Game: TurfMaster

Thread: Re: So Who Wins the Race? Turf Master, or Winner's Circle?

Walt Mulder — 2008-08-28T18:26:14+00:00

You might want to just set up those questions in a "poll" format.

Thread: Re: So Who Wins the Race? Turf Master, or Winner's Circle?

tool — 2008-08-28T16:37:49+00:00

Winner's Circle is not a racing game in the same sense as TurfMaster is - it's a betting game.

Also, please don't post the same thing in multiple places.

Thread: Re: Meet format on basic courses?

Grandsage — 2008-07-29T16:01:05+00:00

Greetings,

Just in case anyone else has need of the information, Albrecht has posted an official answer to my question:

Hi Rick,

the standard meet format for the basic courses is two flat races first and one steeplechase following.

Of course you are right that the tactics also depends on the order of the kind of the races. Especially the decision when to take the bonus cards or what cards to keep for the next race.

whishing you loads of fun with the game

Albrecht

Rick

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

Tony La Morte — 2008-07-11T16:45:17+00:00

Got ya, I ignored the spelling here sometimes.

Thread: Re: Meet format on basic courses?

Great Dane — 2008-07-10T18:58:49+00:00

Richard,
Lena has reponded on your question in the AZA forum - but has trouble understanding your question (like we had). So please repeat your clarification above in that forum.

Thread: Re: Meet format on basic courses?

Grandsage — 2008-07-05T21:24:21+00:00

Greetings,

I will try and be more clear with my question.

I understand that you can hold a meet in any desided way you like as the book says, however, I was wondering if there was an "official" or preferred format.

The book is clear that 3 races with 10 cards each and the bonus cards is the correct method for the basic courses. However, with the level of detail Albrecht goes into with the new courses I would bet that there is a standard meet format that he intended for these courses.

I would only expect that the format for the basic courses would dictate how many of each type(flat or steeplechase) and in what order to run them. This would have a profound effect on how players choose to use their cards and pick their dice.

Simply put.....I was wondering IF there was such a thing as a standard meet for the basic courses.

Thanks for the effort guys!

Rick

Thread: Re: Meet format on basic courses?

Great Dane — 2008-07-05T20:51:21+00:00

As Oliver says.

As for the lacking response in the AZA forum, I would blame the summer holiday - or maybe Albrecht Nolte doesn't understand your question either?

I received a mail from Lena Nolte last week, and will send a reply to her on Monday. If you still haven't received an official reply by then will I ask her to wake her husband.

Thread: Re: Meet format on basic courses?

olivier zamouth — 2008-07-05T14:26:32+00:00

Hi Richard,
I'm not sure to understand your question. With the basic course, what you call "format" is 3 races, 10 cards per race (and of course 2 bonus cards for the whole meeting). The distance is always the same. Any or all three races can be steeple, in any order you want, it's up to you.

Thread: Meet format on basic courses?

Grandsage — 2008-07-05T05:32:48+00:00

Greetings,

I really enjoy TurfMaster alot and I have purchased both of the course packs. These course packs offer much more than a new track to run, they establish a "format" in which a meet should be conducted.

This format dictates such factors as race distance, flat or steeplechase and the number of cards alloted per race. This really mixes up the game in a nice way.

So.....I was wondering if there was a format that has been established for the two courses included in the main game. I didnt see anything specific in the book and the AZA web page is....um...yeah. I even posted this question on the AZA web page and no answer in over 3 weeks.

Rick

Thread: Re: Handicap/Finished Horses

Christine Biancheria — 2008-06-27T15:45:37+00:00

Thanks, Mik!

I must have overlooked it.

Thread: Re: Handicap/Finished Horses

Great Dane — 2008-06-27T08:21:36+00:00

Christine Biancheria wrote:
I could swear I saw this somewhere, but can't find it now.

If 2 horses cross the finish in one round, is the lead horse in the following round subject to a first-place restriction of 8 or a third-place restriction of 10? In other words, do you count the finished horses in determining position? Thanks!
Hi Christine,
You will find the rule on page 10, last sentence in the chapter "Finishing a Race":

"To determine the handicaps the positions of the remaining horses is not changed by taking other horses to their appropriate place in the middle."

or since you understand German:
"Die bereits in der vohergehenden Runde herausgenommenen Pferde wird mitgezählt.

Thread: Handicap/Finished Horses

Christine Biancheria — 2008-06-26T21:21:56+00:00

I could swear I saw this somewhere, but can't find it now.

If 2 horses cross the finish in one round, is the lead horse in the following round subject to a first-place restriction of 8 or a third-place restriction of 10? In other words, do you count the finished horses in determining position? Thanks!

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

Koert — 2008-06-17T23:22:42+00:00

Great Dane wrote:
Koert wrote:
You decide and select the cards you want to keep (can be bonus or left-over cards from the previous race) and which to toss away.
As David writes is this not correct. The English rules matches the German. Two excess cards are removed blindly after the race in which you drew your Bonus cards.

Waaw! This is bad. We have already been playing this wrongly for years! I had to check the rules myself before I believed you. Thanks for the correction.

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

Great Dane — 2008-06-17T08:46:00+00:00

davoflick wrote:
It is not clear however whether the next 10 cards are dealt before the 2 are taken from his hand and then he reduces his hand to 10 cards.
I don't think it be explained more clearly than it is in the rules:
top of page 11 wrote:
At the end of a race, the person who used the bonus-cards has two cards taken away blindly by the fellow player on the right before exchanging the remaining cards.

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

Great Dane — 2008-06-17T08:36:43+00:00

Koert wrote:
You decide and select the cards you want to keep (can be bonus or left-over cards from the previous race) and which to toss away.
As David writes is this not correct. The English rules matches the German. Two excess cards are removed blindly after the race in which you drew your Bonus cards.

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

Great Dane — 2008-06-17T08:25:55+00:00

davoflick wrote:
Also what are the expansions you refer to ?
- as described on the Geek:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3043
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/26105

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

davoflick — 2008-06-17T00:56:55+00:00

Refer to the Rule Dealing Cards for the 2nd and 3rd Race.

At the end of a race, the person who used bonus cards has 2 cards taken away BLINDLY by the fellow player on his right before exchanging remaining cards.

It is not clear however whether the next 10 cards are dealt before the 2 are taken from his hand and then he reduces his hand to 10 cards. OR are 2 cards taken from what he has left over at the end of the previous race before the 10 new cards are dealt.

Also what are the different limit in the expansions you refer to ?

Dave

Thread: Re: Bonus Cards.

Koert — 2008-06-16T21:11:29+00:00

No cards are taken away blindly.

If you used the bonus cards during a race and/or if you have cards left at the end of the race, then these are kept. You add 10 new cards. And only now, you reduce the number of cards in your hand back to 10 for the next race (in the base game - different limit in the expansions). You decide and select the cards you want to keep (can be bonus or left-over cards from the previous race) and which to toss away.

Thread: Bonus Cards.

davoflick — 2008-06-16T18:21:25+00:00

If a player uses his 2 bonus cards on either race 1 or 2 are the 10 new cards dealt for the next race before the player on the persons right blindly takes away 2 cards or taken only form the cards left over from that race.
Dave.

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

chaddyboy_2000 — 2008-06-10T03:11:47+00:00

Tony La Morte wrote:
Re-themed Edition? When did that come out???

Rukus77 wrote:
In a diceround the hores can not fall

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

Tony La Morte — 2008-06-05T19:36:01+00:00

Re-themed Edition? When did that come out???

My game is only several months old, and rules say:

Horses cannot fall at a fence during a round of dice. If they make a move that would lead to a fall during a round of cards, they finish their move right in front of the fence during a round of dice.

Best Regards, Tony

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

chaddyboy_2000 — 2008-06-05T17:33:46+00:00

Rukus77 wrote:
In a diceround the hores can not fall

Did you buy the re-themed edition?

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

Tony La Morte — 2008-06-05T16:57:02+00:00

On a Die roll if it is not high enough to get over the fence you do not move.

Not absolutely sure on the Card question from a rules stand point. I am not certain that is even covered in the rules, I will look tonight. We play you keep the cards and exchange out next race.

Very fun game.
Best Regards, Tony

Thread: Re: Blocked lane changes

SteadyTeddy — 2008-06-05T16:40:02+00:00

Thanks for the quick answer. I know were both correct because Turfmaster is your number one game and moving way up my list. I own the original DeLuxe edition and one of my grails.
Joe K.

Thread: Re: Blocked lane changes

AbeLincoln — 2008-06-05T00:50:46+00:00

yes, that is correct. those pesky horses need their space.

Thread: Blocked lane changes

SteadyTeddy — 2008-06-04T23:48:44+00:00

Hi, Great game. I have one question, I understand the lane changing rules but am I correct in stating that a horse can not change lanes if there is only one vacant space before a horse in the new lane. I think that a horse blocks one space in front and behing from being used. Is this correct?

Thread: Re: The horses...

SybotCB — 2008-06-04T19:30:11+00:00

Kevin_Whitmore wrote:
SybotCB wrote:
No, they are all the same.

For the first race. Placement is random. After that. It's based on finishing order for the previous race.

While this is true, the horses end up being different from race to race, since you play only a portion of the deck each race. So the horse that gets its best cards early will be weaker later on; and vice-versa.

Well, uh, yeah. What he said. I knew that too of course, but I can see where my answer might have been a little bit too concise.

Thread: Re: The horses...

Kevin_Whitmore — 2008-06-03T23:21:10+00:00

SybotCB wrote:
No, they are all the same.

For the first race. Placement is random. After that. It's based on finishing order for the previous race.

While this is true, the horses end up being different from race to race, since you play only a portion of the deck each race. So the horse that gets its best cards early will be weaker later on; and vice-versa.

Thread: Re: The horses...

SybotCB — 2008-06-03T23:02:14+00:00

No, they are all the same.

For the first race. Placement is random. After that. It's based on finishing order for the previous race.

Thread: The horses...

atomzero — 2008-06-03T22:57:45+00:00

Is there anything that makes one horse different from another in this game. Do the horses have different positioning preferences?

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

davoflick — 2008-05-31T10:31:01+00:00

Thanks for your reply Andreas.

There is no reason the steeplechase has to be the last race of the 3.
In fact why not have 3 steplechase races.

I understand that horses cannot fall on a dice round and stop on the square in front of the fence.
What I am asking is if their on the square in front of the fence and the dice roll move is next and a move of 1 is requested do they stay where they are ? I assume they do.

Also if a horse falls does the player return all his unused cards or can he keep them for exchange.

Dave.

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

Rukus77 — 2008-05-26T08:29:48+00:00

In a diceround the hores can not fall, but the must must so far that the can. If the hores don't get over the fence he stop's the square before.

Normaly the fence race ist the last race on the curse.

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

davoflick — 2008-05-25T22:07:44+00:00

Thanks for confirming that for me Olivier.
Another question I would like to ask you is this.

Following a card round a horse or perhaps more than 1 horse are on the square immediately before the fence.
The person who next rolls the dice states a move of a dice or both dice which add to a total of 2 or 3. Am I right that these horse would not move at all as you cannot fall on a dice round.

Also when a horse falls does the player keep his cards until the end of the race for exchange for the cards dealt in the next race or should all his cards be forfeited and be out of the game.

Dave.

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

olivier zamouth — 2008-05-24T15:03:10+00:00

You're right, and during an 8-horses race falling on a fence should happen more than expected, maybe as much as 3-4 times.
By the way, don't forget two points :
- you can't change lane while jumping a fence
- if during a round you jump a fence, you must wait your 8th and not your 7th move to do so (you still can change lane on your first move if you're not just behind the fence) ; I fail to understand why, but that's the rule !

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

davoflick — 2008-05-24T11:39:55+00:00

Thanks for your reply Olivier.
So the square the fence is on is 3 moves long.
So lets say I have 3 clear squares between my horse and the fence if I played a card of 4 or 6 this would land me on the fence and my horse would fall. A card of 7 would put me the square the other side of the fence.
This of course subject to the rule of moving the horse as far as possible according to the card played.
Dave.

Thread: Re: Steeplechase

olivier zamouth — 2008-05-23T21:27:16+00:00

You need 4 points to move from the space just before the fence to the space just behind. When I explain the rule and play, I find it easier to count 2 more than usual (that's 3 !) on the space where the fence is.

Have fun, it's a great game.

Thread: Steeplechase

davoflick — 2008-05-23T20:08:21+00:00

When jumping a fence do you include the fence position as one of your forward movements.
The illistration on page 23 of the rules shows the yellow figure presumably having to move 7. In fact it only moves 5 counting the fence or 4 not including the fence ?
Please could someone clarify the correct procedure.
Thanks
Dave.

Thread: Re: Turf Master

cfisher — 2008-04-13T13:03:28+00:00

Tony,

A lane change in the corners won't result in a sideways move because when you look closely at the lanes, each one is a little offset from the others. When you change lanes, you must still move to a forward lane. Also, there is a restriction to the number of lanes you can move on your turn.

As for card play, you play a card from your hand on your turn, not simultaneously. This is one rule we messed up the first time we played, but corrected it the second.

It's an outstanding game that plays strategically for up to eight players, which is hard to do.

Chris

Thread: Re: Turf Master

matthiske — 2008-04-13T11:53:55+00:00

Time length depends on the # of player's. I just played with eight player's last night, new to the game, and it took right around two hours. You could possbily decrease the time by about fifteen minutes per less player. All experienced player's could decrease that time also.

Thread: Re: Player order on a dice round?

Carmilla — 2008-03-02T21:14:47+00:00

When you indicate that this struggling player had multiple rolls to take after all others had finished, does this mean you no longer had him play cards?

He ran out of cards pretty quickly; he only had low ones. He just had a really bad draw that race, I think.

Thanks, I can see how there would be a reason to keep rotating the dice. And fortunately, we had a pretty bloodthirsty group. :-D

Thread: Re: Player order on a dice round?

TomParauda — 2008-02-27T15:57:07+00:00

When you indicate that this struggling player had multiple rolls to take after all others had finished, does this mean you no longer had him play cards?

Remember, players continue to alternate between playing cards and rolling dice, so it should be extremely rare for a player to have multiple die rolls after others have finished. If he does, it's because he has tried to dump all his very low cards (3's and 4's) to save up for the next race. But he must finish, so he needs to keep in mind that he has to play high enough to avoid having to dump a "10" or a precious "8" because he has no alternative as he drags his horse across the finish line. Honestly, being in such dire straits is often because of poor card play(not poor play in coming in last, mind you, but poor play in managing your cards so poorly that you have to dump a really good card for the next race. Coming in last happens, and may be helpful if it helps manage your cards to set up two strong races).

To answer your question: yes, the dice rolling should still change hands, regardless of how long it takes a player to finish.

An interesting anecdote: One player in a game had the dice roll to determine the fate of another player (the only one who had not finished). Of course, he rolled enough on the 2 dice to allow the player to finish without burning a card, but choosing the 1 die sum instead would result in that last-place finisher burning a card to cross the finish line.

Guess what happened? The king-maker (of sorts) felt that hurting another player in some way might improve his chances in the last, pivotal race (fair enough), and so chose the 1-die result. The last place finisher went berserk! Very upset that he was not granted the courtesy of saving a card. As it turned out, the only cards he had left were a "12" and three wild cards "10-11-12". Wow! He burned the Wild 10 and fumed through the last race (finshing 4th!). Among good friends, such competitive one-upmanship would be hilarious, the highlight of the night, but among players on less familiar terms....watch out!

Thread: Re: Tie Breaker Question

Moviebuffs — 2008-02-27T08:16:44+00:00

Just checked our rules.

If players own more than one horse: The "best horse" breaks the tie. This one seems straightforward - If your score of 100 is made up of two horses' scores of 70 + 30, and the other player's two horses' scores are 60 + 40, then you win.

If players own one horse: The tie is broken by "best position". I would assume that this means whichever horse got higher positions in an individual race. In other words, if your score of 90 comes from a win and two third places (50 + 20 + 20), then you will beat the player who scored 90 thanks to three second places (30 + 30 + 30) thanks to the first place.

N.

Thread: Tie Breaker Question

Carmilla — 2008-02-27T04:00:31+00:00

The one time I played this, the final score (NOT an individual race) ended in a tie. We went to the rules, which said something like (apologies, I don't own the game yet, so going from memory) "In case of ties, the best horse wins." Huh? Thinking it was a translation thing, I went to the German rules, which said ... exactly the same thing.

We were happy to leave it as a tie, but has anyone else dealt with this issue?

Carmilla

Thread: Re: Player order on a dice round?

Carmilla — 2008-02-27T03:57:15+00:00

Just to take this a bit further, I played this for the first time this weekend, and loved it, but in a couple of races, we had one horse so far behind (or with such awful cards) that the player ran out of cards before finishing, and had to finish on multiple dice rolls.

Does the dice rolling still pass around the table? Seems rather pointless at that point. We had the remaining player roll his own dice, but that put the dice "off" for the next round. Also, I can envision other players choosing numbers just to mess with the dice order for the next race, which could have interesting ramifications.

Any thoughts on this?

Carmilla

Thread: Re: playing high card (being blocked) when you have lower card in hand?

Koert — 2008-02-24T20:28:53+00:00

Your understanding is correct. You are not forced to play the low card.

Thread: playing high card (being blocked) when you have lower card in hand?

ckhalleran — 2008-02-24T14:13:03+00:00

I think this is OK, but would someone please confirm. Is it OK to play a card that will cause you to be blocked (such that you don't use all of the movement squares for that card). Or instead of playing that higher card, if you also had a low card that could be played (and you would not be blocked, would use all the squares of it's movement) are you forced to play that low card?

The rules say "move your horse up to the maximum number of squares possible according to the card you play" (and observe handicap limit). But you're not required to play a lower card if that would mean you could move the full amount without being blocked? Thanks

Thread: Re: Questions (Turf Master)

Great Dane — 2008-02-15T18:16:41+00:00

Tony La Morte wrote:
Sorry for asking so many questions but this is pricey and I don't know if the rules posted here are complete when compared to what comes with the game. I.E. rules posted here don't have pictures where the text indicates refering to them?

The game is sold with full color rules in 3 languages: German, English and French, with plenty of illustrations.

I wouldn't advice playing with more than 8 horses. The field is VERY crowded with a full set and it is very hard for horses to get back into the race if they fall back.

Thread: Re: Questions (Turf Master)

Tony La Morte — 2008-02-15T17:58:54+00:00

If playing with more then 8 is possible, what would be the set-up.

Sorry for asking so many questions but this is pricey and I don't know if the rules posted here are complete when compared to what comes with the game. I.E. rules posted here don't have pictures where the text indicates refering to them?

Thanks, Tony

Thread: Re: Questions (Turf Master)

Moviebuffs — 2008-02-05T11:55:01+00:00

GeoMan wrote:
Moviebuffs wrote:
Someone wrote you could but it seems that depending where in the bend the move would be side ways.

If the move isn't beneficial, don't change lanes! However, if you have no choice, then a sideways move is better than being stuck!

Even if the move isn't beneficial you are forced to use the path that moves you the most squares.

Yes .... I didn't make that very clear, did I

N.

Thread: Re: Questions (Turf Master)

GeoMan — 2008-02-05T10:44:37+00:00

Moviebuffs wrote:
Someone wrote you could but it seems that depending where in the bend the move would be side ways.

If the move isn't beneficial, don't change lanes! However, if you have no choice, then a sideways move is better than being stuck!

Even if the move isn't beneficial you are forced to use the path that moves you the most squares.

Image

henk.rolleman — 2008-01-13T20:40:08+00:00

Image

DavidNorman99 — 2007-11-21T02:08:03+00:00

Back of the Box

Image

DavidNorman99 — 2007-11-21T02:07:01+00:00

Front of Box

Image

heccubus — 2007-08-21T18:09:13+00:00

Tight race

Image

itiswon — 2007-04-13T20:22:09+00:00

race track

Image

itiswon — 2007-04-13T20:19:34+00:00

rule book of Delux edition

Image

fungry — 2007-03-20T11:57:28+00:00

Image

fungry — 2007-03-20T11:57:04+00:00

Turf Master Delux Horse Case

Image

fungry — 2007-03-14T11:45:17+00:00

Turf Master Delux

Image

simonh — 2006-11-14T03:29:10+00:00

Anye plays Turf Master at BGG.CON'06