Crash Derby Designer Diary

For Prusa Research, the dream of officially blending these two passions began over three years ago while sharing a booth with Czech publisher Albi at the Spiel fair in Essen, Germany. The goal was to create a game heavily integrated with 3D printing that could also introduce non-printers to the hobby.

A few months later, the gears started turning on the designer side. The phone rang; it was Michal from Albi. He asked Olda if he had a minute to discuss a new idea. A few days later, the design trio—Ondra, Eklp, and Olda—met on Discord to discuss a brief that was both simple and uncomfortably vague. There was no set theme or components, just a mandate to invent something entirely new. The publisher wanted a standalone, retail-friendly family game under 1000 CZK that would appeal to parents and children, integrating 3D printing to motivate players to print their own parts. This was the starting line for what would eventually become Crash Derby.

The initial brainstorming phase was rough, with Olda and Eklp tossing around unusable ideas. Sensing the urgency, Ondra tapped into his board-gaming expertise and 3D printing enthusiasm. He pitched a concept for a demolition derby controlled by gears on a modular map filled with obstacles.

Ondra's vision perfectly aligned with the strengths of 3D printing. He noted that people are mesmerized by mechanical printed objects; while printed joints are often problematic, gears print exceptionally well. Furthermore, since the Prusa brand heavily utilizes hexagons in its visual identity, setting the game on a hex-based map was a no-brainer.

Out of all the concepts Albi presented to Prusa following the Essen fair, this racing and demolition derby hybrid clearly stood above the rest. Even without a final name, the paper concept hooked them immediately.

 

Crash Derby is a family racing game that brilliantly mixes strategy with pure chaos. Instead of a standard finish line, players navigate the arena to collect four flags. Because flags naturally draw heavy traffic, collisions are inevitable. Cars are equipped with weapons to ruin opponents' plans, and the game actively rewards players for this destructive interaction.

Because the project wasn't officially greenlit right away, the early design phase remained highly conceptual, focusing on core principles rather than fine details. The team meticulously planned how actions, movement, collisions, and future community expansions would function. The game began as a pure thought experiment without a physical prototype. The resulting pitch relied entirely on the designers' experience and their belief in the strength of the mechanics. Fortunately, both Albi and Prusa loved the concept, giving the project the green light.

With approval secured, creative exploration turned into hard work: defining actions, designing map tiles, smoothing out the gameplay, and constantly rewriting rules. The game’s standout mechanic is a "steering wheel" player board featuring three gears where players pre-program their actions. However, at the end of each round, the gears rotate. Poor planning means your car might suddenly become unpredictable, forcing players to think ahead while adapting to the chaos caused by their opponents.

Prototyping this component-heavy game was challenging, especially since the three designers lived in different parts of the country. Digital testing on Tabletopia helped, but manipulating virtual gears with a mouse proved incredibly clunky. It became obvious that a physical prototype was necessary. Albi's prototype incubator stepped up, assembling the first physical version using Eklp's graphics and AI-generated illustrations. This allowed the team to properly test the game at events and clubs, fine-tuning the tempo, obstacle strength, and decision-making balance.

 

After a highly successful presentation at Prusa, the game moved into production, where Albi finalized the illustrations, rules, and physical components. The game works perfectly right out of the box with the included base models, but the overarching goal was always bigger.

The designers wanted to create an "arena" that served as a true playground for the community. They engineered the rules to be practically unbreakable, ensuring the core mechanics would hold together even if players swapped out half the components or added custom terrain. Even after the base game was finished, the designers continued brainstorming new printable modules, obstacles, and a team mode.

These expansions naturally found their home on Printables, allowing players to download and add them to their games. Prusa recently showcased the final game to a thrilled community at the PAX Unplugged convention in Philadelphia, launching pre-orders shortly after. Moving forward, Prusa plans to host design challenges on Printables, inviting the community to create aesthetic upgrades and entirely new mechanical expansions.

 

For both the designers and Prusa, the release of Crash Derby isn't the finish line; it's the starting gun for endless community experimentation. Players are encouraged to tweak the arena, test new obstacles, and mix game modes to their heart's content. Start your engines, and welcome to the arena!

 

 Author: Michaela Kučerová Photo: ALBI