feat: add paper racer post

content/posts/2021-08-08-fun-with-pen-and-paper-race-cars.md

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+---
+title: "Fun with Pen and Paper: Race Cars"
+date: "2021-08-08"
+---
+
+I recently came across some fun games that can be played using nothing but a
+pen and some paper. One of those games was called "Race Cars" and I wondered
+how on earth you would play a racing game on paper, and the answer is: simple
+math!
+
+## The core idea
+
+The goal of the game is to cross the finish line of a hand-drawn race track
+first without hitting the edge. Race cars have a velocity that can be adjusted
+each move. If you're too greedy, you will crash. If you hit the breaks too
+early, another player will win.
+
+## How it's played
+
+We start out with a hand-drawn race track. The shape really can be anything you
+like. Just be creative!
+
+![A race track on paper](/assets/paperracer/0.jpg)
+
+Next, each player makes a cross on the starting line. This resembles the
+players racecar. Right now, none of the cars is moving. They have a velocity of
+0 on the x axis and 0 on the y axis.
+
+![Two crosses on the starting line](/assets/paperracer/1.jpg)
+
+Each move, a player can accelerate or decelerate his vehicle by 1 on any axis.
+The first move of each player is somewhat obvious. They want to accelerate
+straight forward. On our race track, that means accelerate by 1 on the y axis.
+
+![A race car made a move](/assets/paperracer/2.jpg)
+
+Next, we can either keep on accelerating like the red player does, or "turn"
+our vehicle left by changing our y velocity from 0 to -1, which gives us a
+velocity of -1, 1.
+
+![Paper race cars after two moves](/assets/paperracer/3.jpg)
+
+On a long stretch, the red player wants to overtake blue by keeping his foot on
+the paddle. Blue on the other hand plays it safe and hits the breaks.
+
+![Paper race cars on a long stretch](/assets/paperracer/4.jpg)
+
+Soon after, red realizes his mistake. Being so busy trying to turn, he's unable
+to hit the breaks. A crash is inevitable. Blue however continues to take the
+turn nice and slow. His humble mind brought him victory!
+
+![The red player right before crashing into a wall](/assets/paperracer/5.jpg)
+
+## It's all about fun
+
+The concept of this game is very flexible. You can play it with a friend and
+see who's the fastest paper racer, or by yourself and try to beat your record.
+Getting tired of just cruising around? Introduce the concept of "items" that
+give you a boost or slow down the opponent (think Mario Kart!). If ordinary
+tracks are boring, try adding intersections or obstacles. Can you add a third
+dimension? The sky is the limit. Get out there and be creative.
+
+This is post 018 of [#100DaysToOffload](https://100daystooffload.com/).