Re: tractor games

Posted by Adam B. on August 27, 2003 at 16:30:24 from (207.221.81.100):

In Reply to: tractor games posted by Dennis on August 27, 2003 at 08:36:03:

Always looking for new games! Games from the show our club puts on:

Slow Race: Pretty easy. Typically, contestants line up in heats of three tractors. We may put two or four in a heat, depending how many players there are. A drag-race track is marked off. On the start signal, all the tractors must start moving. If someone starts late (clearly after the others have already started) there is a restart. The goal is to be the last tractor across the finish line, without letting your tractor stop. Winners in each heat advance and compete against the other winners until one remains. This event is big with the steam engines, but it works with tractors too.

Block Race: This one is typically for steam engines, but I've seen it done with tractors. Start by marking off a playing field large enough for a tractor to maneuver around in. A start line will be marked near the center of one side of the field. The tractor pulls up to the line, and a piece of post is is placed against the front axle or wheels (tricycle). The operator can start at any time, and as soon as the tractor starts to move, a stopwatch is started. The driver has to back his tractor around and touch the block with the drawbar, without knocking the post over. The fastest time without knocking over the block wins. This is almost always left to the steam engines. Most of the tractors that compete are tricycles, and make the game way too easy. As a variation, the post can be replaced with an orange road cone with an egg placed on top. Then the object is to touch without knocking the egg off the cone.

Wagon Backing: Get a wagon or running gear, and mark off two rectangles side-by-side. The rectangles should only be a bit wider and longer than the wagon you're using. The wagon is placed inside one of the two boxes. Drivers have to pull the wagon out of one box, and back it into the other. Cones placed at the corners of the rectangles represent 'door posts'. Hitting the cones results in time added to the score. Whoever backs the wagon into the other box fastest, wins.

Barrel Race. Get a plastic drum, about a 40-gallon one. Mark of a race track, much like one used for a slow race (mentioned above). Instead of a start/finish line, there is a start line and a cone or post in the middle of where the finish line would be. The driver pulls up to the start, and the barrel is placed on its side in front of the tractor. In the case of wide-front tractors, the driver can pick which tire the barrel is placed in front of, or the axle, provided the barrel won't slip under the axle when the tractor moves. The driver has to push the barrel down the track, around the cone, and back across the start line. Time is stopped when the barrel crosses the line, not the tractor. Strategy comes in with this race, as some will try to push the barrel the whole way, and others try to gamble by knocking the barrel like kicking a ball. The latter strategy can end up in the driver chasing the barrel all over, and losing time. It can also be very fast. Fastest time wins.

Blind Driver. Get some chalk powder. You're going to make two lines, side-by-side, about 20" apart. Maintaining that distance between the lines, run them out along the ground in an 'S' pattern. When you're done, it should look sort of like a double-yellow line on a highway, but in a serpentine pattern. This is your track. It should be 15'-20' long. The curves shouldn't be too extreme. This game requires a driver and co-pilot. The tractor pulls up to one end of the chalk track, and places the front tires (tricycle) or a front tire (wide front, team may choose which one) between the lines. The driver is then blindfolded. The co-pilot must be able to safely stand or sit on the tractor with the driver (race officials make the call). The object is to drive the tractor down the track, keeping the front tire(s) between the lines. The co-pilot tells the driver when and which way to steer. Going outside the lines is a time penalty. Fastest time wins. The tractor speeds in this event are rather slow, so it can be done very safely.

Balance. Our club had a trailer made for this game. Its a custom utility trailer, with removable tongue and wheels. Both the front and rear have the beveled bottom you see on tilt-bed trailers, so the trailer is flush to the ground when either end tips against the ground. An I-beam runs across the bottom of the trailer, behind the mid-point. When the wheels and tongue are removed, the trailer rests on the I-beam, and one end naturally rests on the ground. A tractor pulls up onto it, just like a tilt-trailer, and attempts to pull ahead until the trailer balances on the I-beam. The beam isn't centered, so its a challenge to make the platform tip without going all the way and letting the opposite end hit the ground. This is usually just something people can try anytime during the show, but it has been tried as a timed event. I believe the problem was the amount of time it took many drivers to balance it, so the game took a while. Some possible ideas I have for making a game out of it: 1) Give a driver 60 seconds to balance. Whoever can do it, and has the best time wins. That would curb the long event time experienced in the past. 2) Make it a weekend-long event. All during the show, drivers could try to balance as fast as possible, and the times would be recorded. The times could be recorded on a sheet, and the five or ten fastest times could be posted on a dry-erase board and changed as they're beaten.

Hope those ideas help. Be safe, and have fun.

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