Cycling board game Linkeballen seeks crowd funding

A new cycling-themed board game called Linkeballen is looking for funding on Kickstarter.

Linkeballen is described by its creators as “a strategic and tactic[al] cycling party game for 2–8 persons from the age of 8 and older”.

Available in English, Dutch and German versions, Linkeballen doesn’t actually require a knowledge of cycling.

The makers ask,“Will your team win the tour? Are you going for the yellow jersey or for the team rankings? Are you climbing mountains or sticking to a flat stage? Who will manage the best strategy and tactics for his team? Who is best in nagging their opponents? Play multiple stages on one day? Or spread it over several days/weeks or even months?”

Arguably, that’s too many questions.

“As a result of a minor steering error, wrong calculation or a ‘Linkebal’-action, you can quite easily cause a fall with unpleasant consequences!”

Ouch! We're not quite sure what a Linkebal action is.

You have a team of three riders, a flat stage, a mountainous stage, some cards... You can draft other people and you can keep your good cards for putting on a sprint.

Although we don't understand the rules completely, we kind of get the idea. Obviously, you’re after the best possible results for your team.

The concept for the game was apparently created in 1967 so it has had a helluva long gestation period. The creators are hoping to create more stages in the future, pocket editions and deluxe editions.

If you’re interested, head over to the Kickstarter page where €44 or more will get you one basic editon of Linkeballen, assuming it reaches its €11,000 target. With 22 days remaining, they’re a long way off that figure at the moment.

Cycling-themed board games are nothing new. There have been hundreds over the years. 

We last reported on one looking for funding on Kickstarter last October. Cycling Party exceeded its $5,000 target by miles, gaining $26,866 of backing. It is now in full production.