Devil Take the Hindmost
Devil Take the Hindmost Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Each player controls three cars of one color. The number of laps depends on the number of cars taking part, the race distance always being one lap less than the total number of cars (5 players would be 14 laps). Use 2 cars each with 6 players.
The cars travel counter-clockwise around the track. Place one car from each team, in no particular order, on the "10" space immediately to the right of the start and finish line. Then place a second car from each team on the "9" space next to the first group, and do the same with spaces "8" and "7" if each player is controlling 3 or 4 cars.
The track is divided into thirty spaces, numbered 1 to 10 three times. The numbers (1 to 10) are used when playing cards from the hand, as explained below, but movement around the track is conducted normally, counting one space for each unit of movement. Thus, a car on space 2 moving six will end its movement on space 8, and a car on space 9 moving eight will travel to space 7 on the next section of the 10-space track.
The cards should be thoroughly shuffled and five cards dealt face down to each player. Place the unused cards face down as the drawing pack in a central position.
Playing a Card and Moving
The player controlling the car on the inside of the "10" space starts the race by playing a single card (or a card plus a turbo) face up beside the drawing pack, and immediately replenishes their hand by taking the top card from the drawing pack. Only one card is ever taken from the drawing pack to replenish the hand, even if two cards (one normal card plus a turbo) are played. Playing a turbo in these circumstances involves a permanent reduction of cards held in the hand to four (or even less, if a previous reduction has taken place).
The player then moves their car according to the movement table shown on the track board. Any card between 2 and 10 with a red circle around it will move the car 3 spaces, unless the car currently occupies a space with the same number as the card played, in which case the car moves the actual number of the card played. Cards with just a blue circle move the car as many spaces as indicated. A "1" will move the car 10 spaces, unless the car currently occupies a space numbered 1, when a "1" is worth only a single space.
A turbo played on its own moves the car 5 spaces, and if played with another card adds 5 to the movement obtained by that other card. Remember that only one card can be taken back into the hand at any time, so using a turbo in that way entails a permanent reduction of cards held. (The turbo, when used as an additional card, represents a desperate sprint by the car and uses up vital stamina, reflected by the reduction of cards held in the hand thereafter.) The only restriction concerning the number of times a turbo can be used as a second card is that the hand of cards must never be allowed to fall below two after replenishment, so effectively the turbo sprint can be used just three times. Two turbos may be played together and count as one normal card and one turbo, moving the car 10 spaces (5 + 5). Whether it is wise to use the turbo sprint often, or at all, is for you to decide.
When the drawing pack is exhausted, the discard pile is reshuffled and placed face down to form a new drawing pack.
After the first car has moved, the player controlling the next car on the front row plays a card in the same way, and play continues until all cars on all rows have moved. When moving, a car is always placed as near to the inside of the track as possible. A second (or third, or fourth) car subsequently ending its movement on the same space is placed alongside the other car(s), working towards the outside of the track. No more than four cars can occupy the same space on the track; a fifth car that would normally finish its movement on a space already occupied by four cars instead drops back to the space behind. There is no restriction about passing a space already occupied by four cars, only about ending movement on such a space. All cars must use their full movement, except as provided for by the dropping-back rule described above.
Turn Order
When all cars have moved, the first turn is over. Now, starting with the leading car and working back through the field, the process is repeated. For all purposes, including deciding which car is eliminated at the end of each lap, the car nearest the inside of the track is regarded as being marginally ahead of a car on the same space but on its outside. Thus, if two cars occupy the same space on the track, the car nearest the inside moves first. By the same reasoning, the car nearest the outside is eliminated when a lap finishes.
Elimination and Re-forming
If, during the course of a turn, one or more cars cross the start/finish line, play continues normally until all cars have moved on this turn, at which point the car in last position is eliminated and its marker removed from the track. The player controlling that car continues in the game provided they still have one or more cars left in the race. If they have no cars left, they are eliminated from the game (but see Points Scoring below).
Immediately after a car has been eliminated, the cars re-group before starting the next lap. The leading car is placed on the "10" space marked with an asterisk (*) on the track, the second-placed car is placed immediately behind it on space 9, and so on, with each car occupying a separate space immediately behind the car in front. This procedure is followed regardless of how far the cars were apart at the conclusion of the previous turn, and even if two or more cars finished the turn on the same space. After re-forming, each car must occupy a separate space in line astern.
The race continues in the same way, one car being eliminated each lap, until only two cars are left. As usual, these cars re-group as described above and then sprint for the line to determine the eventual winner.
Points Scoring
The nature of the game, and the race it simulates, involves the elimination of players as the game progresses. The game plays quite quickly, so eliminated players will not have to sit on the sidelines for long. However, to ensure that interest is maintained even for those eliminated early, we suggest the use of a points-scoring system, on a team basis, as an alternative way of deciding the winner of the game.
As each car is eliminated, its team is awarded points: 1 for the car eliminated at the end of the first lap, 2 for the second lap, 3 for the third, and so on. The eventual runner-up (the car who loses the final lap sprint) gets 2 more points than the car eliminated on the previous lap, and the winner gets 3 points more than the runner-up. Add up the points for each team; the highest total wins the Team Title.