Ben Hurt
Ben Hurt Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Notes
This game is recommended for 4-8 players, but if you want to play with only 2 or 3 players, try using 2 chariots each. Figure all the numbers as if each chariot was one player; this means that players' hands will be twice as large as normal, players must ante once for each chariot, etc. Drivers and Improvements get assigned to individual chariots, not to individual players.
Pay people to play cards. If you think you can buy the race, don't be afraid to throw your money around. "Hey, Joe. I think Grace needs that Orangutan." "How much is it worth to ya?"
Please, don't play for real money. It's far too easy to cheat, and unless everyone understands the rules in exactly the same way, you will get into major arguments when there's cash at stake. If you want a good sense of gambling without the actual money, agree to keep score over a prolonged series of games. (There, you have been warned).
This Game Comes With
6 Board Sections, 80 Cards, and this Rulebook. Tape the board to a sturdy piece of cardboard (see page 4 for a snapshot of the board).
You Will Also Need
A distinctive 6-sided Die for each chariot, and a matching Lap Marker (this marker can be anything, even another die. It just needs to go with the chariot.) You also need a hundred Ducats for each player (pennies will work fine), and one more 6-sided Die for movement.
The Game in Brief
Ben Hvrt is a series of chariot races. The object of the game is to finish the series with the most money, which may or may not mean having to win the last race. Before the game begins, players should agree on the number and length of the races they will run. There are some suggested series of races on the back page of this booklet. Feel free to double any of these, too.
Figure about 10 minutes for each lap you plan to play, once everyone is familiar with the rules. If you're playing a longer series of races, you may want to break it up over two nights.
Each race consists of two parts. First, there is an Auction, in which players try to buy cards to improve their hands, and sweeten the pot for the Race. Then there is the Race, in which players run their chariots around the track, and use their cards to try to gain the advantage.
Races can be from 1-6 laps, as determined by the players before the series begins. One-lap races can sometimes be as short as two turns, so be prepared to start fast and run like hell!
Before the First Race Only
If this is the first race of the series, everyone should start with exactly 100 Ducats. Roll dice to determine who will be the first Dealer. That player shuffles the deck, and deals a starting hand of 2 cards to each player.
Set the deck aside, and make space for a discard pile beside it. After each race, shuffle the discards back into the deck. If the deck ever runs completely out of cards during a race, players must continue with whatever they have.
Before Every Race
Everyone must ante 2D (Two Ducats) for each lap in the race. For example, if this is a 2-lap race, everyone antes 4 Ducats. This money goes into the pot, the open area in the middle of the racetrack. (You can also use a bowl.)
Every player is dealt 1/2 card for every lap in the race, rounding up, to add to their existing hand. For example, if this is a 3- or 4-lap race, everyone gets 2 cards for their hand.
Then, the Dealer gives each player a stack of Auction cards, 1 card for each lap in the race. These cards go face down on the table, not into the players' hands. Don't look at these cards until you auction them.
The Auction
Now the Auction begins, when players try to buy cards to improve their hands.
Starting with the Dealer, players will auction one card at a time. (The player auctioning the card is the "Auctioneer.")
First, the Auctioneer reveals his card. If he wishes, he can pay the "Q/S" (Quick Sale) price on that card, and keep it. That money goes into the pot. Otherwise, the card goes to Auction.
Starting with the Auctioneer, and proceeding to the left, players may either bid or pass on this card. To bid in the first round, a player must put one Ducat into the pot. If a player passes, he drops permanently out of this Auction.
After each round of bidding, the size of the required bid goes up by one. In other words, to stay in for the second round costs 2 Ducats; 3 for the next round, and so on. The last player who bids gets to keep the card.
Note: This style of bidding is particularly vicious, since only the last bidder will actually get the card, even though other players may have put money into the pot. You have been warned.
After the card is sold, the next player to the left auctions one card, and so on. Proceed until all the Auction cards are gone.
If a card goes completely around the table with no one bidding on it (unlikely, but possible), that card goes straight into the discard pile.
After the Auction is over, players have the chance to trade and sell their cards.
Then, let the race begin!
The Chariot Race
Your 6-sided die is your chariot. To begin the race, players put their chariots on the lettered squares behind the Finish Line, starting with the player to the Dealer's left, and proceeding around the table. Players also place their Lap counters on the "I" circle, signifying that they are on lap 1.
The number on top of each chariot die is called its "Speed". Speed is a carryover from the chariot's previous move. For a fair start, chariots in the front rank (spaces A, B, C, and D) begin the race with a Speed of 1, and chariots in the second rank begin with a Speed of 2.
If you want to race more than eight chariots, you can start the 3rd rank with a speed of 3, and so on.
Moving the Chariots
On each turn, the player whose chariot is in the lead moves first, followed by the player in second place, and so on. Once everyone has moved their chariot, the turn is over.
If two chariots are next to each other, the "leader" is the one on the square with the most advanced leading edge. If the front edges of both squares are dead even, then the chariot closest to the center lane is the leader. For an example of how these movement rules work, take a look at the order of the eight starting letters. This is the order in which these chariots will start the race.
To move a chariot, roll the movement die. Add the number on the die to the Speed of your chariot, and move that total. You can move any direction you like, except directly backwards, from one square to another square which shares at least part of an edge with it.
You can't move through another chariot, or stop on the same square as another chariot.
You don't have to take your full move if you don't want to.
After you have moved your chariot, your Speed changes to the number you rolled this turn (or the modified roll, if cards were played). Turn your chariot die to reflect its new Speed.
Even if cards affected your roll, your final Speed can't ever be more than 6 or less than 1.
An example: A chariot with a Speed of 3 rolls a 5. That chariot will move 8 spaces this turn, and then its Speed will change to 5. Move the chariot die 8 spaces, then turn it so that "5" shows on top.
When a chariot crosses the Finish line, advance that player's Lap counter to the next Lap circle. If you're running a 1-lap race, you really don't need the Lap counters. If you're running a longer race, remember that the winner is the first person to finish that lap (for example, a 3-lap race is won as soon as a player moves his counter from III to IV.)
Players who have finished the race disappear from the track, and can't play more cards. Keep running the chariots until there is a first, second, and third place winner.
Playing your Cards
Obviously, without some way to improve your odds, this race would be almost entirely luck. As it stands, it's still mostly luck. But at least you can fool yourself into thinking otherwise.
There are 80 cards in the Ben Hvrt deck. All of these cards will tell you exactly when and how you can play them. Here are a some terms you will need to know:
Events: Events are unusual occurrences which happen once, and are discarded.
Move Cards: These cards affect a player's move. They actually change the value of the movement roll, as if the new number were now shown on the die. These cards take effect in the order they are played, so if the roll begins at 4, and an "Add 1" is played, followed by a "Move 2", the roll is changed to 5, and then back to 2. The resulting roll is a 2. Playing those cards in the opposite order would result in a roll of 3.
Improvements: You play these cards only during the Auction (i.e., before the race). They remain on the table, and improve the quality of your chariot.
Drivers: These are like Improvements, but you can only have one at a time. If you play a second Driver, discard your old one. (A chariot without a Driver card is assumed to have an ordinary driver.) "Retiring" a Driver means discarding him.
The "Quick Sale" (Q/S) price of a card is the amount you can pay to keep it from going to Auction (see the Auction section).
The "Maintenance Cost" is an amount you must pay to keep a Driver or Improvement at the beginning of a race. This cost is often affected by the length of the race. If you do not pay this cost when the race begins, discard the card.
"Passing another Chariot" means a chariot is on an adjacent square, but not directly in front or behind you, while you are moving. The passing chariot must be ahead of, or at least tied with, the chariot being passed.
"Choose to Roll an (X)"/"Next Roll is (X)" means the player casts an imaginary movement die covered with X's. It still counts as rolling a movement die, and can still be affected by Move cards.
After the Race
After the race ends, divide the pot into six piles. The winner gets three shares of the pot, the second place finisher gets two shares, and third place gets one share. The winner also becomes the Dealer for the next round.
You keep all your cards from race to race, including your Drivers and Improvements.
Shuffle the discard pile back into the deck, and start the next Auction.
Suggested Series
Some possible games: These numbers represent the number of laps in each race in the series.
- The Basic Race: 1,2,4
- Jupiter Series: 1,2,4,6
- Julius: 2,3,4,5
- Augustus: 2,2,2,6
- Mercury Series: 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4
- Hercules: 1,2,3,4,5,6
- Saturn Series: 2,2,4,2,2,6
- Rose Derby: 4,3,2,1,6
- Iris Derby: 3,2,1,4,6
- Caligula Series: X,X,X,X,X,X*
*Caligula Series: Each race is 1-6 laps, rolled before each Auction. The last place finisher in each race loses all his cards.