• 2-5 Players
  • 30-45 Minutes
  • Ages 10+

The Amazing Vowel Race

  • Strategy
  • Complexity: 2.0/5
  • Ready To Publish

Mechanics

Predictive Bid • Moving Multiple Units • Hand Management


Game Overview

Earn the most points by predicting vowel standings each round and strategically influencing vowel movement through Card Play and Power Cards. The game ends when a vowel crosses the finish line.


Components

  • 1 Race Track (50 spaces, 5 lanes: A = Orange, E = Yellow, I = Green, O = Blue, U = Purple)
  • 5 Race Tokens (A, E, I, O, U)
  • 5 Score Tokens (1 of each player)
  • 108 Vowel Position Cards
  • 25 Prediction Tokens (5 per player, 1 per Position)
  • 5 Special 6-Sided dice
  • 21 Movement Cards

Setup

  1. Race Track Setup: Place the Race Track and Vowel Movement Board in the center. Place Race Tokens at Start.
  2. Vowel Position Cards: Place 1 Vowel Position Card per Player Count face up next to the Race Track.
  3. Movement Cards: Place 1 Movement Card per Player Count face up next to the Race Track.
  4. Prediction Tokens: Each player receives 5 Prediction Tokens of their color.
  5. Score Tokens: Each player receives 1 Score Token of their color. Place it on 0.
  6. Special 6-Sided dice: Place die off to the side within easy reach.
  7. Starting Player: Player whose name comes first alphabetically.

Gameplay Overview

Each turn consists of three phases: Position Prediction, Select Card, and Move Vowels.

Phase 1: Position Prediction

  • If the identified Prediction Line has been triggered:
    • Resolve any existing Predictions (see below).
    • Each player secretly decides 3 different Position Predictions on 3 different Vowels.
    • Players simultaneously reveal their Prediction and place their Prediction Tokens in the Prediction Area.

Phase 2: Select Card

  • Players must choose to:
    • Select 1 Vowel Position Card
      OR
    • Select 1 Movement Card.

Note: If this is the start of the round then the first player chooses both 1 Vowel Position Card AND 1 Movement Card.

Phase 3: Move Vowels

  • Move the 4 Vowels on the Vowel Position Card the number of spaces indicated on the Movement Card.
    Note: If the Vowel is a ‘Y’ the player selects a Vowel not on the Vowel Position Card to move.

Repeat until all players have had 1 Turn


Clean Up

  • Discard all Vowel Position and Movement Cards and replenish area
  • The player with the lowest score goes first (ties are resolved alphabetically by first name)

Special Move

  • Vowels that end their movement exactly on the Prediction Line roll 1d6 equal to their current track position (ex: 4th place Vowel will roll 4d6). Immediately move the vowel the number of spaces indicated by the die. If the Vowel ends up exactly on a Predication Line repeat (adjusting the dice rolled for the new position, if applicable).

Resolving Predictions

  • Each player receives 1 Point for each correct Position Prediction
    • Bonus Points:
      • Only player to predict that position correctly: +3 each
      • Correctly predicted all 3 Vowel Positions: +10
      • Only player predicting a Position (regardless if correct) (i.e. only player to predict 4th place): +4 each

Winning

  • The player with the most points wins.
  • In case of a tie, ties are broken by alphabetical order by first name, then middle name, then last name.