by Burbie52, HSM team writer

Have you ever been to a real horse race? I have gone to several harness horse races in my life. A boyfriend of mine from years ago was addicted to it and he brought me along to watch him bet many times. Horse racing is an extremely popular sport in real life. All three types, harness, steeplechase and thoroughbred, have their own culture that has built up around them over the course of their history. And a rich history it is. Horse racing has been called “The Sport of Kings”, and has been around since ancient times in one form or another. It has been the subject of many beloved movies like National Velvet and more recently Seabiscuit, and is the cause of much fanfare as horses vie each year for American racing’s triple crown of the Kentucky Derby,  the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, high-profile races that generate millions of dollars in revenue for both the owners and the race grounds they take place in.

People love to gamble on sports, and horse racing is no exception. The daily races are even available for betting purposes in the “race books” of casinos all over the world, so you don’t even have to be there to win. But one of the things that is so attractive to people who love horse racing is the feeling of excitement that builds as you root for your horse to win. If you have ever been to a real race, it is like electricity has been released into the atmosphere. Now you will be able to share some of that with your friends.

Seabiscuit

This week, Home has received its own version of horse racing via Game Mechanics, and it is appropriately called “A Day At The Races.” It is a table top game you will be able to use in any personal space or clubhouse at the cost of fourteen furniture slots, and allows up to twelve people to play at the same time. You are given three hundred coins when you purchase the game to use for betting, and each day that you return, just look at the game (without playing it) – you will get twenty free coins to collect or use. Friends who visit are given twenty coins the first time they join, then five coins per day after that, which they can use or accumulate.

The game plays like a real horse race. You have odds given to the individual horses and you can bet as little as one coin on as many horses as you like, or as much as twenty coins spread across the five horses on the track, or all devoted to one horse if you feel lucky. There are five horses to bet on, and the object is to predict which horses will win the first and second place in the race. You win if you get both horses right, regardless of which finishes first or second. The odds range from 2-1 to 200-1 — “favorites” to “long shots”.

Here is a great video of the game play from Game Mechanics:

I like the sounds they added to the game to make you feel like you are really at a track, it adds to the excitement of the game. There are ten achievements that will earn you rewards if you own the game, eight if you don’t. Here is a list of the achievements:

The “Against All Odds Award” for winning a 200 to 1 bet.
The “Richie Rich Award” for winning a total of over 50,000 coins.
The “Pick of the Litter Award” for winning five races in a row, betting three or more coins on the winners.
The “Lucky Award” for winning ten races in a row, betting three or more coins on the winners.
The “Picture of Perfection Award” for winning 500 or more coins in one race.
The “Full House Award” for owning the game and being one of twelve players in the game at once.
The “Coming Up Roses Award” for owning the game and being one of three or more people to win at once.
The “Happy Times Award” for winning three races in a row, betting three or more coins on the winning horses.
The “Reserved Seat Award” for picking three longshots, betting three or more coins.
The “All In Award” for winning on a 5-1 or higher odds horse and betting all twenty coins.

Rewards are a chair, a horseshoe wall hanging, a wheel barrow full of flowers, balloons and a picture, and there are five trophy ornaments.

Here is a clue: To keep the win streak alive, bet one on every horse or none. The win streak ends when you bet some coins, but zero on the winning horse. You have to bet three on the winning horse to count towards the streak. I bet three on five combos and one on the other five. Eventually, you will win ten and that will get you three of the achievements. Press the square button to see the achievements.

Another really cool feature is that if you have coins accumulated and you go to another friend’s place to play, all of your coins and stats come with you, even if you don’t own the game. This will work even if you don’t buy the game for a bit, then purchase it later — all of your accumulated stats and coins will be there when you do. If you start a winning streak in your own game, you can even finish it in your friend’s place. You can play the game alone as well as with others in multiplayer mode. Also anyone who is playing in the multiplayer version of this game can win — it isn’t limited to one person, something most games in Home don’t do.

Coins are available for purchase as well. They are priced at $.99 for a hundred, $3.99 for five hundred, $9.99 for two thousand and $19. 99 for five thousand. Not bad for those who love to bet on games in Home, which is quite a few of you, if you look at the casino each day. I saved the best for last though. The game itself only costs $2.49 . You heard me right, that makes it one of the best values in Home for any game in recent times.

The game works flawlessly, another thing we have come to expect from John Ardussi and his partner at Game Mechanics, so no worries about that. It has a time limit on placing your bets, so get those in as soon as the horses start to reset in the game.

I don’t know about you, but I can see people having race nights at their clubs and personal spaces. This game is a very unique and entertaining new addition to Home’s social scene. I am looking forward to playing with all of my friends and also to what Game Mechanics comes up with next.

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One Response to “A Horse Race For Home”

1. Godzprototype says:

   June 13, 2013 at 4:04 pm

   These were the kinds of games I really think bring back the old arcade feel that is highly desirable.

   Very nice work. Hope to see more games like this in Home for personal estates. As of late I have enjoyed playing roulette with a friend of mine in TDU2.

   I know we have the game at Digital Leisure’s Casino. That space has been a lot of fun. I think as detailed and as well as you and your team make games and furniture John. These casino type of games would make nice additions to a persons personal space.

   And as an additional note: What if the games had their own currency and trade could be setup based on the winnings? Anyways just a thought.

   Excellent review of Game Mechanics, A Day At The Races!

   Reply