Way back in 2009 when I posted the rules for Farm Tractors at the Steve Jackson Forums, MIB asked about the rules for Tractor Pulls.My boys and I played around with some and came up with these. We gamed the better part of the day with these rules. I thought I had lost them forever when I lost the system they were stored on. Thank you to Michael @carcombat on Twitter for finding his saved version and sending them back to me.
I’ve tweaked them somewhat but we only played it once and am posting them here for my fellow duelists to beta test.
What is a Tractor Pull?
Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an 11-meter-wide (35 ft), 100-meter-long (330 ft) track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farthest.
All tractors in their respective classes pull a set weight in the drag. When a tractor gets to the end of the 100 meter track, this is known as a “full pull”. When more than one tractor completes the course, more weight is added to the drag, and those competitors that moved past 91 meters (300 ft) will compete in a pull-off; the winner is the one who can pull the drag the farthest. The drag is known as a weight transfer drag. This means that, as it is pulled down the track, the weight is transferred (linked with gears to the drag’s wheels) from over the rear axles and towards the front of the drag. In front of the rear wheels, instead of front wheels, there is a “pan”. This is essentially a metal plate, and as the weight moves toward it, the resistance between the pan and the ground builds. The farther the tractor pulls the drag, the more difficult it gets.
The History of Tractor Pulls
1800s: Prior to the invention of the tractor, when farm implements were pulled by horses, farmers would boast about the strength of their teams and seek to compare and contest in teams with one another to see who had the most powerful animals. In some cases, they compared horse teams pulling large loads over distance, such as a fully loaded hay cart or wagon. In other situations, a flat board or skid would have a horse or team of horses then hitched to it; weight would be added, usually in the form of rocks, and the driver would urge his horses to pull the load, with more weight added as competitors were eliminated; the animals pulling the most weight or for the greatest distance were judged the strongest. These events became the formalized sport of horse pulling, which is still carried out today with draft horses, specially bred to have high strength for pulling heavy loads. As the sport progressed, fixed weights on drags were dragged for a set distance and additional weight is added in successive rounds. It has said that the term horsepower is derived from this event.
1929: Motorized vehicles are used first time at events in Bowling Green, Missouri, and Vaughansville, Ohio. Tractor Pulling as a sport was officially recognized
1950s and 1960s: Tractor pulling increases in popularity. Many competitions are held at local, county and state fairs across the USA. However, there are no uniform set of rules. Rules vary from state to state, county to county, and competitors never knew what standards to follow. This makes the sport difficult for new entrants.
1969: Representatives from eight states congregated to create a uniform book of rules to give the sport the much needed structure, and created the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA). The NTPA’s early years were events that used standard farm vehicles, with the motto “Pull on Sunday, plow on Monday”. Pulling remained basically the same through the ’70s, with only stock and modified tractors. Stock tractors were commercially available tractors produced by manufacturers, and modified tractors were the basic tractor chassis with another non-tractor engine mounted on it.
1973: Carl and Paul Bosse, introduce the crossbox which allows multiple engines to be attached to a single driveshaft. Other innovators during this period included Bruce Hutcherson, with his triple Rodeck engine powered “Makin Bacon Special”, Dave and Ralph Banter and their Chevrolet powered tractors, and the “Mission Impossible” tractors of Tim Engler, which at one point had up to seven blown alcohol engines on board. Outlaw Pulling is born. Tractors begin to be built exclusively for tractor pulling.
2000: Federal government moves to nationalize dwindling supplies of oil and natural gas production. Legislatures in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana react by seceding, and move to nationalize these resources themselves.
2002: With dwindling fuel supplies the national appetite for truck and tractor pulls subsides. The local farmers still compete at county fairs and the like.
2012: Grain blight breaks out in Nebraska
2016: The Food Riots. Farmers devote their concentration and efforts to survival and alternate crops. Tractor pulling dies.
2026: Utah autoduellists form vigilante group to counter Badlands cycle gangs. AADA holds first sanctioned “National Championship” in Austin, Texas. AADA also begins issuing area advisories and helping duellists organize against cycle gangs and other hazards, upsetting local police forces.
2045: Although still a nuisance problem. Gangs are no longer the threat they once were. Stable local governments and the protection available from CoOps give farmers a sense of working for something more than just survival. Friendly “My Tractor is Better than Yours” pulls begin across the Midwest.
2059: Grundy County, Iowa The County Fair reopens for the first time in the 21st century. Acknowledging the growing popularity of local pulls, fair organizers list a Tractor Pull Duel as one of the events. John Deere Inc. of Uni, IA underwrites the Gold Cross cloning of ANY farmer participating in the Pull/Duel IF they use a John Deere tractor. The Pull/Duel is broadcast live by WHO TV13 out of Des Moines. Ratings go through the roof. The AADA takes notice. DRIVE sanctions Tractor Pull/Duels on a state-wide level
2061: Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio all have state sanctioned Tractor Pull/Duels.
2062: The AADA lists Tractor Pull/Duels as an officially recognized aspect of Auto Dueling.
2073: Though not as popular as autodueling, Tractor Pull/Duels are VERY popular in farming states and are regarded as more down-to-Earth and tactical than an autoduel as the farmer needs to weigh the cost of trying for a full pull against the power loss of firing at his competitor.
Tractor Pull Duel Rules
Tractor pulls are based on horsepower rather than speed. These rules reflect that difference.
Rules for Tractor building are here.
Since the distance for a tractor pull is predetermined (100 meters or 330 feet), I divided the distance into ten unit increments. Each 10th is considered a turn. There is no maneuvering in a tractor pull you are going straight ahead to full-pull line.
To successfully make the pull for each 1/10th of the distance you’ll need to roll better than a 16 on the number of d6 specified for each 1/10th
(I’ll go into the math of why 16 if anyone is interested, but it’s not necessary for playtesting suffice it to say that it’s based on the weight of the sled and the PF of the tractor plant)
1st 1/10th – 13d6
2nd 1/10th – 12d6
3rd 1/10th – 11d6
etc.
10th and final – 3d6
You stop at any 1/10th that you don’t beat 16, your tractor failed to pull past that point and no damage is incurred by the power plant.
If in any 1/10th at least half of your d6 are “1”s your power plant has blown and you cannot continue (damage to the power plant is equal to the number of “1”s + the 1/10th that you are in)
ex Pooh Bear rolls 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, & 6 in the 7th 1/10th, his power plant takes 10 damage. He cannot pull anymore that day unless he can get his power plant fixed . Mechanics add 1 point of repaired damage for every level of mechanic skill for every 20 minutes of work. Power Plants that take more than 50% damage cannot be repaired at the course.
To make it more interesting we played the game as an elimination bracket. Two pullers line up side by side. The winner is the puller who goes the farthest. Dueling is allowed in the elimination style, no firing on your competitor until you have both passed the 2nd 10th (though you may target).
If a tractor makes it the full 330 feet that is considered a full pull. If more than one tractor makes a full pull they got to a tie-breaker pull with a heavier weight (start with 12d6 to simulate the heavier weight)
Modifiers:
+ 1d6 if you have PCs added to your tractor
+ 1d6 if you have SCs added to your tractor
-1d6 for every time you fire a weapon (as you’ve drained some of the power needed to make the pull).
This is beta testing. I’m hoping that we can have some fun with this.
Counters for tractors are available with the Tractor Building Rules. We used a flat bed trailer counter to represent the sled.
Please let me know how things play out for you.
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*PLEASE NOTE* This supplemental information was written for Car Wars 1st – 4th Edition rules and game play.
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