The objective of this review is not to describe the rules at length or discuss strategies (as have been the feature of a number of my reviews). As the title would suggest, I hope to cover as many possible angles one could approach the game while deciding whether to buy it.

Overview:
Winner’s Circle is a horse-racing game offered up by the unlikeliest of designers – Reiner Knizia. While the style and gameplay may not typify the hallmarks of a Knizia game, Winner’s Circle certainly carries Knizia’s trademark of being a respectable game, with elements of admirable quality here and there. By and large, if the theme of Winner’s Circle gets you and Knizia’s brand name is a pull factor, it’s worth giving the game a closer look if it represents a potential addition to your collection.

Aesthetics and Durability:
On the visual side, the game is nothing overly fancy or exquisite. The colour scheme chosen for the pieces and board are generally earthy, with shades of brown for the horses (barring the white “leader” horse and the black “dark horse”). The money chips are also simply coloured, in dull green, beige and white. The betting chips are in direct contrast to the understated colour of the horses though, coming in tones like bright purple and dashing red, which sometimes causes an eyesore when overlaid with the horses’ colours, though not hideously so. The shades of brown used for the horses are also a slight problem in-game for those with less discerning colour differentiation, because they aren’t easy to tell apart for those not familiar with the game

If you can look past these minor visual failings, the game isn’t terrible to the point that it’s a visual disaster. Additionally, the pieces are durable, which is a big plus for me since my games and their bits sometimes get bumped around as I bring them from place to place. The horses are firmly rooted onto their stands, so I don’t see any chance of an accidental breaking off. Furthermore, the money is printed on thick cardboard rather than paper, which is also a very good thing for durability.

The Knizia Factor:
Knizia fans who are expecting more of his typically mathematical and calculative game designs will be largely disappointed. The mathematical element still exists in the game, but it isn’t as deeply-rooted as in his other offerings. What do I mean by this? In Winner’s Circle, every horse has almost exactly the same average movement by virtue of the dice design and movements for each horse (the math at work); however, the horses vary wildly, from some consistent performers to the erratic burst-fire, stop-start movement of the others. What this creates is a disparity between risk-takers and risk-averse players when they choose the horses they’d like to bet on, even though both have, technically, an equal chance of winning. I find this to be a clever mechanic, making the playing field a mathematically level one, yet subtly prying out personal preferences in the process, which will eventually affect gameplay more than the math.

Another significant difference from other Knizia games that I’ve played is that the randomness comes from dice-rolling rather than card-play or tile-drawing like Samurai. Thus, I daresay that the game is significantly more random than most of his other games, because, as with any dice-rolling game, it can turn up the nastiest surprises and results on you. There is no ‘guarantee’ of players having an ace up their sleeve; instead, every player is forced to make the best of his die roll and his circumstances. For better or for worse, this encourages a greater level of direct and open player interaction.

Having made so much of the “un-Knizia-ness” of the game, it has to be said that pockets of his style are still appreciable while the game is being played. Perhaps it’s just a personal observation, but Knizia’s games always encourage players’ moves to help themselves and hurt their opponents at the same time. The ‘one-move-per-round’ for each horse is reminiscent of Samurai, where every tile placed generates an influence while denying your opponent that space at the same time. Similarly, the fact that players have perfect information of their opponents’ stakes and choices is typically Knizia. With regards to the Knizia Factor, Winner’s Circle throws in a dash of randomness stronger than is present in most of his other games, but still manages to combine that with game mechanics that remind players they are playing a Knizia game.

Brain Drain (or not?):
As evidenced by the importance of dice-rolling as a game mechanic, Winner’s Circle can hardly compare with most other games with regards to strategising and tactics. In most sessions that I’ve played, each player’s turn goes merrily on with a dice roll, a few seconds of deliberation and then the horse’s movement. Since your dice roll eliminates 75% of the choices at hand, there isn’t much scope for AP (unless, of course, you’re the type who tends to AP at every decision then…well ) To that effect, Winner’s Circle definitely hovers around the “Light to Light Medium” range of the boardgaming spectrum.

Nonetheless, it isn’t the dice-fest that many racing games are. Sure enough, the die plays an important role in the game. However, there is a considerable scope for tactics by making the best use of your own dice roll to help your own chances of winning while hurting everybody else’s. It is this blend of luck and control that makes Winner’s Circle an addictive game to me, because there is enough tactical choice to make me feel involved, but a strong enough element of luck to refresh the game with a dash of randomness to unravel anyone’s overly well-laid plans.

Player Interaction:
Winner’s Circle has an increasing level of player interaction as the number of players increases. This is because the system of each player having 3 (or 4, depending on the variant being played) bets on the 7 available horses means that, the more players in the game, the higher the level of overlapping bids on horses. So, with more players, every time you move a horse, your actions directly and significantly impact the decisions available to the other players, and also their chances of winning. If your group plays with the “Hidden Bets” variant, not only are there 4 bets per player, there is also a “bluff” bet for each player hidden from the rest that further complicates the already-intricate web of a player’s choice of movement affecting everybody else. An attempt to cripple a horse’s movement may prove to be merely counter-productive if your nearest rival has only put a false bet on that horse to mislead you; naturally, such organised chaos and backhanded attempts to hurt other players contributes to the interactivity of the game

Theme:
Not too surprisingly, the theme of Winner’s Circle revolves around horse-racing and punting. In a departure from many of Knizia’s games, it’s unlikely that the theme can be accused of being ‘pasted on’. In every session that I’ve played, all the players are fully immersed in this world of horse-racing, cheering their horses on loudly and animatedly (especially if they’ve had a drink too many before the game!), exhibiting highs and lows of emotion more often associated with sports rather than board games. I’m convinced that Winner’s Circle is one of those games that can draw the players into the world of the game, making them forget their surroundings even if only for those few minutes. At worst, this game be simply be called an involving racing game instead of being specifically a horse-racing game; I’d still consider that to be quite a successful theme regardless.

Conclusion:
After a long discourse on the various aspects of the game, what is my overall opinion? I personally consider Winner’s Circle to be among the better games that I’ve played. Firstly, the blend of luck and tactics means that my brain is sufficiently active to keep me interested, while every turn and every new session is a fresh and exciting experience. Secondly, it’s very easy to get players for this game. Not only is the game unbelievably simple to explain and understand, the horse-racing theme and light-hearted mood of the game, coupled with its short and adjustable playing time, make it an attractive proposition for non-gamers, while it isn’t too light to put off serious gamers either. With these two major plus-points in mind, I give Winner’s Circle a solid 8/10. I would strongly recommend it as a purchase or at least for serious consideration for most gamers, serious or casual alike.