Betting on Horses
Betting on Horses Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the Game
- Racing money in denominations from 20 racing crowns up to 10,000 racing crowns (DK)
- Horse cards: 22
- "Chance" cards (marked N on the back): 14
- "Finance" cards (marked F on the back): 14
- "Trainer" cards: 4
- "Transport" card: 1
- "Stables" card: 1
- Yellow tokens for marking races
- Red tokens for marking main races
- Playing pieces in 6 colours: 6
- Die: 1
- Plastic insert for storing the game components
- Rulebook
- Game board, divided into 4 parts by a cross-shaped cut
Setup
The divided game board is assembled into a single whole using the cut-out locks. Which parts belong together is shown by the central picture. Place two separate face-down piles of shuffled cards, one marked N ("Chance") and one marked F ("Finance"), on the marked spaces in the centre of the board.
2 to 6 players may take part. Each player chooses one of the differently coloured pieces and places it on the space marked "Start".
Before play begins, the players choose among themselves a banker. The banker may also take part in the game as one of the players. The banker performs this function in addition to playing, and it has no effect on their own game. The banker keeps the money and property of the bank separate from their own funds.
Each player receives from the bank a starting deposit of 30,000 racing crowns in the following banknotes: 10,000 x 1, 2,000 x 6, 1,000 x 4, 400 x 3, 200 x 10, 100 x 7, 20 x 5.
The banker starts the game. The other players continue after the banker, clockwise.
Opening Moves
The first player, whose piece is on "Start", rolls the die and moves forward along the yellow strip of the board by as many spaces as the die shows. (Note: after rolling a 6, the player rolls again and the rolls are added together.) Each space on the board has a meaning. The player immediately carries out whatever their position on the board requires. To illustrate, here is how the first few spaces work.
Example: A player rolls a 1 on the die and moves one space from Start, stopping on the space for the horse "FANTOME". If they want to buy this horse, they pay the banker the stated amount. The price is printed both on the board space and on the horse card. After paying, the player receives from the banker the card for the horse "FANTOME". The player keeps this card, because if any other player lands on this space, they must pay the owner of "FANTOME" the fee set for a stable inspection. That fee is again printed on the horse card and on the board space. (Horse cards are described in detail later.)
If a player rolls a 2 after Start, they land on the "Finance" space. They turn over the top card of the "Finance" pile (the pile marked F). The player carries out the instruction on the card and then returns the card to the bottom of the pile, face down.
A player who rolls a 4 after Start lands on the "Veterinary examination" space. According to the instruction printed on the board, they immediately pay the stated amount to the bank (the banker).
The fifth space from Start is the space marked "TRAINER 1". As with the horse spaces, a player who lands here decides whether to buy this space from the bank, if it is free. If it is free and they decide to buy it, they pay the banker the stated amount and receive from the banker the card "TRAINER 1". The player keeps this card (licence) themselves, because if another player lands on this space, they must immediately pay the owner of the card (licence) "TRAINER 1" the stated amount. (Trainer cards are described in detail later.)
If a player lands on a "CHANCE" space, they turn over the top card of the pile marked N (CHANCE) immediately, as with Finance, and carry out the instruction on the card. The card is returned face down to the bottom of the pile.
These were examples of the opening game situations. All the other board spaces are described in detail in the rules that follow.
After the first player's roll, the other players roll in turn, and everyone follows the meaning of the spaces as explained in the notes below. The purpose of their actions is that, at their own discretion, they buy from the bank at the purchase price, or from a fellow player at an agreed price, trainer licences, services (stable and transport), and above all horses, which are arranged into individual colour-coded stables. A player may buy from the bank only the horse on whose space they have stopped. Each player who has bought a horse tries to obtain all the horses of one colour (one stable), because only a player who owns all the horses of one colour (one stable) may enter these horses in RACES.
What is a RACE
A player who owns all the horses of one stable (that is, one colour), and who stops on any horse of that acquired stable when moving around the board again, may buy from the bank, according to their financial situation, 1 to 4 yellow tokens. These tokens represent RACES. The player places the purchased tokens on the space of the horse for which they bought the RACE(S). It is very advantageous to have as many stables as possible, because these horses can be entered in races, that is, the player can buy yellow tokens from the bank. This is because when an opposing player lands on a space with placed tokens, they must pay the owner high amounts, which are printed on the horse cards. (Example: The horse "NARCIUS", entered in four races, earns its owner 26,000.) This is the amount that each opponent who lands on this space at any time during the game must pay the owner of the horse "NARCIUS".
A player who has acquired all the horses of one colour (stable) during the game, and who has one of these horses already entered in up to 4 races (a horse with four yellow tokens), may, if they land on this horse again during the game, enter this horse in the MAIN RACE OF THE SEASON (red token). Entering a horse in the MAIN RACE OF THE SEASON is therefore conditional on the horse having previously been entered in four races (four yellow tokens).
Earlier in the rulebook it was stated that players buy from the bank, at a fixed value, services, horse cards, races and main races. However, please note: purchases and business dealings are not only between players and the bank. Negotiations over the sale and purchase of services (trainers, stables, transport, etc.), as well as of horses and entire stables, also take place between players, and in these negotiations no fixed prices are set. Only supply and demand decide. It is common at the start of the game for several players to own horse cards from the same stable. (Players buy free horses that the bank has available.) However, because races may be bought only by a player who owns the whole stable (that is, all horses of one colour) and not just part of it, one player makes a direct offer to another, stating the price at which they will sell (release) or buy the necessary horse card. Such dealings take place throughout the game and also concern whole stables, including races and services. (A more detailed treatment of this part is given later.)
A transaction between the bank or fellow players is concluded by the player after they have rolled the die and moved the corresponding number of spaces. Until it is concluded, no other player rolls, even if they are not a party to the transaction. The player tells the banker what they want to buy from the bank, pays the stated amount, and only then may the next player continue the game. In the case of a sale between players, the player whose turn it is rolls the die, makes their move, and then proposes to the player with whom they want to deal a price of their own choosing for the sale or purchase. The other players, while the negotiation is in progress, do not play and wait for it to end.
Every owner of a horse or service is obliged to claim their entitlements against the other players and against the bank themselves. If they do not do so, their entitlements lapse after the next roll of another player. It is part of the rules of the game that players do not remind each other of these omissions. By agreement among the players, the banker may be assigned to monitor compliance with this rule and to collect a cash fine from the offending player, in an amount the players set among themselves at the start of the game.
Betting on an Opponent's Horses
The risk that a player faces from opponents' horses entered in races or in a main race may be reduced by betting. Before a roll, a player places any amount of money on one or more opponents' horses, but only on those spaces that are occupied by at least 3 races or by a main race. Bets apply to one roll only, so bets may be placed only for the range of a single die roll.
If, after this roll, the player actually lands on one of the horses they bet on, the owner of the horse pays them ten times the amount staked. If the player does not land on the space marked by the bet, the owner of the horse wins the stake.
Only a player who themselves owns at least 1 horse with at least 3 races may take part in betting on horses. Each player is obliged, after their roll, to settle all the resulting claims of opponents or of the bank. That is, even a player who bet on a horse and won must, of course, pay the horse's owner the winnings from the number of races in which the horse is entered.
Raising Money (Selling Property)
If any player does not have enough money to meet their financial obligations, they must sell part of their property to cover them. They may sell services either to the bank at the purchase price, or to other players at any price. If a player must, for financial reasons, deal with horse cards or races, they proceed as follows:
- If they own a whole stable with at least one occupied race, they sell the whole stable to one opponent at any price. The whole stable, including its races, may be sold only to a single player. It is not permitted to sell part of a stable if at least 1 race is occupied.
- They return any number of races to the bank. The bank pays the player half the purchase value for each returned race.
- They return all races to the bank, receiving half the value for the races, and then sell horse cards to opponents at an agreed price, or return the horse cards to the bank at their original value.
Caution! Because only a player who owns the whole stable (that is, one colour) may enter horses in races, it must never happen during dealings in cards and races that different owners hold horse cards from one stable with occupied races.
A player's participation in the game ends when they have no further means to settle their debts. If a player still ends the game in debt after selling all their property, the bank covers their debt and the player withdraws from the game. The winner is the one who remains in the game last.
Board Spaces: Explanations of the Symbols
"Start" space: The game starts here. Each time a player completes a circuit and passes the "Start" space, they receive from the bank a subsidy of 4,000 DK (racing crowns), except for certain instructions on "Chance" cards.
Horse-name spaces: Spaces of the same colour form one stable. The purchase price of a horse is stated on the board and on the card that the player receives when buying it from the bank or from the original owner. The stable inspection fee is paid to the owner by the player who, after their roll, lands on the space with the corresponding horse name. The cost of preparing a horse for races is stated on the card, and the owner of the horse pays it to the bank when buying a race. The owner also pays the bank, according to the rate on the card, the cost of preparing a horse for the season's main race. A player may buy the main race only if they have already entered the horse in 4 races. The player marks races on a horse's space with yellow tokens and the main race with a red token. When buying a main race, the player hands the yellow tokens back to the bank. The income from races is paid to the owner by the player who lands on this space, according to the number of races and the rates stated on the horse card.
Trainer spaces: If a player lands on a "TRAINER" space and it is free, they may buy it from the bank. After paying the stated amount (4,000 racing crowns), they receive from the banker the "TRAINER" card (licence). By this purchase the player obtains only 1 card (licence). It is not possible to buy several TRAINER cards from the bank at once. Other TRAINER cards (licences) can be obtained from the bank in the same way as the first, by landing on the next free "TRAINER" space. TRAINER cards (licences) may also be obtained through direct dealings and purchases from other players at an agreed price. In this way, all the cards can be obtained at once. The price for buying a trainer licence is stated on the card and on the board. The amounts paid for trainer services to the licence owner increase according to the number of trainer licences the player owns. When a player lands on a "Trainer" space, they pay the owner the following rates: if someone owns 1 trainer licence (card), they receive 1,000 DK; if they own 2, they receive 2,000 DK; if they own 3, they receive 3,000 DK; and if they own all 4 trainer licences, they receive 4,000 racing crowns.
"Stables" and "Transport" spaces: The price for buying the "Stables" and "Transport" is stated on the card and on the board. The owner of one card receives from the player who lands on the space so marked 80 times the die roll. If a player owns both cards, they receive from a fellow player who lands on either of them 200 times the die roll.
All cards, that is the horse cards, "Trainer", "Stables", and "Transport", are bought from the bank at the purchase price in the early rounds. Later, players may sell these cards to each other at an agreed price. When sold back to the bank, the bank pays only the purchase price.
"Chance" and "Finance" spaces: When a player stops on one of these spaces, they take the top card from the corresponding pile and follow the instructions on that card. After carrying out the instruction, they return the used card to the bottom of the pile. One "Chance" card allows the cancellation of a distance at any time during the game. After use, this card too is returned to the pile.
"Distance" space: A player who stops here, or who gets here by using a "Chance" card, or who has rolled a 6 twice in a row during the game, does not take part in races for the duration of the distance. This means that none of their fellow players pays them any fees for races, only the fee for stable inspections. A player in distance takes part in rolling the die in their turn. After rolling a 6, the distance ends and the player rolls again. Only after the second roll do they advance to further spaces.
"Veterinary service" space: The fee printed on the board is paid to the bank on this space. No other restriction for the player arises from this.
"Car park" space: No fees are paid on this space.
"Doping suspicion" space: A player who stops here does not roll once, and during this one skipped turn they do not take part in any race, that is, opponents do not pay them any race fees, except for the fee for a stable inspection.
IMPORTANT!!!
If a player rolls a 6 on the die, they always roll again and advance by the sum of both rolls. If on the second roll they also roll a 6, the player must go from any position on the board to the "Distance" space and must wait for another roll of 6 before they can continue the game.
Closing Notes
We recommend that you study the rules thoroughly before starting the game. The game has its own logic, which may not be apparent after a quick reading, and any disagreements during play would spoil your impression of this uniquely interesting game.
If during play you find that some rule is too strict, the players may by agreement soften it. For example, the meaning of the "DISTANCE" space, where the affected player waits for a roll of 6, may be replaced by having the affected player wait for 2 rounds, and so on.
Likewise, if during play you discover a more advantageous variant or combination, let us know your findings.
We wish you much fun and instruction, and we trust that our new game will fully capture your interest.