Royal Turf

By Reiner Knizia; Published by Alea; Translated by Dan Blum

Game Overview
The game takes place over three races. In each race seven horses compete and are bet on by the
players. After the three races are completed, whoever has the most money wins.

Game Material
1 board, containing the track, the payout table, and the seven betting areas
7 horses (gray, white, beige, caramel, reddish brown, dark brown, and black)
21 horse cards (3 for each horse)
24 betting chips (4 in each color – 0, 1, 1, and 2)
6 color cards (to identify the players)
1 Pace chip (showing two whips)
1 die (3 sides show horse heads; the others show a jockey’s cap, a saddle, and a horseshoe)
Money (12 x ₤50, 26 x ₤100, 12 x ₤500)

Preparing to Play
The board is placed in the middle of the table with the 7 horses and the 21 shuffled horse cards
next to it. Each player takes a color card and places it in front of him or herself as identification, and
also takes three betting chips in that color: 1, 1, and 2. The 0 chips are only used in the variant found at
the end of the rules. Cards and chips of unused colors are placed back in the box. The die, Pace chip,
and bank are placed to the side of the board.

Playing the Game

Each of the three races has the following stages:
1. The preparation: the horses, the Pace chip, and one horse card for each horse are placed on the
board.
2. The betting: the players place their betting chips in three rounds.
3. The race: the horses race until the top three finishers are determined.
4. The payout: bets are paid off.

1. The Preparation

The preparation is the same for all three races. The Pace chip is placed on space 18 on the track. The 7
horses and their cards are placed as follows: the top card from the stack is drawn and placed next to the
appropriate betting area on the board, as shown in the picture, and the matching horse is placed on the
first space behind the gray start/finish line, space 33. The second card is then drawn, placed, and the
appropriate horse put on space 32, etc., until all 7 horses have cards out and are in spaces 27-33 on the
track. If a second or third card is drawn for the same horse, just put it aside.

2. The Betting

For the first race, determine randomly who begins the betting. This player places one betting chip face-
up on one of the 7 betting areas as shown in the picture. This represents a bet that this horse will be one
of the top three finishers in this race. Each of the other players (moving clockwise) then places a chip,
and so on for three rounds of betting. Note that each player may only play one chip per horse, and
therefore must bet on three different horses. As many people as want to may bet on the same horse.

Corrections or constructive criticisms? Email: [email protected] © Michael Weston, 2002

3. The Race

The player who placed the first betting chip begins the race by rolling the die and moving any horse
the number of spaces shown on its card for the symbol rolled. The card is then moved a bit away from
the board indicating that the horse has moved; it may not be moved again until all other horses have
moved (in the picture on page 3, Albino and red Fox have moved). The next player clockwise now
rolls the die and moves a horse. When all horses have moved once, the cards are moved back next to
the board and the next player in line now can choose any of them.

On your turn you must move a horse. However, only one horse may be on a space. If a horse’s move
would place it on an occupied space, it is placed on the first free space behind this (for example, see
the sidebar picture on page 4, where Albino is forced to move 4 instead of 6). In extreme cases a horse
may not be able to move at all because of this; the card is still moved away from the board to indicate
that the horse has had a turn.

The first horse that reaches or passes space 18 pays out an additional ₤100 per bet (as the pacemaker).
To indicate this, place the Pace chip in this horse’s betting area.

The first horse which crosses the gray finish line is placed on the "1" spot next to the payout table, and
the card for this horse is removed from play. The second and third horse to finish are treated similarly,
being placed on the "2" and "3" spots and having their cards removed. When the third horse crosses,
the race is finished and the horse currently in last place is put on the "7" spot to the right of the payout
table. The bets are now paid off.

4. The Payout

Determine the column to use for each horse by totaling the bets on that horse – each 1 chip counts as
one bet and each 2 chip counts as two. By then looking at the appropriate row the payout amount for
the horse is determined. Each player with a 1 chip on that horse gets this amount, each player with a 2
chip on the horse gets double the amount.

Each player with a chip on the pacemaker horse gets an additional ₤100 for a 1 chip or ₤200 for a 2
chip.

Each player with a chip on the last-place horse pays ₤100 for a 1 chip or ₤200 for a 2 chip to the bank.
A player that does not have enough pays all that he or she can.

In the third race, all payouts to players and the bank are doubled. At the end of the third race’s payout,
the player with the most money wins.

The Next Race

Return all betting chips to the players, discard the 7 used horse cards, and proceed with the race
preparation. The player with the most money bets first (if there is a tie, randomly pick one of the tied
players).

Variant
This variant is particularly recommended for games with 2-4 players. All the normal rules apply except
as follows. Each player gets the 0 betting chip in his or her color as well as the normal chips. Betting
now lasts four rounds. Betting chips are now kept face down at all times – they are revealed only at the

Corrections or constructive criticisms? Email: [email protected] © Michael Weston, 2002

 end of a race (players may look at their own chips at any time). The 0 chips have no effect on the
payout, they are used simply for bluffing.

Turf Horse Racing

[This section is an addition by the translator.]
Royal Turf is a somewhat modified version of Turf Horse Racing, published by Gibsons Games in
1995. One presumes that the modifications, having been made by the designer, are improvements, but
for those who would like to try the original game but only have Royal Turf, here is a list of the
substantive aspects that are different in Turf Horse Racing:

 There is no set number of races to play, and therefore no doubling of payouts for the last race.
 When a card is turned up for a horse, there is a round of betting in which everyone must bet on that
horse or pass their chance (as opposed to Royal Turf, in which you see all 7 cards before any betting
takes place).
 The track has 40 spaces instead of 33.
 All horses start on the same space, right behind space 1.
 Horses are allowed to be on the same space.
 There is no Pace chip.
 There is no penalty for betting on the last-place horse.
 The payout matrix is different. For one thing, payouts depend on the number of players betting on a
horse, not the number of bets (i.e., a double bet counts the same as a single bet). The numbers are also
different:

1 player 2 players 3+ players

1st place 9 6 3
2nd place 6 4 2
3rd place 3 2 1

 The race ends when the first horse passes the finish line. If there is a tie for 2 nd place, the horses all pay
out at the 2nd place rate, but there is no payout for 3rd place. If there is a tie for 3rd place, all horses pay
out at the 3rd place rate.
 There is no hidden-betting variant, nor could there be with the equipment provided (small plastic chips
in two different sizes).
 There are four cards for each horse instead of three, and the numbers are a bit different on some cards.
Here are the Turf Horse Racing cards (you can tell which card is for which horse by the top number):

1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4
3 6 10 20 4 6 9 14 1 9 10 12 1 4 7 10
12 12 9 4 12 6 8 1 5 5 10 4 16 2 5 7
12 9 8 3 8 12 7 9 15 7 1 5 1 12 6 1

5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7
1 4 6 8 1 3 5 5 1 1 3 4
1 5 7 3 10 2 3 6 1 5 3 4
13 6 2 4 1 7 4 1 7 3 3 1

Corrections or constructive criticisms? Email: [email protected] © Michael Weston, 2002