Long Shot: The Dice Game – Review, rules and test of the horse racing betting game

What's this?

Long Shot: The Dice Game is a horse racing and betting game using roll-and-write mechanics . The goal is simple: accumulate as much money as possible before three horses cross the finish line . To achieve this, you can buy horses, bet on the future winners, activate unique abilities, and even sabotage your opponents’ progress .

How do you play?

The game is played in a series of rounds . In each round, the active player takes the two dice (an 8-sided Horse die and a Movement die).

Phases 1 & 2: Dice Roll and Main Move

The player rolls the dice . The Horse die indicates which horse moves forward, and the Movement die indicates how many spaces (1, 2 or 3) it advances on the track .

Phase 3: The Secondary Movement

Each horse has a card associated with a “secondary movement bar” . Several other horses are marked on this bar . When the main horse moves, all the other horses marked on its card also move one space .

Phase 4: Player Actions

Starting with the active player and proceeding clockwise, ALL players perform an action , but this action must use the number of the horse that was just rolled on the dice . You have a choice of 5 actions :

Buying the Horse: If the horse matching the die roll is still available on the market, you pay its cost . You become its owner, which will grant you its special ability and its prize money if it finishes in the top three .
Betting: You bet between $1 and $3 on this horse to increase your end-of-game winnings .
The Helmet: You tick the helmet on this horse . This will allow you to bet on it late, even if it has passed the line of no return .
The Jersey: You select this horse’s jersey . By doing so, you can add a cross to its card so that it moves another horse of your choice during its future secondary moves . Furthermore, having both the Jersey and Helmet combination on the same horse grants a $5 bonus at the end of the game .
The Concession: You mark the horse’s number on your concession grid (Bingo-style) . Completing a row or column immediately triggers a powerful one-time bonus.

End of the race and calculation of scores

As soon as a third horse crosses the finish line , the current round ends and the final tally is taken . The wealth of each horse is then calculated :

The remaining cash on hand .
The winnings of the horses owned that finished 1st ($35), 2nd ($25) or 3rd ($15) .
The winnings from the bets are multiplied by the odds of the horse according to its final position (slower horses at the start pay out much more if they create an upset!) .
$5 bonus per set Helmet + Jersey .

The richest player is declared the grand winner !

Is it good?

Long Shot: The dice game succeeds in transforming a simple roll & write into a dynamic, fun and interactive game.

If you’re surrounded by the right people, the atmosphere can quickly become electric: there’s jubilation, grumbling, and a fervent hope that your horse will cross the finish line first. Here, the central area is the focus of all the tension. You keep a close eye on everyone else’s horses, curse the die that moves the horse you haven’t bet a penny on, and erupt in cheers when your favorite makes a comeback thanks to cleverly planned secondary moves.

The game remains accessible to a wide audience, although it will take a round or two to fully grasp the different actions and their interactions. Long Shot offers a successful blend of tactics and opportunism, constantly pushing you to make choices: multiply your bets, aim for the helmet + jersey bonuses to collect $5, or quickly invest in a promising horse. The bonus system via the concession grid also presents interesting little dilemmas: should you collect money immediately or use a bonus to move the leader, purchased by your neighbor, back three spaces? It’s dynamic and incredibly interactive.

On the downside, the game fully embraces the element of chance inherent in dice. The unique powers of each horse also slightly complicate matters. For a game intended to be accessible to a wide audience, these special effects were perhaps unnecessary: you sometimes spend a little time rereading them, understanding when to use them, and remembering them.

Ultimately, Long Shot: The Dice Game is an excellent horse racing betting game that blends roll & write mechanics, risk-taking, and constant interaction. Accessible yet tactical, it offers dynamic, sometimes chaotic, but very often fun matches.

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Long Shot: The Dice Game review

8.5Very Good

Long Shot: The Dice Game is a dynamic and interactive roll-and-write horse racing game where every roll of the dice can completely change the course of the race. Accessible yet full of subtle tactical choices, it offers games that are sometimes chaotic but often very entertaining.

Positives