My new obsession: A horse-racing board game of pure luck | De minimis non curat Lex

My new obsession: A horse-racing board game of pure luck

16 Apr, 2026

Someone recently introduced me a weird and wonderful little board game that has become my latest obsession.

It's a game for 2-12 players where horses race on a track. Except that the players don't control the horses directly. Nor do they choose when and how to bet on said horses. Nor do they have any input whatsoever regarding how the game unfolds (though the proceedings are not deterministic – merely luck-based, like a casino game). The game basically amounts to a skill-free gambling machine. It wouldn't require much effort to turn it into a zero-player affair.

Oh, and did I mention that the game has no consistent title? As far as I've found, it has been (re)released many times under several different names, including:

Dubble Kross (1991)1

The Horse Race Game (2004)

Wooden Horse Races Game (2004)

Horse Race (2005)

The Racing Horse Game (2006)

Horse Racing Game (2007)

Various wood and metal sets, such as Ropoda's (pictured above).

Perhaps it's one of those ancient folk games that seem to have come to us fully-formed from deep in the past? Or else it's in the public domain, such that anyone is free to run with it? I have no idea. The mystery is part of the appeal – what on earth is this non-game, where did it come from, and why does it keep being repackaged?

I have no answers. All I know is that it's strange, and entertaining, and I love it. I'll probably try to code my own variation of it at some point.

In the interest of making more people aware of this strange and delightful game, I've compiled its rules and variations in this post:

Classic Mode is the aforementioned input-free variation. It's strangely enjoyable!

Advanced Mode adds a few wrinkles that introduce player inputs and a modicum of strategy.

Other House Rules are a handful of minor changes that I've found elsewhere on the internet. They add minor variations that increase the amount of player agency in the game.

Horse Race Board Game Rules<br>A game for 2 to 12 players.

This rule set is adapted from Horse Race Board Game, published by Ropoda.

Components

Game board

2 six-sided dice

2 decks of cards

11 horse tokens

The Board<br>The board consists of:

A starting gate where horses initially begin (containing one slot per lane).

A scratch zone (containing four slots per lane).

11 numbered lanes (each containing a variable number of slots).

A finish line (containing one slot per lane).

Starting Gate Finish Line<br>| |<br>| |<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 2 | 0 0 | 0 | (2 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 3 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (5 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 4 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (7 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 5 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (10 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 6 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (13 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 7 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (14 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 8 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (13 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 9 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (10 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 10 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (7 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 11 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | (5 slots)<br>| 0 0 0 0 | 12 | 0 0 | 0 | (2 slots)<br>| |<br>| |<br>Scratched Race Track

Classic Mode<br>For 2-12 players.

Classic mode is played for 8 (or more) rounds, decided by the players at the game's outset.

Whichever player has the greatest number of chips at the end of all the rounds is the winner.

Setup

Prepare the deck(s):<br>Use one deck of cards with four or fewer players. Use two decks with more than four players.

Remove all aces (A), kings (K), and jokers from the decks.

Shuffle all remaining cards into a single deck.

Deal an equal number of cards to each player until the deck is depleted.

Place all horse tokens on the starting line.

Continue to the Scratch Phase.

Scratch Phase

Scratch the first horse:<br>The player to the dealer's left rolls the dice.

Add the numbers of the dice roll to determine the horse to scratch.

Move the corresponding horse to the first scratch line.

Any player holding a card with a number matching the horse must:<br>Discard the matching card. (Note : Jacks match "11" and queens match "12.")

Contribute 1 chip to the pot for each card discarded.

Scratch the second horse:<br>Pass the dice to the player to the left.

The player rolls the dice.

Add the numbers of the dice roll to determine the horse to scratch.

Move the corresponding horse to the second scratch line.

Any player holding a card with a number matching the horse must:<br>Discard the matching card.

Contribute 2 chips to the pot for each card discarded.

Scratch the third horse:<br>Pass the dice to the player to the left.

The player rolls the dice.

Add the numbers of the dice roll to determine the horse to scratch.

Move the corresponding horse to the third scratch line.

Any player holding a card with a number matching the horse must:<br>Discard the matching card.

Contribute 3 chips to the pot for each card discarded.

Scratch the fourth horse:<br>Pass the dice to the player to the left.

The player...