Thunder Rolls Review: A Racing Game in Two Parts

About Thunder Rolls, from BoardGameGeek:

Thunder Rolls' is a fast paced dice placement action stock car racing game. There are two phases to the game; the Rolling Phase and the Thunder Phase. In the Rolling phase the players roll their dice pool and place sets of dice on matching racing actions to gain track actions and Thunder cards. In the Thunder phase players program their Thunder cards, giving their cars movement and unique driver actions. Whether you play a single race, a series, or a full championship season of 10 - 14 races, Thunder Rolls combines true stock car racing actions with a unique tiered dice placement bidding system that keeps the game, and each race, moving fast. This system offers the feel of bump and grind stock car racing right on your table top with rules that are easy to learn while providing multiple options and strategies for players. A single race on a Short Track can be enjoyed in as little as 20 minutes, while races on a Mile Oval, a Tri-Oval, a Superspeedway, or a Road Course are playable in 30 - 60 minutes; each requiring different strategies to manage their unique race conditions. Regardless of the number of players, Thunder Rolls always has 8 competing race cars using Non-Player Driver cards, each with their own unique driving style to complete the field. These cards along with the NPD (Non-Player Drivers) Action deck makes each race of Thunder Rolls challenging. With so many unique Race cards, the game's ease of play rules and ever-changing strategies required to meet the actions of other players and non-player drivers; players can't help but get caught up in the racing excitement when they hear the Thunder Roll. -description from developer