Yacht and racing board games are games that help to bring excitement home. Horse races, car races and yacht races-very few experiences can compare to seeing one of these events in real life. The adrenaline and excitement of a good race isn't something that's easy to come by off the track or course!
Fun for Racing Fans
Racing fans don't have to look far for a wide variety of games that feature different types of racing. Yacht and racing board games have been popular since the mid-1900s, and continue in their popularity today. Fortunately, many of them are still made today by prominent toy companies, and the ones that have been discontinued are still relatively easy to come by. If you've got a racing fan in the family, or if you're a racing fan yourself, bring a taste of the action and adventure of going to a race by bringing home one of these unique and clever board games.
Examples of Yacht and Racing Board Games
- Formula D Racing: You can race on the street or on the track with Formula D racing, a game for up to ten players. Gamplay in Formula D is all about gear shifting; that is, the gear a player is in determines the size of his roll on the dice, which can net a leap ahead of the other players. However, obstacles such as shouting neighbors, twisting turns, and deflating tires will keep even experienced players from getting a leg up too easily. Additional tracks are available for Formula D to allow for a totally different experience each time you decide to play.
- Yacht Race: Parker Brothers published this board game in the 1960s, a full-throttle maritime adventure designed to take players quickly through a yacht race. The quality of this board game is unsurpassed by most other yacht and racing board games-the pieces are weighted and heavy duty, and the oversized board is complete with a nautical chart. Unlike newer yacht racing games which use mechanical or electronic moving parts, this board game utilizes heavy duty cards and text to move along the action. This game is best played with a large number of players (five or six), but is suitable for anyone above the age of eight.
- Win, Place and Show: Horse racing is the basis for Win, Place and Show, a board game designed to allow players to win races with a set of six horses, who vary in color, speed, and strength. Players also get to bet on which horse they believe will win a race beforehand, allowing every person at the board to assume the role of both audience member and bona fide jockey. Each horse has a different set of characteristics, some of which provide a disadvantage when compared with other horses, and some of which may help a player win! Due to the mechanics of gameplay, the horses chosen, bets made, and dice rolled can all affect the outcome, causing some races to go by very quickly and others to last quite a long time. Win, Place and Show should be played by three or six players for the most enjoyable experience.
- Really Nasty Horse Racing: Really Nasty Horse Racing takes a different tack on horse racing than many games by introducing some of the real-life drama that causes horse racing to be so exciting. Players have the option of getting "Really Nasty" with each other using accusations of steroid use, knocking horses over, and other forms of cheating to get ahead. The betting aspect of the game-and the cutthroat methods of making your friends and family members fall from grace-provide an extremely unique experience for older children and adults!
Finally, any of these games should provide loads of fun for race lovers, but if you have other games you'd like to suggest, please do so in the comments section of this article.
