Change Horses Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Select your cards
  • 2. Play your cards
  • 3. Move the horses
  • 4. a) Determine the turn order: basic rule
  • 4. b) Determine the turn order: advanced rule
  • 5. Play your cards
  • 6. Move the horses
  • 7. Empty the betting board
  • 8. Determine the turn order
  • 9. Select new cards
  • 10. New double round
• Wild Horse Cards
• End of the Race
• Winning the Game
• Photo-finish: Ties
• Special Rules for 2 Players
• The Derby League Game
  • Determining the turn order
• Tips
• Components
• Rules Summary

Objective

Be the player whose horse is last when the first horse crosses the finish line.

Setup

• Place the game board, with the race track and its betting board, in the centre of the table where everyone can reach it. Players play their cards onto the betting board in the middle of the game board.
• Place the six horses at random on the starting line, facing the track for a counterclockwise race. (Translator's note: the French reads "en sans antihoraire", evidently a typo for "sens antihoraire", i.e. counterclockwise.) Regardless of the number of players, all six horses race.
• For the first round, deal the Position cards at random. Each player receives one card; with fewer than 5 players, the number of Position cards is reduced to the number of players.
• Give each player a deck of Movement cards. Every Movement deck is identical; each has a different jockey on the back. Each card represents 2 horses of 2 different colours; each horse can be identified by its jockey's colour and also by a letter. (The fifteen cards of each deck represent all the possible combinations of the six horses.)
• Deal two Wild Horse cards to each player.
• Shuffle the 6 Ownership Certificates (cards with a certificate on the back) and deal one face down to each player. The card shows the colour of your horse. Place the remaining Ownership Certificates to one side; they can come back into play later. (Note: in a 2-player game, each player receives 2 Ownership Certificates.)
• If you are playing the advanced "Derby League" mode, each player also receives the value in "carrot energy" equal to 11 times the number of players, for bribing the horses. That is 33 in a 3-player game, 44 in a 4-player game, and 55 in a 5-player game.

Note: for the special rules for 2 players, skip sections 1-3 and read the chapter "Special Rules for 2 Players" instead.

[Illustration, p. 4: Each player receives: one Position card (dealt at random at the start of the game); one Movement deck of 15 cards per player; 2 Wild Horse cards per player; 1 Ownership Certificate per player (2 in a 2-player game). Only in the advanced version: number of players and number of carrots: 3 players, 33 carrots; 4 players, 44 carrots; 5 players, 55 carrots; 2 players, none.]

How to Play

1. Select your cards

Select 3 Movement cards from your hand and place them face down in front of you. When all players have made their choice, turn the cards over.

2. Play your cards

Then, on your turn, select one of your 3 cards and place it on the betting board in the centre of the race track. As soon as all players have played their card, the horses are moved.

3. Move the horses

The total for each horse present on the betting board is counted. If there is an even number of horses of one colour, that horse does not move during this round (for example, 4 red horses means red does not move). If there is an odd number, the horse figure with the jockey of that colour moves forward as many spaces as there are horses of that colour on the betting board (for example, 3 yellow horses means yellow moves 3 spaces).

The Wild Horse card "Stumble" (see the details below) may be used to cover a card on the betting board, thereby changing the total of both colours.

Move each horse if required, starting with the horse furthest inside the track. If there are two horses in the same lane (see "Slippery Track"), the one in front is moved first.

If a horse crosses the finish line, you must first finish moving the other horses on the betting board before determining the final positions.

4. a) Determine the turn order: basic rule

The order is determined again every round. To do so, the Position cards are drawn face down each time. First, to prevent the same player from being first or last by luck, the player who held the card with the highest number in the previous round receives card no. 1 for the next round. The other numbers are dealt at random.

4. b) Determine the turn order: advanced rule

If you want a more tactical race, you can play the "Derby League" version (see below).

[Illustration, p. 5: Betting board at the end of round 1 in a 4-player game: the Green-D horse (2 cards) and the Orange-B horse (no cards) do not move; the Red-C, Blue-E and Purple-F horses each move one space; and the Yellow-A horse (3 cards) moves 3 spaces.]

[Illustration, p. 5: Betting board at the end of round 2 in a 4-player game: the Orange-B, Red-C, Blue-E (2 cards) and Yellow-A (6 cards) horses do not move; the Green-D horse moves 3 spaces (3 cards); and Purple-F moves one space (1 card).]

5. Play your cards

As in step 2, but this time selecting one of the 2 remaining cards.

6. Move the horses

As in step 3. All cards on the betting board are counted.

7. Empty the betting board

The betting board is full when it holds 6 cards in a 3-player game, 8 cards in a 2- or 4-player game, and 10 cards in a 5-player game. Now the cards are removed from the betting board and from the game.

8. Determine the turn order

As in step 4.

9. Select new cards

You have 1 Movement card left in front of you. Add 2 cards from your hand to it, face down, then turn them over (see 1. Select your cards).

You may place the cards of your hand face down on the table while you play the face-up cards on the betting board; you may look at the cards in your hand at any time.

10. New double round

Steps 2 to 9 are repeated.

Wild Horse Cards

(Translator's note: the French rules call these cards "Cheval Farouche" while the component list calls them "Cheval Sauvage"; both are rendered as Wild Horse. The four option names are translated from the French, and the parenthetical nicknames are translations of the French nicknames (rope, water bucket, slingshot, certificate).)

Each player has 2 Wild Horse cards (jokers), each to be used only once during the game. You play a Wild Horse card only on your turn, and before playing your Movement card onto the betting board.

You may use a Wild Horse card for one of the following 4 options (see the illustrations):

• "Stumble" (the rope): Place your Wild Horse card on any card on the betting board. This means the 2 horses under that card are now hidden, which changes the total of both colours. The Wild Horse card is removed from the game after the betting board has been emptied.

• "Slippery Track" (the water bucket): Move two horses of your choice one space sideways in the direction of your choice; horses cannot leave the track or share a space.

  Horses must stay in their lane as long as no Wild Horse card has been played as "Slippery Track", which forces horses to get behind the others in the same lane. If, as a result, a horse has to ram the horse in front of it, the horse behind moves only as far as it can; if a horse is blocked directly behind another, it does not move. The only way to free and restart a blocked horse is to play another Wild Horse card as "Slippery Track".

  [Illustration, p. 7: Positions of the horses before and after playing the Wild Horse card "Slippery Track". In this example, the player moved the horses into lanes 2 (to the left) and 3 (to the right). Consequently, the horses in lanes 1 and 4 are blocked.]

• [Illustration, p. 6: the Wild Horse card. Two horses stumble; the card under the Wild Horse card no longer counts for determining the movement of the horses.]

• "Fast Track" (the slingshot): All horses on the last two rows that have horses move a length of 2. Blocked horses (see "Slippery Track") cannot move.

  [Illustration, p. 7: Positions of the horses before and after playing the Wild Horse card "Fast Track". Horse F, in the right-hand lane, is blocked and cannot move.]

• "Change of horse" (the certificate): Place your Ownership Certificate face down under the pile of set-aside Ownership Certificates and take the top certificate; you now own the horse shown on the new Ownership Certificate.

  (In a 5-player game, one of the race horses belongs to no one; in a 2- or 4-player game, two horses are not owned; and in a 3-player game, 3 horses are not owned. Players are allowed to change horse even if that horse had already belonged to another player.)

When you play a Wild Horse card, announce the name of the option chosen. After using the card, remove it from the game. You may use the same option for both of your Wild Horse cards, but only one card per turn.

End of the Race

The race can end in two ways:

1. At least one horse has crossed the finish line. Before announcing the final positions, make sure all the horses have moved if required (for example the movement of the last two rows of horses with a "Fast Track" Wild Horse card).
2. All players have only one card left in hand and no horse has yet crossed the finish line. (This means the last card is not played.)

Winning the Game

All players reveal their Ownership Certificate. The last horse wins the game; the second-to-last horse (the fifth) is second ("placed"); and the third-to-last horse is third ("placed"). The three leading horses lose the race. Horses that do not belong to any player can still win or finish placed in the race.

Photo-finish: Ties

If two or more horses finish on the same line, there is a photo-finish. If a player holding the Ownership Certificate of one of the horses in the photo-finish has more Wild Horse cards still in hand than the other owners, that player's horse wins by a nose; otherwise there is still a tie. If the horses are still tied, any player who did not change horse during the race wins over those who did. In the rare case where there is still a tie, the players finish tied. (See the Photo-finish in "Derby League" and in the 2-player game below.)

Special Rules for 2 Players

In a 2-player game, the player who most recently rode a horse goes first; the first player changes each time the betting board is emptied. Each player selects four cards from their hand and places them face down in front of them; the players reveal them at the same time. Then each player plays two cards per round, selecting one of their four cards and placing it on the betting board. When there are four cards on the betting board, count the horses by colour and move the horses. This is the end of the round. Do not remove these cards from the betting board, but keep them in play for the new round.

Both players now still have two cards face up in front of them. Each player adds two more cards from their hand in front of them, next to the face-up cards. The players place them face down and then reveal them at the same time. Then, each in turn, they place a third card on the betting board, and then a fourth card. When eight cards have been placed on the betting board, count the horses by colour and move them. This is the end of another round. Remove the eight cards from the betting board and remove them from the game. The player who played last starts again.

Continue in the same way. Each player places two cards on the betting board per round. The race ends when a horse crosses the finish line, or when both players have only one card left in hand. During the last round, you place your last card face up in front of you, and then you play two of the three face-up cards on the betting board, as usual. You will have one face-up card left in front of you that you will not have the opportunity to play.

If both players are tied at the end of the race (see "Photo-finish"), the player whose second horse arrived closest to last place wins the game.

The Derby League Game

Use the Carrot cards to bid for the Position cards.

Determining the turn order

Because the player who plays their Movement card last has an advantage, the turn order is auctioned off in each round.

You bid carrots. The player with Position card no. 1 makes the first bid, the player with card no. 2 places the second bid, and so on. The first bidder must bid at least 1 carrot; each following bidder must bid a different number not yet bid (but not 0). If you bid more than the highest current bid, you may continue to bid; if you bid less, you can no longer bid afterwards. Place the number of carrots you bid face up in front of you. The player who bid the most receives the Position card with the highest number. All other players pay their carrots according to their bid and receive their Position card (the smallest bid receives 1, and so on). There is no possibility of gaining additional carrots during the game.

If you no longer have enough carrots to bid, give away the ones you have left, and then you still receive the Position card with the smallest available number.

The carrots remaining at the end of the game have no value except in case of a tie. If there is a tie ("Photo-finish") in a "Derby League" game, the player with the most carrots is declared the winner.

Tips

Read the eight tips that follow:

1. Guard the identity of your horse carefully. As soon as the players know your horse, they will make trouble for you.

2. When possible, try to have a card with the horse of your colour in front of you; this way you can play that card to get an even total and prevent your horse from moving. Avoid running out of cards of your colour too, otherwise you will be at the mercy of your opponents.

3. Do not get stuck with two visible cards of your colour, which would force you to play your own colour and advance your horse even further.

4. Think about bluffing: deliberately play a card that would advance your horse one space forward.

5. Do not use your Wild Horse cards too early in the game.

6. Use your Wild Horse card as "Slippery Track" to slow your horse down by placing it behind another horse, but be careful because this move may reveal to the other players what your colour is.

7. Do not be afraid to change horse - even more than once - but remember, the best horses (the slowest ones) must be the ones owned by the other players.

8. If your horse is close to or in last place, think about propelling the leading group towards the finish line while slowly moving your horse; you can end the race by using "Stumble" to change the total of one colour, or by using "Fast Track" to push a horse across the finish line.

Components

• 1 race track with a betting board (game board)
• 6 Ownership Certificates
• 19 Wild Horse cards (in different languages)
• 75 Movement cards (5 decks of 15 cards, with 5 different backs)
• 5 Position cards ("Racing Form")
• 75 Carrot cards (5 x 15 carrots, 5 x 10 carrots, 10 x 5 carrots, 10 x 3 carrots, 25 x 2 carrots, 20 x 1 carrot)
• 1 rulebook
• 6 horses
• 6 stickers with the letters A to F (stick them on the backs of the horses before the first game):
  • A = yellow; B = orange; C = red; D = green; E = blue; F = purple

Rules Summary

(The printed "Change Horses - Résumé des règles" sheet, transcribed as printed.)

Before starting the game, determine the turn order.

Players simultaneously select 3 cards from their hand and place them face down in front of them on the table. When everyone has done so, the cards are revealed.

1. At the start of your turn, decide whether you want to play a Wild Horse card.
2. Place one of the face-up cards in front of you on the betting board.
3. When all players have placed their card, count the visible horses by colour and move the horses whose total is an odd number.
4. Determine the turn order.
5. At the start of your turn, decide whether you want to play a Wild Horse card.
6. Place one of the face-up cards in front of you on the betting board.
7. When all players have played their second card, move the horses as indicated in step 3.
8. Empty the betting board and remove the cards from the game.
9. Determine the turn order.
10. Each player selects two new cards from their hand and places them face down in front of them on the table, next to the card still face up.
11. When everyone is ready, the cards are revealed and steps 1 to 10 are repeated.

The race ends as soon as a horse crosses the finish line (and all horses have been moved if necessary), or as soon as all players have only one card left in hand.