Pace Cards

Pace Cards is a racing deckbuilder. Races play out sector by sector in a PS1-style 3D world. Your car’s pace sets the gaps, and when you get within half a second of a rival, it’s a duel: pick your line, play your cards, bluff or hold. Win the battles, manage your tyres, fuel and pit stops, and climb from the Cadet Series to the Premier Grand Prix.

Race weekend

• Qualifying: one flying lap, six sectors, six timing calls. Nail the shift, the braking point, the apex and the commit to move up the grid.
• The lap call: before every lap, set the engine (push, standard or save), attack or follow, your tyre plan and when to pit. Fuel is one budget, and your cards spend it too.
• Battles: inside or outside, attack or defend, one card at a time. Rivals have plans, tells and bluffs, and a better race engineer shows you more of them.
• Seven circuits: a classic parkland track, a harbour, a desert canyon, cherry blossoms, a snowbound mountain circuit, a night street race and a volcano at dusk. Add rain, safety cars, oil, crashes and spins.

The career

• Three leagues, seven rounds a season. The top three move up; everyone else pays to stay.
• Between races, pick new cards and parts, sign sponsors, develop the car, pay for repairs or run a test day.
• Paint your car in the Paint Shop: colours, designs, number and helmet.
• Or jump straight into a Quick Race.

Early build (0.2)
This is an early build, so expect rough edges and balance that still moves around. Tell me what you think in the comments: what’s fun, what’s confusing, what breaks.

Controls
Mouse for everything, plus:

• Space / Enter: go, commit
• 1–5: play a card in a battle · I / O: inside or outside line · H: hold
• E / T / A: engine, tyres, attack or follow at the lap call · B / P: pit this lap, pick tyres
• F: fast-forward · Esc: settings · C: CRT scanlines · M: mute

Plays in the browser on desktop with keyboard and mouse. Your career saves in your browser.

Credits
Made with Godot. Music by tricksntraps and cynicmusic; sound effects from Kenney, BigSoundBank and OpenGameArt; all CC0. Some art and the engine sound were made with generative AI tools. Teams, drivers, sponsors and circuits are all invented.