We were at a house party a number of years ago with a group of fun-loving friends when one of them pulled out a “must play” game. There were horses, cards, dice and money on the line. It was the Horse Racing game where we ended up having more laughs and cheers and groans than anything else we had played before (and it was a very fun-loving group). Over the years, I’ve thought about this game and knew the day would come when I would have to re-learn how to play.
Lucky for you, today is that day. This Horse Racing game is more complicated than our Zebra Racing game and is just as fun as the Play or Pay game and the Mafia dice game too.
In this post, I’ll cover how to play the Horse Racing game, the rule variations and where you can get one of your own. So let’s get off to the races.
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What You Need for the Horse Racing Game
First, you will need the Horse Racing game board. You can get some really nice wooden ones on Amazon here (Canadians here.) It is sometimes sold as Derby Day. Or you can get a DIY version in our Family Game Shelf shop here.
In addition to the game board, you will need two dice, a deck of cards, and coins, poker or bingo chips. If you have more than four or five player you will need two decks of cards.
Setting Up the Horse Racing Game
First, remove the aces, kings and jokers form the deck and shuffle well.
Next, place the horses on the game board according to their numbers. The number 2 and 12 horses have a shorter run because they are less likely to be rolled. Their shorter runs evens up the playing field. Similarly, the seven has the longest run as it is the most likely number to be rolled.
Once the horses are in place, you will pick the scratch horses. To do this, roll the dice and add them together. This is the first scratch horse. Move the horse backwards to the first line (the 5 cent or one chip space.) Next, roll the dice again to get the second scratch horse. (If you roll the same number, reroll.) This horse is placed in the second scratch spot (the 10 cent of two chip spot.) Repeat the process again for third and fourth horses.
Now that all of the scratch horses have been picked, the dealer hands out the cards so that everyone has an equal amount of cards. The rest are set side.
Each player now looks at their cards. If you have any cards that match the scratch horse, you need to pay the amount for that horse. For example, if the 4 four is in the 5 cent spot and you have the 4 of clubs, you will need to put 5 cents into the pot. Similarly, if the 6 horse is in the 10 cent spot and you have two tens in your hand you will have to put 20 cents into the pot.
Playing the Horse Racing Game
Once everyone has paid, the scratch cards are set aside. Now, the player to the dealer’s left rolls both dice. If she has rolled a scratch horse, she pays. On the other hand, if she rolled a different horse, that horse moves forward on the board.
It is now the next players turn to roll the dice. Again, if a scratch horse is rolled, that player pays up. If a different horse is rolled, that horse moves forward one space.
The game continues like this until one horse crosses the finish line.
Winning the Horse Race Game
Once one horse has crossed the finish line, the race if over. Any player with a card that matched the winning horse gets to slip the money in the pot. For example if the number 5 horse wins the race, any player with a 5 in their hand of cards gets an equal part of the money in the pot.
Variations
This is a popular game so you would expect several variations to be out there, however I could find very few. The first one is that all the cards are dealt, even if some players will have more cards than others. In this set up, it would be important for the position of dealer to rotate with each game.
Next, is the scratch horses. The most popular game has the scratch horses all have different amount of money that you have to pay from 5 cents to a dollar (as described above). There are other games that have you paying out different amounts of chips ranging from one chip to 4 chips. Another game has all the scratch horses paying just one chip. Which method you play with depends on how serious you are and how many chips you have as well as the age of the players. Younger players may prefer the one chip only method.
The last rule variation is that when you don’t have a card of the winning horse, you then have to add one chip to the pot.
And the Winner is…
You! If you love fast paced games, then the Horse Racing game is a must play game. If you play for money, for keeps, for chips or just for fun, this game is great for a group and will keep you on the edge of your seat.
To shop game sets, see the Horse Racing here; Canadians here. You can also get a print DIY version in our Family Game Shelf shop here-it uses everyday items and is just as much fun as the others plus it doesn’t use up as much space on your Family Game Shelf!
While you’re in the shop be sure to check out the original and seasonal games we have like Dice Sticks and Whacky Putt.
For more fun dice games check out the games Hidden Kings, Ship Captain Crew and Bank dice.
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