Par For The Course

Par for the Course uses three 8-sided dice, a simple set of "Performance to Par" charts, and player ratings based on historic or current rankings of actual golfers to replay golf tournaments using stroke or match rules. The designer describes it as "a quick-playing but accurate tournament golf simulation." Each dice roll determines a golfer's score for three holes, a design element that speeds play and allows a 60-player, 4-round tournament to be replayed in about two hours. The game doesn't account for differences among actual courses, but does include separate performance charts for poor, normal, or perfect playing conditions. The game includes ratings for many "all-time great" golfers, male and female, as well as a chart that allows the user to rate players themselves, by converting current World or European rankings into player ratings. The game does not involve decisions by the game player; it is observational, allowing the player to watch how the drama of a tournament develops.