Peloton

Release Date: August 2019
Set Size: 8 Buttons
Publisher: Buttonweavers.com
Designers: Dominik Lubinski (AnnoDomini)
Artist: Dominik Lubinski (AnnoDomini)

Peloton is an eight-button playtested set designed and illustrated by AnnoDomini, a Polish Button Men enthusiast, with the theme of competitive bike racing. Each button is based on a different strategy used by racers.

According to AnnoDomini:

What i love about BM is that everyone can design their own characters and recipes. I have created various Buttons in the past, but when i decided to create a set for the site, i thought it should have something to do with my passions, one of which is cycling. I used to train in cycling a bit and took part in amateur road cycling races in my country (without much success, but it was never my ambition to win, only to be able to finish within time limit and have some fun :-)
So this is how I decided to make a Peloton set. The base receipe for each Button is (4) (8) (10) (10)/(20) (X). Four looks a bit like a bike frame, so each Button has one (4) die. Eight looks like head and belly, so it represents a person on a bike - each Button has one (8) die. Both ten and twenty contain zero, which represents a wheel. Bikes have two wheels, so each Button has two of those dice.

Buttons

• 

  Antonio
  c(4) d(8) %(10) h(10) (X)
• 

  Doyle
  c(4) M(8) ^(10) k(10) (X)
• 

  Floriano
  n(4) f(8) s(10) z(20) (X)
• 

  Julia
  H(4) %(8) f(10) d(10) (X)
• 

  Mariusz
  M(4) k(8) G(10) H(10) (X)
• 

  Orlando
  k(4) s(8) g(10) M(10) (X)
• 

  Roger
  g(4) G(8) c(10) H(10) (X)
• 

  Timea
  d(4) s(8) z(10) h(10) (X)

Design Notes

These are some thoughts from AnnoDomini on the design decisions for each of the buttons, i.e. why the recipe includes the dice types in it.

Antonio is a break away specialist. Such riders try to split from the main Peloton (Radioactive skill) and arrive to the finishline in a small group, as they dont have much chance (Chance skill) to win otherwise. However, as they ride in the small group, they spend more energy than riders in the Peloton, so they quickly lose power (Weak skill) in the final kilometers.

Doyle is a time trial specialist (Time and Space skill). He can ride alone keeping contantly high pace (Maximum and Konstant skills) for around an hour. He rarely has a chance (Chance skill) to win a stage other than a Time Trial.

Floriano is a sprinter. Most of the time he rides in the Peloton with his team mates (Shadow skill). He focuses mainly on the final few hundred meters of the race (Focus skill), where he jumps at the front and sprints to the finishline reaching up to 70km/h (Speed skill).

Julia is a hiller. She can use a rolling terrain to make a series of short accelerations, which often lead to splits in the Peloton (Radioactive skill). She puts other riders in a difficulty by frequent changes of pace (Mighty skill) and when she sees her opponents struggle (Focus skill), she accelerates even more.

Mariusz is a domestique. He is a rider dedicated to help his captain in the mountains. He is a strong climber (Mighty skill), he jumps to the front of the race on a climb and becomes a pace setter for his captain, giving everything he has in his legs (Maximum skill) to keep a constantly high tempo (Konstant skill) on the inclimb.

Orlando is an all-rounder. He can perform konstantly well on every terrain (Konstant skill, Maximum skill). He is a protected rider, usually has a few helpers with him and rides with them (Shadow skill), but makes attacks on his own in the crucial moments (Stinger skill) of the race to put himself in the best possible position to win.

Roger is a climber. He is a strong rider (Mighty skill) who can make sudden accelerations on steep sections of the road (Stinger skill). He is also a fighter, who never gives up (Rage skill).

Timea is a lead out rider. She works for the main sprinter in the team (Shadow skill). Towards the ending stages of the race she goes to the front of the Peloton and drives the speed high (Speed skill) to prevent other riders from attacking and, when exhausted (Weak skill), moves to the side to allow her teammate to race in the sprint.