Enjoy a day at the races with Long Shot: The Dice Game; you'll be buying horses, picking up concessions and, most importantly, placing bets on which horses you think will achieve a podium finish. In solo mode you have the same goal, only rather than trying to out-earn other players you'll be going up against racing tycoon Roland Wright.
Solo Mode Gameplay
In the main game the roll of two dice determine which horses move and how far around the race track they progress. Players then take actions to try and earn them enough money to be declared the winner. In solo mode the mechanics are the same, only you're up against Roland Wright, who relies on the roll of the dice paired with a table of possible outcomes to determine the actions he takes on his turn.
Most of Roland's actions are straightforward, ranging from betting on the horse currently in the lead to buying whichever horse was just rolled on the dice. Likewise, the objective, and its reliance on luck as much as skill, remains the same – make more money than your unscrupulous opponent.
A Safe Bet?
The saying goes that there is "no such thing as a safe bet." In horse racing that is probably very true, but Long Shot may be the exception. In either mode the gameplay is easy to learn; by the time you've finished a couple of rounds of actions you've got the hang of it, and by the end of a full game you understand how fickle lady luck is, regardless of your strategy.
In solo mode, since you aren't waiting for other players to decide what to do on their turn, the gameplay is very rapid, with a full run through taking less than 30 minutes. The only thing that slows the pace are some of Roland's actions; on an initial solo playthrough some of them require a little clarification (most of which just require a re-read or double checking the instruction booklet).
Also, Roland's actions are limited to just those listed in the table, which risk becoming repetitive after a few playthroughs. Although the game does come with several sets of horse cards (more of which can also be bought from the developer) which add some variety and offer bonuses when players buy them. Likewise, the game is driven by the roll of the die, which means it's unlikely you'll get the same results in any two games.
Final Verdict
I've played Long Shot several times with different groups and it is always a laugh, and it is surprising how often something unexpected will happen, usually a horse coming from behind before anyone has had a chance to place a bet. That same feeling of the unexpected is recreated effectively in the solo mode and is executed well enough to make it worth rolling the dice.
