Long Shot

The boys and I had a chance to try out Z-Man Games' Long Shot this afternoon. I ordered it back on May 6th (from Amazon, for $39.95). Long Shot was listed on several folks' top-10 lists for 2009. It's highly rated as a party game.

The game is built around a horserace theme. Players roll dice on their turn to determine which horses move (and how far). Players also draw and play cards that can cause horses to move forward or back on the track. But Long Shot is far more than a roll-and-move game. The object of the game is to have the most money when the race ends. Players start with $25 and can use the money to buy horses or bet on horses (regardless of who owns them). The buying and betting occurs throughout the race, so as a horse's track position changes, it affects the betting and the players' decisions regarding card play. At the end of race, the owners of the top-three horses earn $100, $75 and $50 (respectively) and the horses pay off to the players who placed bets on them.

Andrew won our game with $425. I finished second with $365, and Patrick had $245. All three of us enjoyed the game, and I think it will be even better with more people.

The game represents my latest effort to find a "Friday night" game. The problem is that no one is in the mood for anything complicated on Friday night. Plus, Teresa and Gillian dislike games with even a moderate "take that" element (such as Uno and Killer Bunnies). Farkle was working well, but I was getting a little burned out. While there is a good amount of interaction in Long Shot, there isn't much negative interaction. Also, Teresa likes horse racing, so I'm hoping the theme will appeal to her.