces. This piece is then used to ensure that the rest of the magnets you place on the board pieces are glued correctly. Let a magnet snap into place on the player piece. Then put a drop of super glue in one magnet holder. Pull the magnet from the player piece and insert it into the magnet holder so that the magnetic side faces the holder such that it will snap to the player piece. Place a drop of glue on one of the board pieces and use the player piece to align the magnet holder as you insert it into the hole in the board piece. Repeat this procedure until all of the board pieces are glued in place and the player piece snaps to each in the board. When all of the board pieces are complete, use one of them to reverse the process for the remaining player pieces. I recommend printing the magnet holders in a different color than the rest of the game pieces. I did not do that myself and ended up creating more work for myself when it came time to paint. You will need 6 colors of paint for the project as there are 6 player positions. Each has a different color for its home row and start pen. There are some magnets that are designated Fast Track zones. I painted mine accordingly. Refer to the game rules for more details on how to color code the board. Using a graphtec vinyl cutter and some black and white pieces of vinyl, I cut some circles and rings out of the vinyl and applied them to the board and player pieces to differentiate some of the colors and to make it stand out. For the darker colors, I used white and for the lighter colors I used black.