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The Great Games | Royal Turf

Royal Turf by Reiner Knizia art Franz Vohwinkel publish Alea Players: 2-6 Duration: 45-60 mins. Pace: Quick Complexity: Light. 60 seconds to teach. One (often tough) decision each turn. Luck: Lots. This is a horse race after all! There is a dice roll, but it's not like a traditional dice roll because of clever game design. Still, luck can win the day. Tension: High. All betting bids can be blind, and waiting with baited breath for the die to settle, getting you that Cap roll you need so badly...delicious tension! Laughter/Trashtalk: Tons. Pretend it's a horse race that you've bet real money on and you'll be hollering and threatening your horse just like at the track. Visuals: Very good. The visuals are perfect for the game, vintage Mr. Vohwinkel. Theme: High. With the right group, this game feels exactly like a horse race. Gamer Appeal: Probably. There is luck, but Knizia made movement a neat mathematical balance making the decision quite interesting. Non-G Appeal: Yes; playable by anyone of nearly any age. 2 players: Yes. A bit more strategic and certainly more quiet (no crowd screaming), but still fun. Replay: Very Good; The game is light, quick, and FUN!. Played 15+ times. Good with 2-6 players Best with: 2-6 players

Some games by Reiner Knizia Lord of the Rings Lost Cities Medici Ra Taj Mahal Thru The Desert Traumfabrik

Quick summary | This game is deceptively simple: roll a die, move a horse. But such a challenge to ensure victory. Each player has 4 bets to place, one a double-bet, one a bluff bid of zero value. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places will get money, last place loses money. There are 7 horses to pick from and each player places their bets one at a time face down. That way no one is exactly sure what horses are worth to each player. The more bets placed on a horse, the less that horse pays off for each chip if it wins! Gameplay is simple: Roll a die and move the horse of your choice. You may only move a horse once in a round, the round ends when all horses have been moved. At that point the next player may choice from any of the 7 horses again. What makes the game interesting is the mathematical balance brought to the horses. The die has 6 sides, and on the die, 3 sides have a Horse, then one side each of a Cap, a Saddle, and a Horseshoe. Each horse has a value for each symbol. The black horse gets to move 7 on a Horse roll, but is weaker in other areas; the grey horse gets nearly nothing from Horse roll but can get 13! from a Saddle roll, etc. Each horse is totally different, and each horse has three possible 'movement cards'. On top of that, every race the horses have a different starting position, and on top of that no two horses may occupy the same space. This game is lucky no doubt, but fun. On your roll, you'll be desperate for a Cap roll so you can boost your horse ahead -- or do you want the Cap roll so you can sink another player's horse? What if they bid zero on the horse? What do you do if you roll a Horse head and have to choose between moving two horses big numbers that you haven't bet on or moving your horse a small number? This game feels like a horse race. Everyone I've played it with likes it. Very accessible to non-gamers, and quick to boot, but I have the most fun playing with my game group. The cheering and groaning make this one a winner.

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