The skinniest and the weirdest race begins right now! You – yes, you – have received an invitation to participate in the "skinnies" race, a race in which only skinny people can compete. Problem is, the stadium that holds the race has incredibly strong winds that can blow skinny people like you in directions you don't want to go. Can you win this race against the competitors and the devil winds?
In Wind Runner, players have a runner and a hand of seven action cards. Each turn in a round, the first player rolls the wind direction and speed dice to determine whether the wind is blowing north or south and how quickly. Players then each secretly choose an action card in hand, then reveal them and resolve them, starting with the player farthest down the track. The cards let players move forward, move sideways, swap places with another runner, reverse the wind (!), ignore the wind, or move a barricade. Afterwards, players then move forward or backward according to the wind – but if a player or a barricade blocks the wind, then you receive no benefit (or penalty) from it.
After six turns, players pick up all their cards and start a new round. The game ends after 3-5 rounds (depending on the number of players) or as soon as a runner reaches the finish line.