Finish Line

Finish Line Rulebook

Table of Contents

Contents
Preparations
Gameplay & Running the First Race
How the Rest of the Game Is Played: The Second and Third Race
End of the Game
Dice Roll Results List

24 horse tiles
4 screens
1 score sheet pad – double-sided: one side in English and one side in German
5 homestretch dice
12 racing dice
2 money dice
2 action dice
6 chance dice
1 Rules booklet with dice overview (see page 8)

Preparations

Give each player a score sheet from the pad and a pen (not included). Write your name at the top of the sheet. Note that you have 1000 to "invest" in the first race!
Give each player one screen each.
Put all 27 dice in the middle of the table (or in some suitable box placed there); this is now the pool, from which you will select dice to throw in your turn. (If you are only 2 players, put away 1 red, 1 yellow and 2 white dice.)
Shuffle the 24 horse tiles with the reverse side up so that they are in random order, and put them in one pile (still with the backsides up) in the middle of the table.

Gameplay & Running the First Race

A) Which horses will start in the first race?

Turn up the topmost 7 tiles with horses and jockeys, one by one, and lay out in a row on the table. The first tile goes to the far left, the next to the right of the first, and so on until you have a row with 7 horse tiles. All players now write down, on their score sheets under "Race #1", the numbers of those horses in that exact order.

Example: The first tile drawn was number 8, the next was number 22, the third one drawn was number 3, and so on. After seven tiles have been drawn and turned up, it may look like this – with horse number 20 starting in the lead.

B) How do you bet before the race?

Before you bet anything, study the seven horses about to run in the race! Some will be favourites (F, see below), and some will be steady runners (S, see below), and the latter do not risk being disqualified during the race. In addition, it of course matters whether a horse starts in the lead (= to the right) or behind all the other horses (= to the left): the further in front (= to the right) a horse starts, the easier it will be for that horse to win the race.

On the other hand, horses starting in front have lower payout odds – see the numbers 2x, 3x, 4x and so on below the starting positions on your score sheet!

There is no physical money in the game; instead, you keep a record of your wins and losses, using a pen and your score sheet. You may bet on a horse (or several) to win (Winner bets), or on two horses to come in first and second (Place bets).

Note that in the first race, you cannot bet more than € 1000 in total!

Winner bets: Here you write in the numbers of those horses you think are candidates to win the race, along with their respective payout odds and the amounts you bet on each horse. You may only bet in even steps of 100 (= 100, or 200, or 300, etc.), and only on a maximum of three horses! You also write down your bets in secret behind your screen.

Example: Let us assume that you, in the example above, choose to bet € 200 on horse #18, € 100 on horse #3, and € 400 on horse #11. Once you have written in these bets including the odds, it will look like this on your score sheet.

Place bets: Here you write in a combination of two horses you hope will come in first and second in the race. (The order does not matter at the finish line – if you have picked the combination of horse #18 and #11 for a place bet, you win this bet regardless of whether #18 wins and #11 comes in second, or if it is the other way around.) The corresponding odds are calculated – remember that this is a game, not an exact mirror of reality – by adding up the respective odds for the horses involved: 4x and 3x respectively will make 7x the money on that particular place bet. You may only write in two place bets!

Example: Let us further assume that with the starting line-up above, you make one place bet on horses #18 and 11, and another place bet on #11 and 20! Then it could look like this on your score sheet. Note also that you in this running game example have now bet a total of € 1000 (winner bets + place bets) in the first race – you are not allowed to bet more! (But you can bet less, if you wish.)

When all players have written in the bets they wish to make, it is time to run the first race.

It is important that you write down all your bets in secret behind your screen, so that none of the other players can see what you bet on! Not until the race is over, do the players expose their score sheets so that the others can see their bets.

C) How is the race run?

The "starting order" of the horses in the race is the order in which the tiles were drawn before the race (see page 3). Now you will use the available dice to plot your strategy and your tactics during the race, by re-arranging the row of horse tiles, many times over during the race – and when the final available die has been used, the two horses at the far right in the row are the horses which come in first and second respectively!

I. Have the 27 dice (= the pool) in the middle of the table, within reach of all. Choose a starting player. He or she now chooses three dice from the pool – they must however be in at least two different colours! – and rolls those three dice.

II. The yellow Homestretch dice may not be used until the horses are on the home stretch (= when there are only seven or fewer dice left in the pool, plus two more in front of a player)!

III. The starting player studies the result of his/her throw, chooses one of the three dice, follows that result, and passes the remaining two dice to the next player on the left.

IV. That player on the left chooses another die from the pool so that he or she now again has three dice in hand, rolls them, chooses one of the dice and follows that result, passes the remaining two dice to the left – and so on around the table, until the end of the race. The entire time, the rule that the three dice you roll must be in at least two different colours applies. (As far as possible: when there towards the end of the race are only dice of one colour left, so be it.)

V. Note that on each horse tile there are blank squares, where dice just rolled can be placed provided certain results appear on the throws. Some of these dice placed will cause a re-arrangement of the horse tiles!

C.1) How to interpret the results of the dice rolls

This is made clear from the Dice Sheet on page 8 of these rules, listing all the possible results. Some further clarifications can be found below!

C.2) Moving a horse tile ahead (= to the right) using the white dice

If you have rolled a horseshoe on a white die, and choose that die among the three you rolled, you place that die on any horse tile you wish. If you or another player later put another white die showing a horseshoe on that same horse tile so that there are two, that tile immediately moves ahead (= to the right) one position. After that horse tile has been moved ahead, the two white dice are taken off the tile and put away, out of the game for that race.

Example: A white die has previously been placed on horse #11, and the order in the race is currently like this. Now it is your turn to roll three dice; one white die shows a horseshoe. You place that white die on horse tile #11, so now there are two such dice. Horse #11 is immediately moved ahead one position, like this: After moving the horse tile ahead one position, both dice with horseshoes are put away, out of the game. The two remaining dice from the throw you pass left, to the next player.

C.3) Moving favourites (F) ahead

On some of the horse tiles you can find the letter F (= favourite). If you place one white die showing a horseshoe symbol on a favourite tile, that tile immediately moves ahead (= to the right) one position – just as if it would have had two white horseshoes on it. A favourite thus is easier to move ahead in the field, which you must keep in mind when placing your bets! After the favourite has been moved ahead, that white die is as usual taken out of the game.

C.4) Moving ahead with the help of a red die

If you roll the result "Double horseshoes" on a red Chance die, and choose to use it, that die is placed on any horse tile you wish – with the result that this tile is immediately moved ahead one position. After that the red die is as usual put away, out of the game. If – on the horse tile you moved ahead – there are any other dice (no matter what their colour), these dice remain on that horse tile after it has been moved ahead using the red die with the double horseshoes.

C.5) Steady runners (S)

On some of the horse tiles you can find the letter S (= steady runner). You may NOT place a red die with the "Whipping" side up on such a tile; and you may NOT take a white die with a horseshoe from a steady runner, and move it to another horse, when using the result "Tempo change"!

C.6) "Dead even" on a yellow die

If you roll this result on one of the yellow dice (and this has not occurred previously in the same race), and you choose this die from your roll, you move the horse tile which is currently second so that it is now dead even with (and above) the former leader, like this (see example): If any of the two dead even horse tiles is, during the rest of the race, moved ahead via another die placed on it, that tile is as usual put in front of the other and now they are not dead even anymore.

Two horses which are dead even and in the lead, are counted as sharing ONE place in the race. If for example (in the example above) there will be two white dice with horseshoes placed on horse #5, or one red die with double horseshoes, horse #5 will move ahead of both #11 and #20 and take the lead. ALSO – this is important – in such a case the horse on top (#11 in the example) falls back and is again placed immediately behind the lower horse (#20).

If however the two leading horses are still dead even when the race ends, the result will be settled through a "finish line photo": Then six white dice are rolled for one horse and another six white dice for the other, and the highest number of horseshoes wins. (In case of a tie, reroll until there is a winner.)

C.7) Did you roll only blank sides on your turn?

Such a result – if you roll a combination of white/red/green dice – is unlikely but still possible. If so, you do nothing on your turn, but as usual put away one die, out of the game for this race, and pass the two remaining dice to your left.

Note: The "Finish line" logo on the white dice counts as a blank side!

C.8) Displeased with your throw?

You actually have the right to do nothing after a roll, regardless of the results on the three dice. If so, you do nothing on your turn, but as usual put away one die, out of the game for this race, and pass the two remaining dice to your left.

C.9) When does the race end?

It does when a player takes the last die from the pool, rolls as usual, and selects one die and follows the result after which there are two "unused" dice left. Now the finish line is crossed (unless a player has a black die showing a horseshoe, in which case there is an extra move). All players now write down the result of the race. Let's assume this result (see example): #11 is the winner, followed by #5, #20, and #18.

C.10) Summing up your wins and losses

You now reveal your score sheet to the other players, and start to calculate your result.

Example: Since horse #11 won in the previous example, and you had bet € 400 on it at 3x the money, you win € 1200. (Your winner bets on #18 and #3 of course lost.) Unfortunately, none of your place bets won, since horse #05 came in second instead of #18 or #20 which would have given you a lot more money! Your net result therefore is the following on your score sheet. Since you bet all of your starting capital of € 1000 (you could have bet less if you wished), your new capital is now € 1200 + € 0 = € 1200. Had horse #18 come in second, you would instead have had € 1200 + € 1400 = € 2600 in total right now...

How the Rest of the Game Is Played: The Second and Third Race

Now, before the second race, you will have 2000 added to your betting capital! In the example above, write "€ 3200" under Total before the second (blue) race. This second race is run just like the first: seven new horses are drawn from the pile and turned up left-to-right. All players write down the starting order, study the horses, place their bets in secret behind their screens (following the example above, you may bet as much or as little as you want of your € 3200) and cover the score sheets so that the bets are not visible. Place all 27 dice in the pool again. The starting player now is the one with the most money after the first race (in case of a tie, the involved player who sits closest to the previous starting player, in clockwise direction).

After the second race, wins and losses are summed up as above, everybody gets an additional 3000 to their betting capital, and the third and last race is run just like above but with another seven new horses from the pile. (There will thus always be three horses which do not start in any of the races.) The starting player in the third race is the one with the most money after the second race (in case of a tie, the involved player who sits closest to the previous starting player, in clockwise direction).

End of the Game

The game ends after the third race is completed. When calculating their Grand Total players now also take the side bets into account. The player with the most money on his or her score sheet, under "Grand Total" at the bottom, is the winner! In case of a tie the victory is shared.

Hints from the author: Be very observant during the races as to which horses your opponents seem to favour when re-arranging tiles, and consider whether you wish to counteract or to cooperate; a lot of the skill in this game is to second-guess the other players and whenever possible have them help you! And perhaps it is interesting to know that the theoretical maximum win you can obtain in this game is over 20 million euros...

Dice Roll Results List

Finish Line logo – this counts as a blank side and nothing happens.

Horseshoe – put the die, with this side up, on any horse tile you choose. If there is already another such white die on that tile, or if the horse is a favourite (F), that tile is immediately moved ahead ONE position and then the white die/dice are removed, out of the game for that race. (Any red and/or green dice however remain on the horse tile.) You may if you wish put such a white die on the leading horse tile.

Green blank – nothing happens.

Outsider (€ 1000, € 2000 or € 3000) – place this die on any horse tile you choose. If that horse with the die on it wins, all players who have bet on that horse to win receive the amount on the die as a bonus. For any place bets, if that horse comes in first or second, all those players receive ½ of the amount on the die as a bonus. There may only be one green die, not two, on the same horse tile.

Side bet – the next player in turn is skipped over, and she or he must also pay you € 500 as the result of a side bet (noted down in the special space on the score sheets as +500 on your sheet and -500 on hers/his), to be resolved and taken into account at the end of the game!

Extra move – put this die in front of you on the table and save it. After the race is over according to the normal rules, you take an extra move and place this die on any horse tile you choose; the effect is the same as when placing a white die showing a horseshoe. If there are two players with one such die each, use them in turn order.

Disqualified! – put this die on any horse tile you choose. That horse and rider are immediately disqualified for improper behaviour on the track, and that tile is taken out of the game. Any previously placed dice on it are also out of the game. You may NOT put this die on a steady runner (S)!

Inside tip – take any two dice which have already been used and are out of the game for this race, and put them back into the pool where they can be used again by the players!

Tempo change – move one white die with a horseshoe from one horse tile to another tile of your choosing. Note: You may not take a white die from a steady runner (S)!

Whipping – the jockey is warned for whipping the horse. Put this die on any horse tile you choose (but not on a steady runner (S)). If a second, identical die is later placed on that tile, that horse is immediately disqualified and the tile + all dice on it are taken out of the game!

Red blank – nothing happens.

Double horseshoes – put on any horse tile you choose and immediately move that tile ahead one position; then put the red die away, out of the game. If there are any other dice on that tile, they remain on the tile.

Rider helmet – move any horse tile you choose ahead TWO positions, but only if that tile either is a favourite (F), or already has a white horseshoe die on it. (If this is not the case, you are not allowed to put a die with this result on the tile.) If that tile instead is second, it moves up one position, into the lead. After moving ahead, the yellow die is taken away out of the game (as is any white die on that tile). You may not put a yellow die with a helmet on the currently leading horse tile.

Interference – choose three tiles, which must be adjacent to each other, and re-arrange them into any order among these three that you choose. Any dice previously placed on these tiles remain. You may include two tiles that are currently dead even and break up this, but you may not cause a dead even situation!

Dead even – the horse currently in second moves ahead so that it is dead even with the leader! Note that this result on the yellow dice can only be used ONCE during the race; after that, this same face is treated as a blank if rolled again. If these two horse tiles are still dead even at the finish line, the situation is resolved via a "finish line photo" – see the rules.

Losing speed – choose a horse tile which then immediately drops back two positions; that tile is also stripped of any and all dice previously placed on it – take these dice out of the game. You may not choose a horse tile which is currently last, or second to last.

Make sure that dice placed on the horse tiles are NOT placed on any F or S square!