Will You Be the Hare or the Tortoise?
The racing game, Hare & Tortoise, is themed after the classic Aesop fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. You are a hare (a circular token in one of six colors) in a race against other hares – not against a tortoise. It’s just that sometimes you must move as slow as a tortoise to reach the finish line.
You expend carrots (cards) to move forward. You can move as far as your carrots will take you. Moving 1 space requires only 1 carrot, but moving 2 costs 3, leaping 3 takes 6, speeding 4 requires 10, and so on. There are, of course, various ways to gain more carrots along the way.
Landing on number squares might get you more food depending on your relative position at the start of your next turn. Hanging around on a carrot square for a turn (tortoise-like) will get you 10 carrots. Moving backwards to a tortoise square can reward you with bunches of carrots, depending on how far back you moved.
You also have to slow down to eat 3 cabbages (cards) along the way too. And you may have to spend a turn or two near the end to use up some carrots because you aren’t allowed to finish the game with too many.
Hare & Tortoise is somewhat of a classic game from 1973 that is more than the kids game it appears to be from the artwork and Candy Land style racing track. There is plenty of room for strategy and employing various tactics along the way.
If you like racing games like Hare & Tortoise that also require hand (card) management, you might like Alhambra which will be the subject of my next post.
Check the price of Hare & Tortoise on Amazon.