Åkar-spelet

Åkar-spelet is a promotional game released by the Swedish branch of Esso, now a brand of ExxonMobile, around the time when the company was sold to Norwegian Statoil in 1985. Players take on the role of one of four hauliers; the bus, the truck (pictured as a dump truck for some reason), the excavator or the soda van. In each round of the game, players draws a mission from the deck matching his or her role and then take turns to throw dice and move their playing piece around the board to complete the mission and get back to their respective headquarters first. Along the way they have to avoid red numbered squares, 83 in total, that correspond to a bad event, like a parking ticket, or could make you draw a Chance! card that are divided 50/50 between good and bad. They also have to avoid refueling squares that make you go to the very nearest fuel station and pay for fuel before you may proceed. Players are however encouraged to buy different kinds of Esso solutions that make this cheaper or even make you immune within a radius of your headquarters. The number of rounds played are variable between one and ten and the goal is to have the most money when the game is over. The first player to complete the mission each round get a bonus, the second a smaller bonus and the third an even smaller bonus but the last player, no matter if second, third or fourth, instead get a late fee for every space left on the mission. Red numbered squares often make you lose a turn or charge you a fee while the five good Chance! cards often give a sizable reward. Missions also often give a cash reward for one or more steps or a larger reward when completed.