“What if Long Shot The Dice Game was actually Long Shot The Tiny Card Game?” is a question I hear people ask far too often. Thankfully, we have an answer in the form of WIN.
Introduction
WIN is latest in my series of Pack O Games reviews and I would say that it feels the most complicated of the lot so far even though it’s relatively straightforward. There’s two reasons for that – firstly it’s trying to pack a lot more into the tiny box than most of its siblings, and secondly I don’t think the rule sheet does the clearest job of explaining the actions section of a turn (again, even though it’s fairly simple once you understand it). Let’s get under starters orders and see what the going is like.
“What if Long Shot The Dice Game was actually Long Shot The Tiny Card Game?” is a question I hear people ask far too often. Thankfully, we have an answer in the form of WIN.
Introduction
WIN is latest in my series of Pack O Games reviews and I would say that it feels the most complicated of the lot so far even though it’s relatively straightforward. There’s two reasons for that – firstly it’s trying to pack a lot more into the tiny box than most of its siblings, and secondly I don’t think the rule sheet does the clearest job of explaining the actions section of a turn (again, even though it’s fairly simple once you understand it). Let’s get under starters orders and see what the going is like.
Setup
There’s a little more to this than most, but it builds up fairly logically and makes the most of some great multi-use cards.
Start off by creating the racecourse, laying out the 3 cards to create the 9 spaces for the horses to cover (and also, handily, the money tracker for each player). Then set out the six double-sided horse cards at the start line. You’re probably better off with their “A” sides while you get to grips with WIN, but you’re always free to mix and match them however you like.
Next, give each player their two double-sided bet cards and money/income card. The first player starts with 8 money and places the card with the arrow pointing at 8, with everyone else on 9.
Place the bookmaker card nearby, but you’ll need space for cards to be added vertically and horizontally around it so do give it some room. Deal everyone a starting bet card. This shows which horses you’re already invested in doing well and also doubles up as a reference for one of the actions you’ll take later.
Finally, give the first player the four “run” cards which they should shuffle. Definitely a lot more there than something like NUT or FAR but it’s also the only one of these I’ve played that’s based on an existing IP.
And they’re off…!
Despite the slightly chaotic rules (which I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to a lot to cover in a fixed amount of space) this gets simple pretty quickly.
The first player deals the double-ended “run” cards out in a random orientation and begins by looking at the final two cards to determine which horses move. Each card has a symbol at the top, three horse numbers and an arrow, and these are double-ended so you’re only ever considering those which are in the correct orientation.
The third card in the row will have a triple arrow pointing to a horse number on the fourth card and that horse will move forward three spaces along the course. The other two horses move a space each. So far so simple.
Next each player, clockwise from the start player gets to perform one action which depends on the horse numbers showing on the visible run cards on your turn. After taking your action, you’ll flip one of the cards, so the next player has less choice until everyone’s taken a turn. As you might suspect, this is much more freeing with two players than it is with four.
Let’s cover the actions briefly:
– Advance – pick a horse number that’s still visible on the run cards and move that horse forward one space for each instance of that number. If you can see number 5 twice, ove that horse forward two spaces
– Bet – place a $3 bet on a horse where it’s number is visible on the run cards by placing your bet marker adjacent to that horses’ number on the bookmaker card and reduce your money by $3. If there’s already a card there, or the horse is in space 8 or 9 on the course, pay an extra $2
– Deed – read the text of one of the horses whose number is visible on the run cards and carry out that action, paying any cost by moving your marker
– Cash – increase your total amount of money by the sum of all cash symbols on the visible cards by moving your marker up
– Eat – if there’s a visible food cart, take one of the three actions listed on the back of your starting bet card and pay the corresponding amount of money. These will allow you to move horses forward and/or backward on the course but are costly
And once again for clarification, when you’ve done your single action, flip a card over that had the number of the horse you used, or contained cash or a food truck.
I’d like to think that’s a little clearer than the rules, even if the explanations are a bit repetitive. If you can grasp this quickly, you’re in for a smooth ride for the rest of the game.
A small but important point to note is that you can only place bets in $3 increments, so even if you had $10 you can jump straight to a $6 bid – you’d need to spend two actions on two separate turns to do this. You also only have two bet markers, so once you’ve placed a wager on a second horse, you can’t hedge your bets further.
They’re coming down the final straight
When the third horse crosses the finish line, the game ends immediately and you cash in your winnings.
It’s important to know this can only happen as a result of the initial run card resolution, rather than an Advance or Deed action.
Firstly, look at your starting bet card and see how much, if anything, you’ve won. Each horse card has three numbers printed on it, and that’s how much you get for it coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd – so you multiply this by the value of the bet and move your money marker up accordingly.
Then look at any bets you placed with the bookmaker and calculate those in the same way. The player with the most money is the winner and tied players share the honours!
Final thoughts
I’m a little more torn on this one than others that I’ve played, but I think I’m unfairly grinding an axe about the rules rather than judging it for what it is.
There’s a huge amount of stuff here – bubblegum sized betting done really well. It definitely encapsulates the tension of horse racing really well. You have a number of options to manipulate either the position of the horses, or give yourself a leg up on the betting. If you’re flush with cash you can hamper other punters by holding back their horses and promoting your own.
There are a few things that feel a little less polished though. And while I think that’s just the nature of tiny box games, it might affect your experience. Whenever you’re moving the horse cards, those at the top and nearest the course marker are easy to line up. Moving horse number 6 is harder to align with the spaces. They do have “thirds” markers which is helpful to some extent, but it can be hard to keep track of.
The money markers mean you can track up to 39 money using the cards, but anything over you’re on your own. It’s not a huge deal as it only comes into play at the very end, but worth knowing.
Overall, I think there’s a lot of game here, and it’s definitely a great case study in how you can do a lot with 30 small cards and should be applauded for that. I think once you’re clear about what the actions do and how they work, you’ll get on well with WIN, but if it’s a more occasional game, you might have less fun with the rules.
