Ready Set Bet
Ready Set Bet Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
You’re off to the races in Ready Set Bet!
Do you bet early to lock in the best odds or do you wait and see how the race develops and bet in the last few seconds? The choice is yours in this game of real-time horse race betting.
Gameplay Overview
Ready Set Bet is played over 4 rounds. Each round consists of players betting on a single horse race while the action is happening. After each race, players win or lose money for their placed bets. Players also earn VIP rewards and bet on exotic finishes to enhance their experience. After 4 rounds, the player with the most money wins!
Components
- 1 Bet Board
- 1 Race Track Board
- 2 Dice
- 9 Horse Meeples
- 6 Win, Place, Show Tokens
- 40 Player Bet Tokens (in 8 player colors)
- 12 Bonus Bet Tokens
- 28 Prop Bet Cards
- 5 Exotic Finish Cards
- 32 VIP Cards
- 55 - $1 Chips
- 48 - $5 Chips
- 32 - $25 Chips
- 8 - $100 Chips
- 6 House Bet Tokens
Ready Set Bet App:
Everything you need to play Ready Set Bet is already in the box, but there is an app available to roll the dice and run the race for you, replacing the need for a House player. Visit the web address above for all of your platform options!
Setup
- Place the Bet Board in the center of the table.
- Shuffle the Prop Bet Cards and place the deck face-down on the Prop Bets space at the top of the Bet Board. Then draw the top 5 cards from the deck and place them face-up on the blank spaces to the right.
- Shuffle the Exotic Finish Cards and place the deck face-down on the Exotic Finish space at the bottom left of the Bet Board. Draw the top card and place it face-up on the Race 1 space to the right of the deck.
- Shuffle the VIP Cards and place the deck face-down on the VIP space at the bottom right of the Bet Board.
- Place the Money Chips in a supply near the Bet Board.
- Place the black and white Bonus Bet Tokens near the Bet Board.
- Select someone to be in charge of running the horse races and place the Race Track Board near them. This person is called the House. Unless you choose to use one of the House variants on page 8, this person does not compete in the game and instead facilitates the game by conducting and announcing the horse races.
- Give the House player the 2 Dice and the 9 Horse Meeples. They place the horses on the green starting gate spots corresponding to their numbers on the left side of the Race Track Board.
- Each non-House player takes a set of 5 Player Bet Tokens in the same color. If there are 7 or 8 non-House players, each player returns one of their number 3 tokens to the box.
- Place the 6 Win, Place, and Show Tokens near the Bet Board.
- If the House player wishes to compete in the game in addition to running the horse races, give them the 6 House Bet Tokens. (See page 8 for House variants.)
For a less complex game, you may choose not to play with the Prop Bet Cards, Exotic Finish Cards, and/or VIP Cards.
Round Overview
- Running a Race • The House player begins the horse race.
- Placing Bets • Players place bets during the race.
- Resolving Bets • At the end of the race, players resolve their bets.
- Cleanup • Take care of all cards and reset the race track.
Running a Race
The player acting as the House can simply facilitate the game by conducting and announcing the races or they can compete in the game as well by using the House Bet Tokens, placing their bets on the Bet Board before the race starts. (See “House Bets Variant” on page 8.) If the app is being used, it will run all the races and no House player is needed.
The House announces the beginning of the race by exclaiming, “And they’re off!”
The House rolls the 2 dice together, announces the sum total of the roll so all players can hear, and moves the corresponding Horse Meeple 1 space to the right, plus any Bonus Moves. The House continues to roll, announce, and move the horses at a fast pace while the players place their bets.
Bonus Moves
There is a Bonus Move value indicated to the left of the starting gate for each horse, except the 7 horse, which has no bonus.
A Bonus Move is triggered when the same number is rolled twice in a row. The red 6 and 8 horses move 1 additional space, the orange 5 and 9 horses move 2 additional spaces, and the blue 2/3, 4, 10, and 11/12 horses move 3 additional spaces.
The Bonus Move is triggered for the 2/3 and 11/12 horses when either of their numbers is rolled back-to-back. For example, if a 3 is rolled, then the Bonus Move is triggered if the next number rolled is a 2 or a 3.
A Bonus Move is NOT triggered on a third consecutive roll. In the example shown above, if a 2 or 3 is rolled on the third roll, the Bonus Move is not triggered and the 2/3 horse only moves the normal 1 space to the right.
However, if a 2 or 3 is rolled on a fourth consecutive roll, a new Bonus Move is triggered, as the third and fourth roll form a new, separate back-to-back roll.
The House
In addition to rolling the dice, announcing the result, and moving the horses on the track, the House player is encouraged to embellish their rolling with as much fast-paced sports announcing and commentary as they want. Call out interesting developments like lead changes, horses pulling away from the pack or falling behind, and all Bonus Moves!
The House also has the following responsibilities:
- The House should be sure to call out “Snake Eyes!” for rolls of 2 and “Boxcars!” for rolls of 12, as certain VIP Cards give bonuses to players for those rolls. Call out all other numbers clearly as well, so players can track other VIP Cards looking for them.
- The House should keep players aware of how close the “No more bets!” call is looming by announcing each time a horse crosses the RED LINE on the Race Track Board. When the THIRD horse crosses the RED LINE, The House should shout loudly and clearly, “No more bets!” When that is announced, players are not allowed to place any further Bet Tokens.
End of Race
Once a horse reaches the finish line (the 15th space), the race ENDS IMMEDIATELY. If not already announced, no more Bet Tokens are allowed to be placed on the Bet Board. All horses should be left where they are on the race track for resolving bets. The House marks the horses on the Bet Board with the Win, Place, and Show Tokens, as explained on page 6.
Placing Bets
Each non-House player has a set of Bet Tokens numbered 2, 3, 3, 4, and 5, which they can use to place bets in each race. (In a 7-player or 8-player game, each non-House player has one fewer 3 Bet Token.)
While a race is in progress—and BEFORE “No more bets!” is called or a horse reaches the finish line— players may place each of their Bet Tokens onto any open Bet Spot on the Bet Board. There is no turn order; bets are placed simultaneously and are first come, first served.
Players may place their Bet Tokens as quickly or as slowly as they like during each race. Players may not place a Bet Token on a Bet Spot where another Bet Token was already placed. Once a Bet Token is placed, it may not be moved or removed.
Resolving Bets
At the end of a race, all players gain or lose money for their winning or losing bets.
Players should first collect all their winning Bet Tokens from the Bet Board along with the corresponding payouts from the supply of money chips. Then players should collect all their losing Bet Tokens and pay the corresponding amounts in money chips to the supply. All players may do this simultaneously.
A winning bet pays out money equal to the value of the Bet Token multiplied by the number printed in front of the “X” on the Bet Spot where it was placed.
For a losing bet, a player instead pays money to the supply as indicated by the negative number printed in the red circle on the Bet Spot, regardless of the value of the Bet Token. If there is no red circle on that spot, then the player does not pay any money to the supply. If a player has lost all their money chips, they owe nothing further and do not go into the negative.
Win, Place, and Show Bets
Players can bet on horses to Win, Place, or Show by placing a Bet Token on the corresponding Bet Spot. The rows correspond to the different horse numbers, while the columns correspond to the different bets of Show, Place, or Win:
- WIN is a bet that a horse will finish in 1st place. There are three Win Bet Spots for each horse, each with differing payouts and losses.
- PLACE is a bet that a horse will finish as one of the top 2 horses. There are two Place Bet Spots for each horse, each with differing payouts and losses.
- SHOW is a bet that a horse will finish as one of the top 3 horses. There are two Show Bet Spots for each horse, each with differing payouts and losses.
Thus, the horse that finishes in 1st place is considered to Win, Place, AND Show, and pays out for all Win, Place, and Show bets made on it. All horses that finish or tie for 2nd place are considered to Place AND Show.
If 2 or more horses tie for 2nd place, they are all considered to finish in 2nd and 3rd place, and any horses behind them do NOT Show. Otherwise, all horses that finish or tie for 3rd place are considered to Show, and pay out for all Show bets made on them.
Use the 6 Win, Place, and Show Tokens to help track which horses pay out for which bets. (2nd and 3rd are double-sided.)
Color Bets
The 3 Bet Spots on the left pay out if any horse of the corresponding color finishes in 1st place.
The rightmost Bet Spot pays out if the 7 horse finishes in 5th place or worse (i.e., if there are 4 or more horses who finish ahead of it). As normal, only 1 Bet Token is allowed per spot.
Prop Bets
For each race, there will be 5 different Prop Bet Cards placed face-up at the top of the Bet Board. Each card functions as an additional Bet Spot. As normal, only 1 Bet Token is allowed per card. These are bets that one horse will finish ahead of another horse or a group of horses of the same color at the end of the race. If the horses in question end the race tied, it is considered a losing bet.
After the bets are resolved at the end of each race, deal 5 new Prop Bet Cards face-up so that a new set is used for each of the 4 races.
For example, the first card shown above is a bet that the 2/3 horse will finish ahead of the 8 horse. The second card is a bet that the 7 horse will finish ahead of ALL 4 blue horses (2/3, 4, 10, and 11/12 horses).
Exotic Finish Bets
Each of the 5 Exotic Finish Cards has 3 active Bet Spots for players to place their Bet Tokens. A player may NOT place more than 1 of their Bet Tokens on a single Exotic Finish Card.
During setup for the 1st race, 1 Exotic Finish Card is placed faceup at the bottom of the Bet Board. After the bets are resolved for each race, 1 additional Exotic Finish Card should be drawn from the deck and placed face-up to the right of the previous card, adding a new bet for each race. By the start of the 4th race, there should be 4 total face-up Exotic Finish Cards.
- Photo Finish: Remember, if horses tie for 2nd they are considered also to tie for 3rd.
Cleanup
For rounds 1-3, after all players have resolved their bets, do the following:
- Replace the 5 Prop Bet Cards. (See “Prop Bets” on page 6.)
- Reveal an additional Exotic Finish Card. (See “Exotic Finish Bets” above.)
- Deal 2 VIP Cards to each player, who chooses 1 to keep (See “VIP Cards” below.)
- Reset the horse meeples on the Race Track Board.
VIP Cards
There are 32 VIP Cards that were shuffled and placed on the board during setup. After the 1st race is over and players have resolved all their bets, deal 2 VIP Cards face-down to each player. Players should review these cards and pick 1 to keep and 1 to discard to a collective discard pile.
Players place the VIP Card they chose face-up in front of them and gain the benefit of that card for the rest of the game.
Repeat this process after the 2nd and 3rd races as well. This means players should have 2 VIP Cards in play for the 3rd race and 3 cards for the 4th race. Players retain all benefits of their cards for each race. If the VIP deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.
Some VIP Cards allow players to break certain rules of the game, such as placing a specified Bet Token on top of another player’s Bet Token or placing bets even after 3 horses have crossed the red line. When the normal rules and the text on a VIP Card conflict, the text on the VIP Card prevails.
- Complimentary Chips gives a one-time payout when played, but the player still keeps the card in front of them.
- Piggyback Bet can apply to a Bonus Bet Token of the corresponding number.
Bonus Bet Tokens
Some VIP Cards give players a black or white Bonus Bet Token. Players should add the corresponding Bet Token to their regular set of Bet Tokens for the remainder of the game and keep the VIP Card face-up in front of them, so everyone knows which Bonus Bet Token is theirs.
The large number on these tokens work just like the number on the Player Bet Tokens: Winning bets are multiplied by this number. Most of the Bonus Bet Tokens have a red circle on them. If the bet placed with this token is a losing bet, the player must pay both the amount shown on the Bet Spot’s red circle AND the amount shown on the Bonus Bet Token’s red circle.
The Bonus Bet Tokens with a value of 2 have a special symbol on them. This symbol negates the losing value of any Bet Spot it is placed on, meaning the player will not pay any money to the supply for a losing bet made with this token.
Game End
After the 4th race is over and all players have resolved their bets, players should count up all their money. The player with the most money wins! In the case of a tie, all tied players share the victory.
House Bets Variant
(2-9 Players)
If the House also wants to compete in the game, before each race starts they take the 6 House Bet Tokens and place them in the upper left corner of 6 different Bet Spots on the Bet Board of their choice (including Prop Bet Cards and Exotic Finish Cards), so as not to obscure the numbers printed on those spots.
When the race starts, those Bet Spots are still considered open and the other players may place their Bet Tokens there as usual.
At the end of each race, the House Bet Tokens are resolved in the same way as the Player Bet Tokens.
The House player starts the game with $18 and does not draw any VIP Cards during the game.
App Variant
(2-8 Players)
If you choose to run the race using the app, there will be no House player. (See page 2.)
House Rotation Variant
(2-8 Players)
In this variant, the House player potentially changes for each race.
Randomly determine who will be the first House player. The House player uses the 6 House Bet Tokens as detailed in the House Bets Variant. After each race, the current House player may choose to remain the House player for the next race. If they don’t, the player to their left—and continuing in clockwise order around the table—has the option to become the House player.
If no one accepts, the player to the left of the current House player must become the House player.
For the round in which a player is the House, they are not able to use their VIP Cards. However, at the end of the round, they will draw and select a VIP Card along with the other players as normal for use in future rounds. (Exception: If the House player chooses to keep the Complimentary Chips card, that card is resolved immediately.)
As compensation for not getting to use their VIP Cards, the House player gains from the supply $3 in round 2, $6 in round 3, and $9 in round 4. This occurs before the start of the race in those rounds.