Really Nasty Horse Racing Game

Unless you're a die-hard gambler, a bookie or a gazillionaire racehorse owner, a day at the races can be a rather confusing affair. Ten to one, both ways, fillies, first-overs, steward's enquiry - the terminology alone is enough to have most of us galloping towards the bar.

That said, there's still something incredibly enticing about the arcane world of racing, and we think it's all to do with the nasty side of it. After all, who doesn't suppress a snicker when some mug loses a fortune on the track? And who doesn't lap up those stories of shady trainers, crooked jockeys and conveniently timed hoof-over-mane "accidents" that always occur on the finishing straight?

This is exactly why Really Nasty Horse Racing immediately captured our attention, because in order to win this wickedly exciting board game you need to be devious, cunning and downright nasty. Put it this way, if Dick Dastardly was into the geegees he'd absolutely love this game.

The object of Really Nasty Horse Racing is to win the most money. Simple. You can do this in one of two ways. Firstly, by getting your horse placed in the top three finishers, and secondly, by placing bets on winning horses.

Each player gets £20,000 cash, a betting slip and several all-important Really Nasty cards. The game lasts for a meeting composed of six races, so each player gets six horses, one for each race. To add to the uncertainty the horses are graded from one to six; one being the best and six being a right old nag.

The real fun begins when the race is underway and the die start rolling, as that's when you can start blocking, changing lanes, forcing opponents to slip and calling for a steward's enquiry. There's even a riderless horse to help crank up the havoc.

Really Nasty Horse Racing is one of those innocuous looking games that's guaranteed to turn the air blue, especially if your opponent's temper is shorter than a bookie's pencil. Better still, the underhand, Machiavellian gameplay will have you clenching your fists and pulling faces worthy of a gurning contest - it really is that exciting and infuriating. We bet you love it. (Scruples not included).