Blind Leading the Blind
Water Falls
GPS’s R US

Please remember our games are designed with family fun and safety in mind.  More games will be added to this site as they become available. The MBRA is always working to improve and expand the family sport of mini buggy competition. For the latest news on the mini buggy world visit the MBRA Blog

When modifying games for your league members, consider carefully the experience of the drivers participating in the games and always provide advanced training when needed.

Blind Leading the Blind  Return to top
This is a “team” (Father / Son, Mother / Daughter, Husband / Wife etc) effort. The driver wears a bandana AND a pair of goggles to effectively make him/her, blind. The passenger must then direct them through a “slalom style” obstacle course of safety cones. Be sure to make one or two turns nearly impossible to pass without knocking over a cone and vary each turn in length so it’s hard to memorize. Each cone is worth a pre-determined amount of points. Most points (Cones left standing) wins!

Variations:

• Place tennis balls on top of the cones to make it even harder.

• Have the “Passenger” stand at the finish line facing the driver so every direction is backwards!
  As a “last obstacle” on the course, have the driver, Parallel Park between 4 cones!

Use these skill level outlines to plan your gaming event. It will help you keep your league members safe while providing plenty of excitement for everyone. 

Level One - Fun
Rated for everyone
Keep games at lower speeds and use only easy trails and simple obstacle courses.
Max speed should not exceed 10 - 15mph

Level Two - Easy
Rated for everyone
Additional instruction and safety tips required. Speeds can be increased based on drivers ability. Max speed should not exceed 15 - 20mph.

Water Falls   Return to top
Another team activity, the driver traverses a very bumpy course while the passenger carries a measuring cup of water. Team with the most water at the finish line wins.

Variations:

• You can make this a “relay” style where the teams fill larger containers. Make sure that if more than one team will be running at once, you keep them far enough apart to avoid contact in the heat of the moment. Both riders must stay strapped in their buggy throughout the event.
  You can add this to the “Blind leading the Blind”

GPS’s R US  Return to top
This will require each team to have a GPS and a large area to “scavenge”. Teams follow a set of GPS coordinates to find hidden items. Coordinators should hide specific items around a large trail system, put the coordinates on paper for the contestants and send each member/team in a different direction. Team with the most items at the finish line/meeting spot wins. Great “teaching activity” and may garner some input from your local Garmin/Magellan dealer!

Variations:

• Make the scavenger items, food and drinks. As everyone arrives at the finish line (The picnic spot), they all bring the food! Or. Make the items Sponsored “giveaway” items that the members get to keep!

• Have one person sit at each GPS coordinate with an item and the next GPS coordinate. The team then goes to the first coordinate on the list, drops off his/her passenger, picks up the new passenger, item and the new coordinate and takes them to the next coordinate where the passenger gets out and waits for the next driver etc. A great, “meet & greet” activity.

Level Three - Moderate
Rated for experienced drivers
More serious restrictions should be considered when moving to this level.  You can use more complex trails and obstacle courses as well as increase the speeds of the games (up to 25mph).  If you have a mixed group make sure you make use of "Class" rules as described in the "MBRA Racing Guide". Classes should  based on buggies and drivers ability. This level is were the games start to have a little edge to them and competition gets a little heat added to it.

Hill climbing competition  Return to top
This is a crowd favorite and very simple. Find a hill, and drive up it! Of course, run the competition in “classes” from Mods done to engine sizes etc. Station two “trained spotters” halfway up the hill to help any members who may get “sideways” or need help backing down the hill. Keep spectators and waiting drivers, away from the bottom of the hill. If it is an extremely challenging hill, the spotters can mark the distance each buggy makes it up. Be sure to instruct all drivers on letting off the gas when the tires stop spinning and instruct the spotters to let the driver know when he/she is done to avoid burning drive belts. This is a good “Training” exercise and an excellent opportunity for instructing a large group on the nuances of “picking a line” etc.

Added safety measure
An added safety measure for extreme hill climbing will be the use of a safety lines. Specially trained spotters will take positions along the hill with ropes that are anchored to a tree or the ground with proper tie downs. The ropes will be equipped with a hook or snap ring.  Their job will be to get to the buggy quickly and secure the buggy with the rope in the event it gets sideways and starts to slip backwards or appears it may flip.

Level Four - Semi Pro
Rated for drivers with at least 1 full year experience in trail riding and buggy competitions. Additional training and test runs should be done before any games begin. Longer trails more difficult obstacle courses and speeds above 25mph are allowed at this level

Level Five - Pro
Rated for drivers with more then 1 year experience in extreme trail riding, and buggy competitions. Longer trails more difficult obstacle courses and speeds well above 30mph are allowed at this level.

Pro level should only be used with leagues that have established themselves with at least 1 full season of organized events.

Mud Mayhem  Return to top
Another crowd pleaser, the mud hole! Find a long run of mud and dig it deeper as you get further into it. It should be near impossible to get all the way across. Since we are all in buggies, we suggest it be no deeper than 2’ at its deepest end and approximately 50-80’ long. You will have to experiment a little depending on the makeup of your group and their buggies. Be sure to include the little guys! J Have spotters and NO running starts!

Quick Tip
You might even consider attaching a rope to the buggy to help extricate them in a timely fashion so the next in line can go. Start with the smaller buggies and work up to the big guys.

Egg & Spoon  Return to top
The passenger is given an egg on a spoon or they can hold it with a pair of pliers. He must keep the egg on the spoon while the driver races from the starting line to the finish line. Make the course as long, bumpy and as wide as possible – long means it will be harder, and wide means more people can race at the same time. Bumpy, well you know what that’s for.

Variations:

• To make this one appeal to the more experienced drivers, try taping 3 eggs to their steering wheel and have them run a timed obstacle course that has lots of tight turns. The object will be to steer quickly through the course without breaking the eggs.  Sounds simple until you try it.

Important items to remember for levels four and five

• Spectators must be kept at a safe distance  and/or in secure location.

• Buggy inspections must be completed on all buggies before any game begins

• League officials must keep a close watch for any driver failing to follow safety protocol and enforce all safety rules immediately.

Timed Trail Runs   Return to top
A standard single buggy trail run timed for each lap and total laps completed. A trail that offers water crossings, mud, hill climbs and lots of tight turns will make this event exciting even for the pros. Points are given for best lap and best overall time. This competition is limited to a few private locations at this time.

Buggy Soccer  Return to top
You’ll need a big ball for this event, a beach ball works well but it pops easy. Each buggy team will defend their goal by selecting one defensive play plan from the MBRA referee. Each defensive plan is a layout for an obstacle course using no less them 20 small orange cones. The team on defense will park their buggies and set the course for the opposing team. The team on offense will send each member through the course pushing the ball with his or her own buggy. The use of hands is not allowed. This can also be set up for individual buggy competition. Plays will have time restrictions so some won’t waste an hour trying to get the ball through the course.

Fast Splash   Return to top
You will need to assemble about 4 stands that can hold a board no larger the 48”H X48”W. Each board should have 2 holes cut out, one larger then the other. The boards will be placed around a track or obstacle course. As a buggy moves through the course his or her passenger (Who is fully strapped in) will throw water balloons at each board and try to score points by getting the balloons through the holes in the boards. This can also be incorporated with the use of paint ball guns.

Bug-of-War  Return to top
Yes it is just what it sounds like. A simple game where two buggies are tied together and pull in different directions. To eliminate the risk of damage to the buggies there are certain rules that should be followed. Tires should be a non-aggressive tread (No Mudlites Trailwolfs etc.) The rope between the buggies should be no less then six feet. The center point of the rope should have an orange dowel attached to it. The distance of the pull for a win should not exceed one or two feet. This challenge should also be performed on a loosely packed surface (A shallow mud run is perfect) and be timed for no more then 15 seconds.

Road Rage  Return to top
This game puts an interesting twist on down hill skiing with the use of buggies. Instead of trying to go through the flags you will need to run them over. The course or track should be wide enough to setup the flags in a way that makes it impossible for every flag to get hit in one pass. You can also use different color flags or objects that must be avoided as the buggy runs the course.

Rush Hour   Return to top
This is a team event with two or more buggies on each team. Tie 8 feet of rope from the back of one buggy to the front bumper of another buggy. The rear buggy should have extra padding mounted to its front bumper. (small tires or dense foam) Now secure a water balloon to the middle of the rope between each buggy for more buggies just add more rope more balloons and more padding. The object will be to run a timed trail or obstacle course with out breaking the balloon. To do this each driver will have to maintain steady control of their buggy and keep an even distance between the front and rear of each buggy. If one driver gets too close, the water balloon will hit the ground and break. This event is great for teaching kids how to maintain a safe distance. It will also teach drivers how to establish hand signals to communicate on the trails