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For the first season, see The Amazing COFR Race 1.
TACR Logo

Logo of The Amazing COFR Race of The Amazing Race.

The Amazing COFR Race, sometimes referred to as TACR, is a COFR version of the popular franchised reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing COFR Race, sometimes referred to as TACR, is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world and the space in competition with other teams. Contestants strive to arrive first at "pit stops" at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and avoid coming in last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg.

Contestants travel to and within multiple COFR countries in a variety of transportation modes, including spacecrafts, planes, taxis, rental cars, trains, buses and boats. The clues in each leg point the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. These challenges are related in some manner to the country or culture where they are located. Teams are progressively eliminated until three teams are left; at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded a large cash grand prize of one million eniea.

On December 9 2008, CBS have given Risbon the rights to produce its own version of The Amazing Race.

Seasons[]

The Race[]

Each of the eleven or twelve teams on The COFR Amazing Race is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other.

The teams represent a wide demographic of different ages, races, sexual orientations, and relationships. Relationships have included long-time married couples, siblings (including twins), parent/child (including grandfather/grandson), friends (roommates, fraternity brothers, platonic friends, high school friends, lifelong friends etc.), romantic partners (both heterosexual and homosexual), and couples who are separated or were formerly dating.

The various relationship dynamics between the team members under the stress of competition is one focus of the show. Teammates must race the entire race together: they cannot split up (except when instructed to do so by a clue, albeit temporarily) or continue on without each other. If one teammate becomes injured and is unable to finish the race, the team must forfeit. Both teammates must also arrive at each Pit Stop together in order to check in.

Teams[]

Each of the thirteen on The Amazing COFR Race is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other.

The teams represent a wide demographic of different ages, races, sexual orientations, and relationships. Relationships have included long-time married couples, siblings (including twins), parent/child (including grandfather/grandson), friends (roommates, fraternity brothers, platonic friends, high school friends, lifelong friends etc.), romantic partners (both heterosexual and homosexual), and couples who are separated or were formerly dating.

The various relationship dynamics between the team members under the stress of competition is one focus of the show. Teammates must race the entire race together: they cannot split up (except when instructed to do so by a clue, albeit temporarily) or continue on without each other. If one teammate becomes injured and is unable to finish the race, the team must forfeit. Both teammates must also arrive at each Pit Stop together in order to check in.

Many aspects of the production - casting, promos, premieres, and Alexson's discussions with eliminated teams - make heavy emphasis upon the effects of the race on relationships.

Money[]

At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team receives an allowance of cash with their first clue. During the race, all expenses (food, transportation, lodging, attraction admission, supplies) must be purchased from this allowance. The exception to this is the purchase of airline tickets, which the teams pay for using a credit card supplied to them by the show. Any money left over after a leg of the race can be used on subsequent legs. Teams could only use the credit card to pay for tickets in person, not for phone and online reservations.

This money is usually given in enieo regardless of the current location of the race. The amount varies from leg to leg, ranging from no money to hundreds of dollars.

For more on this penalty, see The Amazing COFR Race#Non-elimination Legs.

If a team spends all of their money or has it taken away in a non-elimination round, they may try to get more money in any way that doesn't violate the local laws. This includes borrowing money from other teams, begging from locals or selling their possessions.

Teams have reported on the existence of an emergency fund that is carried by their crew and can only be used in extreme circumstances, but generally not as a means to pay for any activity related to the Race. However, the exact amount is not known, nor are the exact circumstances when it can be used.

Route Markers[]

TACR Route Marker

Route Markers are the flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks.

Route Markers are always colored yellow and light blue, with two white strips between the two colors. The design is somewhat similar to the route marker used in Season 8 of the American version. Light blue and white are use to represent the colors of the COFR flag.

Clues[]

Route Information[]

Route information are blue cards.

Route Info clues instruct the teams where to go next. The clue usually only provides the name of the team's next destination; it is up to the teams to figure out how to get there. However, the clue may make specifications about how the teams have to travel. For example, the very first clue of the race specifies which flights teams may take. In addition, teams may be required to take public transportation, drive a marked car or other vehicle, or walk, according to the clue's instructions.

The Route Info clues can instruct teams to go to several types of locations, including a specific location in another city or country, another location within the team's present city, the Pit Stop of the leg, or the Finish Line of the race.

The clue box has included a variable number of clues (placed by spotters near each clue box just prior to racers arriving at the box) so that a team usually cannot determine its present standing by counting the remaining clues. Unless instructed, teams are not allowed to take more than one clue from a given clue box and are penalized for doing so.

Each Route Info clue is placed in a letter-sized yellow envelope with a tear strip (coining the phrase "rip 'n read" for the process of opening the clue and reading it). The Route Info itself is printed on a vertical half of standard letter-size paper, and placed in a vertical-fold folder contained in the envelope. Additional printed instructions for the task, which are generally not made aware to the viewer, are also contained in this folder. Teams are generally required to keep all Route Info envelopes, folders, and papers throughout the leg, surrendering them at the next Pit Stop. Some of the clues may require teams to take a number or time for priority and may cause fights in the race.

Detour[]

Detour are yellow cards.

A Detour presents the team with a decision between two tasks, "each with its own pros and cons", as described by host Goodwind. Teams are given several details about both tasks, but may need to travel a short distance by foot or car to the different task locations. One task is typically less physically demanding but is tedious or requires some amount of time or thinking to complete, while the other is usually a more physically demanding or frightening option that, depending on the team's ability, may take less time to complete. The decision on which task to attempt lies solely with the team. A team may choose to switch tasks as many times as they wish with no penalty other than the time lost in attempting the tasks and traveling between task locations. Because of this freedom to choose between tasks, the penalty for not completing either task is significant (see Penalties and time credits).

U-turn[]

U-turn are yellow signs.

The U-Turn is always placed immediately after a Detour. When there was going to be a U-Turn, the teams would find the message "Caution, U-Turn Ahead" in their clue. Teams being U-turned must complete the Detour task which they did not just previously complete (hence, they must complete both detours). In implementation, it is quite similar to the Yield, having a large sign where the team choosing to apply the penalty places a large picture of the affected team, above a smaller picture of themselves; as well, no team may use the U-Turn more than once in the full Race. It there usually would be a total of two U-Turns through the entire race. It is possible for a team to use their U-Turn power against a team that has already passed the U-Turn marker, effectively wasting it, as no team pictures are removed from the U-Turn marker, preventing a team to determine their placement in the leg. Teams that lose their "Courtesy Of" picture during the course of the Race lose their power to use the U-Turn. There are no priority numbers to take out should two or more teams want to U-Turn a team.

Roadblock[]

Roadblock are red cards.

A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. Before heading into a Roadblock, teams read a vague clue about the task to come. Often, a team may figure out the specific task by observing their surroundings, using common sense, or even seeing other teams already performing the Roadblock task. Based only on the vague clue and any observations of their surroundings and/or other teams, they must decide which team member would be best suited to complete it before reading the rest of the task description. Once a choice has been made, the teammates cannot switch roles. For the first three seasons of the race, Roadblocks came after a Detour in every leg.

Unless the clue indicates otherwise, the other teammate(s) cannot assist in the task though they may verbally offer advice and encouragement, usually standing in a designated area off to the side. In a select few Roadblocks, the team member that did not opt to do it may be required to participate. The participating team members from other teams are able to help each other, however, unless otherwise indicated by the clue. A Roadblock is featured (although, in some episodes, not aired) in every leg.

Each team member may complete a maximum of only half of the number of Roadblocks throughout the entire race. Since there are normally twelve Roadblocks in the Race, this rule forces each team to split the Roadblocks equally between the two members (unless a team uses a Fast Forward to skip one Roadblock, in which case the split can be 6-5, if they somehow manage to get two Fast Forwards, the split can possibly be 6-4).

Fast Forward[]

Fast Forward are green cards.

The Fast Forward allows the team that receives it to skip all remaining tasks on that leg of the race and proceed directly to the Pit Stop. To receive the Fast Forward, the team must be the first team to perform and complete the task described on the Fast Forward clue. The clue is found along with a regular clue at one of the Route Markers.

Only one team may use each Fast Forward. Any team that is beaten to the Fast Forward will have wasted their time and must go back and pick up where they left off. Also, each team was allowed to use only one Fast Forward during the whole race, requiring teams to decide when it was most advantageous to use it. With the introduction of the Intersection route marker (see below), a team can claim two Fast Forwards in a single race, one while part of a grouped team during an Intersection, and another as a single team. In the event a Fast Forward was not attempted by any team on a leg, the task involved was not shown, though clue envelopes with the green Fast Forward marker can usually be spotted by the viewers.

A Fast Forward usually results in the team arriving at the Pit Stop first, but does not guarantee it.

Skip[]

Skip are orange signs.

The Skip is always present at the clue box before any other task. It allow the last team to encounter the Skip not to perform any Detour or Roadblock for the remainder of the leg; teams who are not in last place when they encounter the Skip does not have this privilege. The Skipped team cannot use the Fast Forward and U-Turn for that leg only, but will not be affected by the U-Turn should another team U-Turns the Skipped team. All teams must pull out the priority number tags upon encounting the Skip.

The design of the Skip can be misleading as the Skip does not guarantee that the Skipped team will be first to reach the pit stop. The Skip only allows the Skipped team to work harder not to be last.

Bad Luck[]

Bad Luck are dark green signs.

The Bad Luck, similar to the Speed Bump and the U-Turn, can happen at any part of the leg, forcing the first team to encounter the Bad Luck to perform an additional task that other teams do not need to perform. In addition, the Bad Lucked team will have to perform both Detour task, instead of performing only one Detour task. The Bad Lucked team cannot use the Fast Forward and U-Turn for that leg only, but will not be affected by the U-Turn should another team U-Turns the Bad Lucked team. All teams must pull out the priority number tags upon encounting the Bad Luck.

The design of the Bad Luck represents the four-leaf clover, which symbolise luck.

Race legs[]

Leg Structure[]

Each leg of The Amazing Race normally consists of an initial route marker, typically instructing the team to travel to a different location, and then a series of 2 or more route markers, including one Detour and one Roadblock, at that new location, with a final route marker directing the teams to the check-in mat at the Pit Stop. Teams are required to complete each task in order. Otherwise, teams are free to use any waiting time (due to travel or hours of operation) as they desire within the scope of the Race rules. However, all activities (food, drink, transportation, and lodging) must be paid for using only the accumulated money they have been given through the Race. Teams will commonly sleep outdoors in front of a task location that is closed until the next day unless the production team has provided sleeping arrangements for the teams.

The Check-in Mat[]

When teams arrive at the Pit Stop, all members must all step on the check-in mat — the official finish line for that leg — in front of Goodwind and a local greeter that represents the country they are presently in. Check-in mats for pit stops would feature an ornately decorated world map. The finish line mats are an elevated red carpet with The Amazing Race logo enlarged on it.

If the team has incurred any penalties or failed to complete a task, Goodwind will tell the team their arrival position (e.g. "You're the third team to arrive") but instead of checking them in will ask the team to step off and wait out the penalty, or that they need to return to the missed task. Otherwise, Goodwind will inform the team of their status as "Team Number --". The last team to be checked in at the Pit Stop is eliminated, barring any penalties, or unless that leg of the race is one of the predetermined non-elimination legs.

If two or more teams reach the mat at the same time for the first place, these teams are checked in for first place for one leg and left for the next at the same time; however, there was only one prize to be given for finishing first, requiring the teams to determine which team received it.

In all legs, the first team to arrive wins a prize such as a vacation or cruise, which they receive after that particular season has aired on TV.

Teams normally complete all tasks and check in at the Pit Stop before they are eliminated. Occasionally, on an elimination leg, if all other teams have checked in and the last team is very far behind, Route Markers may instruct them to go directly to the Pit Stop without completing the rest of the leg. Conversely, host Alexson Goodwind may go out to the team's location to eliminate them if they won't/can't finish a task. There have been times where a team, after all others reached the Pit Stop, appears to have been directed to the Pit Stop or to quit the last Detour or Roadblock prematurely in some manner outside the normal method of providing a Route Marker.

Non-elimination legs[]

Each race has a number of predetermined non-elimination legs, in which the last team to check in at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race. Racers are not told in advance which legs are non-elimination legs. The statement "The last team to check in may be eliminated" has been used on every leg.

Speed Bump

The penalty for coming in last on non-elimination legs is that teams were required to complete an additional task called a "Speed Bump". This task occurs somewhere in the leg after the non-elimination leg. The Speed Bump task is marked with a sign similar to the Yield or U-Turn placed just before a route marker in the leg it occurs on, and has a picture of the team that must complete the task on the sign as the other teams are racing. The team must retrieve both the normal marker clue and the Speed Bump clue, and then must proceed to complete the Speed Bump task first before they can continue racing.

Double-elimination legs[]

Each race has at least one double-elimination leg, which eliminated two teams in a leg. The first elimination occurs midway thorugh the leg and the second elimination occurs at the end of the same leg. Double-elimination legs usually happens on Superlegs.

Final legs[]

Three teams compete in the last leg of the race. This first part of the leg includes intermediate destination(s) where the teams must travel to complete a series of tasks. The second part of the leg has teams traveling to a final destination, usually located on Earth. The remaining teams must complete one or more tasks before receiving the clue directing them to the Finish Line. At the finish line, host Alexson Goodwind and all the eliminated teams wait for the remaining teams to arrive.

The first team to reach the finish line wins the race and the top cash prize, 1 000 000 eniea. All other teams win lesser amounts of money on a sliding scale based on their finishing order.

Ideally, all three remaining teams arrive at the finish line within a reasonable amount of time. On occasion, the third place team has fallen so far behind the other two teams that they cannot finish the race in a timely manner. In this case, after the other two teams finish, they are informed that the race is over at their next Route Marker.

Rules and penalties[]

All teams must abide by the rules set at the beginning of the race. Failure to do so can result in time penalties, which can negatively affect finishing position in that leg of the race. While the complete set of official rules has not been released to the public, certain rules have been revealed during the race:

Rules[]

  • Teams must purchase economy class tickets for airfare. Teams are allowed to be upgraded to first or business class by the airline, as long as they only paid an economy fare. Airline tickets must be purchased using the team's credit card (provided by the show), rather than money on hand. The credit card cannot be used for any other purpose, and may only be accessed in the airport, rather than online internet booking.
  • When teams need to purchase their own tickets, they may not travel on airlines or air routes that have been blacklisted by production, or may be only allowed to fly on airlines within a given white list; this is generally for safety and security reasons, but has also been used to prevent teams from finding routes not previously identified by the race planners that would gain considerably more time than expected and leading to teams potentially being more than a day apart.
  • Teams are not allowed contact with known friends, family, and personal acquaintances during the race. However, teams are allowed to stay in contact with and receive help from people they meet during the race, such as a travel agent or locals.
  • When stated, teams may not help other teams in challenges. Otherwise, teams may assist one another in completing tasks. When there is an Intersection, teams are forced to work together.
  • Racers are prohibited from smoking during the race. This results in the sometimes cantankerous attitude of some contestants.
  • Each team is accompanied by a two-person audio/video crew for the duration of the leg. The A/V crews rotate after each leg. For filming purposes, team members are generally required to stay within 20 feet of each other, unless one person is performing a Roadblock, and must also stay close to their A/V crew unless otherwise instructed. The A/V crew must be able to accompany the team when they use a form of transportation unless otherwise indicated; in other words, there must be room in a car, taxi, bus, train, or plane for both members of the team and the two crew members, otherwise, the team is then unable to use that form of transportation.
  • Teams are forbidden from bringing maps, guidebooks, language books, and many electronic devices including cell phones, GPS units, and PDAs, though maps and guidebooks may be purchased during the race from the money they have been given. The teams are otherwise free to carry as much or as little as they deem necessary. Generally, teams will be provided with winter clothing if they reach cold climates, and are not required to include these articles within their bags. Each team is also given a fanny pack (black with sky blue and white stripes, sometimes called "The Amazing Purse") which is not considered part of their luggage. Teams are to use this pack to keep their passports and official Race documentation and travel forms, and it cannot be left behind as with personal belongings. If it is lost, there is no penalty applied to that team, since that team will not be able to progress into different countries in future legs of the race without their passports.
  • Teams may be forced to submit their backpacks and possessions to searches by production staff at any time and are checked just prior to the start of the race.
  • Additional rules specific for a leg or for a task may be given along with the normal clue that is seen by the audience, provided to racers as one or more sheets of standard typewritten notes that are often seen on the show; these rules are generally not explained to the audience unless a violation of these rules occurs, but teams are required to abide by these additional rules until told otherwise. These rules typically outline driving and air travel restrictions.

Penalties and time credits[]

  • The standard penalty for minor rule infractions is 30 minutes plus the time advantage gained (if any) by disobeying the rule. When the team arrives at a pit stop, Alexson Goodwind will state "you are the nth team to arrive", and then he will inform them of the penalty or the missed clue. This penalty is known to apply when taking the wrong form or a prohibited mode of transportation, receiving a traffic citation, not following the instructions on the clue, or interfering with other teams in ways such as (inadvertently) taking another team's assigned car or taking more than one clue from a clue box. Unlike most penalties, however, if the penalty is for a traffic citation and it does not impact the ability of that team to remain in the race, it will usually be assessed at the departure time for the next leg.
    • If a team realizes they performed an infraction of the rules before they move on to the next task or check in, they can go back to the point where the infraction occurred and repeat the task as per the rules without any penalty outside of the time wasted to return to the task, unless their actions have interfered with another team, in which case a penalty is still applied. In some cases, a team that skips a Route Marker or performs a task incorrectly does not receive a penalty; rather, the racers will not be able to check in at the Pit Stop and will be told by host Alexson Goodwind to complete the missed tasks.
  • If a team should quit a Roadblock, they are assessed a four-hour penalty starting from when the next team arrives. If a team should quit a Detour, they are assessed a 8-hour penalty.
  • If a team's vehicle breaks down through no fault of their own or otherwise becomes inoperable, they may request a replacement vehicle without receiving a time penalty. However, no time credit is given for their wait in this unlucky situation.
  • Teams that fly on business or first class tickets are assessed a 12 hour penalty.
  • Sometimes, teams are delayed by production difficulties and several teams were awarded time credits because of such difficulties.

Most penalties and time credits are applied when the team arrives at the Pit Stop, regardless of where the penalty occurred during the leg; Alexson will ask the team to step off to the side and wait out their penalty while other teams may check-in before them. Penalties may be assessed after a leg and applied to the start time for the next leg but otherwise do not affect placement of the teams and thus aren't shown, though they can usually be inferred. Only in the case where a penalty affects team placement will the post-assessment of a penalty be shown.

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