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Game Info
Year
2001
Collection
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Description
A lively game of horse racing where players bet on several of seven horses to try to gain the most money by the end of three races.
Winner's Circle is a re-issue of Knizia's Turf Horse Racing (published by Gibsons Games). This new version has updated graphics and uses the same mechanism of 4 symbols on the horse cards also appearing on the die. Players roll the die and choose which horse they want to move (from those that haven't moved this turn yet). The seven horses vary in strength, but even the weakest horses have some amazing bursts of speed. Players bet on the horses before each race and must either cooperate or compete to get their horses over the finish line.
There are various differences between Winner's Circle and Turf Horse Racing. There are only 3 races instead of 4. The circuit is oval instead of a straight line. The horses start on separate starting spaces instead of all together on the same space. During the race, horses cannot share spaces so if a horse has to move to an occupied space, they have to move back to the last available space. A Pace chip has been added to space 18 where the first horse to pass it receives it and earns a higher payout at the end of the race (if they finish top 3). Also, there is a variant where the betting is done secretly with players using a 0 betting chip (for bluffing) in addition to the 1, 1, and 2 betting chips of the basic game.
Originally called "Royal Turf" but was then republished by Face 2 Face Games as "Winner's Circle" in 2006.
"Royal Turf" is #2 in the Alea small box series.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video 76Gn3so-jzg
Watch It Played Analysis at 10:20 sentiment: negative
video_pk 89365 · mention_pk 237190
Click to watch at 10:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
none
Cons
- The whole game felt absolutely flat because the group wasn't investing in it.
- The host felt deflated and embarrassed by the experience.
- The host sold the game because it left a bad taste in their mouth due to the group not buying into it.
Thematic elements
- Horse racing betting
Comparison games
- Royal Turf
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Betting — Host describes it as a horse racing betting game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- what mechanism isn't used enough what game mechanism what thing in the game do you really like that you think is awesome that isn't in enough games you just think why why aren't we why aren't we always doing this
- I love that mechanism there's a 167 games on Board Game Geek that list Mancala as a mechanism
- Mancala is the mechanism that is not used enough
- it's a doozy because it's one of your favorite games that you should hate one of those games that you think I love that game it's great but it does defy every part of my taste and everything about myself that I've known for the last however many years I've been on this Earth
- really really heavy Euros where it's like oh let's do this thing well you've got to trudge through a massive rule book and there's 65 million things to remember and learn
- really heavily story driven games I find it to be a lot of work you know I just have to read the whole paragraph now and I don't want to read a paragraph when I play a board game
- those surprises are very satisfying and a lot of fun to find out
- what are the games that you have to buy into to enjoy what he meant by that are what are the games that you really have to invest into what you're doing to actually enjoy the game
- when people are stood up excited want to win trying their best really invest in the game it's phenomenal Stand Out Stellar exciting fun
- those type of things really investing in the experience and that got us all riled up they'll get everyone playing excited and anxious and nervous
- I think games are better when people invest in them
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IqoUERaJyqc
The Dice Tower Top List at 42:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 34494 · mention_pk 102734
Click to watch at 42:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- pure betting feel with minimal rules
- elegant and clean design
Cons
- theme may feel dated to some
Thematic elements
- classic betting feel with simple track progression
- horse racing betting game
- straightforward betting
Comparison games
- Royal Turf
- Manila
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Betting and Bluffing — Most betting on horses with simple racing decisions.
- Betting on outcomes — Most betting on horses with simple racing decisions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is Camel Up.
- Gambling with your life.
- This is the loudest game at this convention.
- Poker is the number one gambling.
- This is the purest gambling game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 1MZd0vGUgoA
Getting Games Discussion at 38:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13379 · mention_pk 39239
Click to watch at 38:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- classic, approachable racing/ betting design
- nostalgic feel with modernized components in the new copy
- exciting bluffing/hidden information aspect
Cons
- older edition tokens and components may feel dated; travel wear in the past
- five-player games can extend play time significantly
Thematic elements
- betting, racing, and money management
- horse racing track with bets
- classic light bidding/economy game
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding with secret bets — players place bets on horses with tokens; some bets double in later races
- dice-driven movement — a die is rolled to advance horses and resolve the race; movement can be altered by face-down bets
- three races with escalating stakes — end-of-game scoring based on cumulative bets and race outcomes; final race doubles money
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the art is stunning it's got just a beautiful cover on the front
- adorable art this game is called Q Birds
- this might be the best game that I played this year
- the way all of the stuff bounces around is incredibly satisfying on a tactical and strategic level
- it's a lightweight set collection hand management style game
- this is easily the best of this trilogy
- Spring Meadow does it really well
- Underwater Cities might be the best game that I played this year
- Winner's Circle is still really good
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video miaTx2EupNw
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Discussion at 9:06 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 6239 · mention_pk 18487
Click to watch at 9:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Interesting race dynamics
Cons
- Balance and luck can impact outcomes unpredictably
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Racing with shared track positions — Track positions and movement interact with card-driven or dice-driven elements.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Dice are not the answer in a first-time design.
- They are toxic. They destroy your first designs.
- Meaningful interesting decisions… the decisions have to mean something.
- Even if you have all sorts of other unique stuff going on in your game that roll for combat just overwhelms it.
- Monopoly has a bit of both, chaotic, entertaining momentarily but ultimately frustrating.
- Event decks can be devastating to your design if they wipe out progress or resources.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–4 of 4