Overview

Hare and Tortoise (Tales & Games edition) is a betting and racing card game where players play Racing cards to move five animal pawns along a track. Players place secret bets on which animals will finish in the top 3 positions on the podium. Each animal moves differently based on how many of its cards are played. The game ends when 3 animals cross the finish line.

Components

• 11 Track tiles (including 2 with streams)
• 5 wooden pawns with stickers: Hare (brown), Tortoise (green), Wolf (black), Fox (orange), Lamb (blue)
• 91 cards: 81 Racing cards (18 Hare, 17 Tortoise, 16 Wolf, 15 Fox, 15 Lamb), 5 Starting Bet cards, 5 Player Aid cards
• 1 Starting line
• 1 Podium and 1 Finish line (to assemble)
• 1 First Player token
• 5 Turbo tokens (+2, variant)

Setup

1. Shuffle 5 Starting Bet cards; deal 1 to each player face down (2-player: deal 2 each). Return extras unseen to box.
2. Build the track: Place starting line, shuffle Track tiles, arrange them randomly creating a continuous path, place finish line and podium at the end.
3. Shuffle Racing cards; deal 7 to each player.
4. Each player chooses 1 card from hand and places it face down as their Second Bet (beside Starting Bet).
5. Each player now has 6 cards in hand and 2 Bet cards (3 in 2-player).
6. Remaining Racing cards form the deck.
7. Give each player a Player Aid card.
8. Place all 5 animal pawns on the starting line.
9. First player to say what time it is goes first and takes the First Player token.

Turn Structure

Players take turns clockwise. On your turn, place 1-4 cards from your hand face up in front of you. All cards played must depict the same animal. Then refill hand to 6 cards from the deck.

Racing Phase Trigger

A Racing phase is triggered if, at the end of your turn:

• Exactly 8 total cards have been played (across all players), OR
• Exactly 4 cards of the same animal have been played

You may never exceed 8 total cards or 4 of the same animal.

Actions

Racing Phase (Animal Movement)

Animals always move in this fixed order:

Animal	Cards Played	Movement
Hare	1-3	Advance 2 tiles
Hare	4 (and in 1st place or tied)	Does NOT advance (nap!). Exception: still on starting line = moves normally
Tortoise	0-3	Advance 1 tile
Tortoise	4	Advance 2 tiles
Wolf	1-2	Advance 1 tile
Wolf	3-4	Advance X-1 tiles (X = Wolf cards played)
Wolf (Howl)	Any Howl card played	Only the Wolf moves this phase; all other animals are frozen
Fox	1-4	Advance X tiles (X = Fox cards played)
Lamb	1-4	Advance X+1 tiles (X = Lamb cards played). Stops at stream tiles
Lamb	0	Advance 1 tile

After all movement, discard all played cards. Pass the First Player token clockwise.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when 3 animals reach the podium (cross the finish line). Animals are placed on the podium in order of arrival (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Players reveal all Bet cards. Score points based on which animals finished on the podium:

• Bet on 1st place animal = highest points
• Bet on 2nd place animal = medium points
• Bet on 3rd place animal = fewer points
• Bet on animal not on podium = 0 points

The player with the most total points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• You may play cards depicting an animal that is already on the podium.
• The Wolf’s Howl ability: If at least one Howl card is placed face up, only the Wolf moves during the next racing phase (all other animals are frozen by fear).
• The Lamb must stop at stream tiles even if it has movement remaining.
• The Hare takes a “nap” (no movement) if 4 Hare cards are played and it is in 1st place or tied for 1st, unless it is still on the starting line.
• If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
Turn	Play 1-4 same-animal cards, refill to 6
Trigger	8 total cards OR 4 of same animal
Racing	Move animals in order: Hare > Tortoise > Wolf > Fox > Lamb
End	3 animals on podium, reveal bets, score

Movement Order: Hare, Tortoise, Wolf, Fox, Lamb (always in this order)