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Overview
The aim is to bet correctly on the winning horse of each race, there are 4-6 races depending on player count
The basic rules are for Flat Racing throughout, the advanced rules are for swapping around each race to maybe include Obstacle &/or Harness &/or Steeplechase tracks too
Although colour will be used throughout, each colour has a number associated with it, if you prefer to work with numbers instead of colours
Turn Structure
Deal movement cards (& pick Track type in advanced mode)
All players predict
Horses Movement
Establish Rank
Score the Race
Deal and Track
The First player deals 3-7 Movement cards to each player, including themselves
If in advanced mode, first player picks between the 4 track types for that race
If in basic mode, no picking as it will be Flat Racing throughout
All Players Predict
Each player can predict up to 3 horses to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, these don't have to be picked in order e.g. you can pick 1 horse to be 3rd and no 1st or 2nd prediction
After which, all predictions are made public
Horse Movement
In clockwise order, each player plays 1 movement card from their hand until everyone has played their hand
A movement card can move a horse backwards OR forwards OR sideways (No Diagonals)
Movement is only blocked by the edge of the board (Other horses don't block movement)
If, after moving, a horse lands on another horse, the previous horse is moved to an adjacent space of your choice. However, if all adjacent spaces are occupied, this horse can't be pushed and thus the move is not allowed
If a horse crosses the dotted line, it can no longer be moved backwards, but sideways is allowed (Note: the dotted line is NOT a finish line)
There are THREE types of cards you may hold
A colour with spaces, moves that horse that number of spaces
A multicolour with spaces, moves any horse that number of spaces
A dual colour without spaces, move one of the horses depicted adjacent to the other depicted, either in front, behind, or to the side of it (e.g. a card with a green and yellow means you may move the green next to the yellow or the yellow next to the green)
Establish Rank
The horse furthest to the right is in 1st place, and all behind it are 2nd, 3rd...and so on respectively
If multiple horses are in the same column, take only their Photo Finish cards and shuffle them and draw to determine the actual order (e.g. Yellow and Green are tied for 3rd, shuffle Yellow and Green only, whichever is drawn is 3rd, the other is 4th)
Score the Race
Place your betted tokens where they came, either win bet, show bet, or no show
Win Bet is if the horse was in the top 3 and in the place you stated e.g. you said Green 2nd, and Green was 2nd
Show Bet is if the horse was in the top 3 but NOT in the place you stated e.g. you said Green 2nd, and Green was 1st
No Show is if the horse was NOT in the top 3 and thus NOT in the place you stated e.g. you said Green 2nd, and Green was 5th
You win points on a Win Bet or Show Bet (More for a Win Bet) and lose points on a No Show according to the card
Total the 1-3 horses you bet on based on their place, and move your score marker back or forth that number of spaces on the main score track (There is the possibility to reach negative 8, but no lower)
Bonus: If you bet 3 horses and all three were Win Bets gain +5, if you bet 3 horses and they come in 1st-3rd but the wrong order gain +2 (This could be a mix of Win Bet and Show Bet)
Now pass the first player token and start a new round, if this is the last round then the player with the most points is the winner
ADVANCED TRACKS
Obstacle - This introduces Hedges, which can be jumped over forward or even sideways, but horses can't jump backwards so no backwards movement over them
Steeple - This has Hedges too, but also has a river which can be crossed but no horse can stop on it (either through movement or repositioning)
Harness - There are spots on the board with horseshoe prints, these can be moved on or through as normal, but at end of the race if a horse is still on one it is disqualified and gains no rank