Tabletop games
Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Days of WonderAsger Harding Granerud, Daniel Skjold Pedersen2022
- players
- 1–6
- minutes
- 60
- years
- 10+
In the box
1 double-sided board: two tracks · Plastic cars · Speed, Heat and Stress cards · Player dashboards · Upgrade cards and Weather cards · Pawns and markers
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designers
- Asger Harding Granerud, Daniel Skjold Pedersen
- Artwork
- Vincent Dutrait
- Publisher
- Days of Wonder
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementRaceDeck BuildingPush Your LuckSolo Play
- Expansions
- Heat: Heavy Rain · 2024
- Heat: Tunnel Vision · 2025
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
The aim is to be first across the finish line after the planned number of laps, without overheating your engine. Each round, everyone secretly chooses their gear, from 1 to 4, plays that many cards, then moves by their total; taking a corner above its limit costs Heat cards, and if you cannot pay, you spin out. The race ends when every car has crossed the line: only the finishing order counts, or placing points in a championship.
The rules, step by step
Setup
1 car each, Speed deck, Heat and Stress
- Each player takes a car, its player mat and its deck of Speed cards.
- Put the Heat cards in the engine and the Stress cards in your deck, according to the track.
- The cars line up on the starting grid.
How to play
Gear 1 to 4, As many cards, Too fast = Heat cards
- Each player secretly chooses their gear, from 1 to 4, then plays as many cards as their gear.
- You can shift up or down one gear for free; shifting two costs a Heat card.
- Cars move forward by the total of their cards; a Stress card makes you flip cards from the draw pile.
- Taking a corner above its speed limit costs as many Heat cards as the excess; if you cannot pay, you spin out.
- A car right behind or beside another one can use slipstream to gain two spaces.
Scoring
Finishing order, Championship points
- In a single race, only the finishing order counts.
- In a championship, each race scores points according to finishing position.
End of the game
All cars over the line, Same round: furthest
- The race ends when all cars have crossed the line.
- If several cars cross the line on the same round, the one that goes furthest finishes ahead.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What happens in a spinout?
The car stops before the corner, takes Stress cards and restarts in first gear.