Heat: Pedal to the Metal rules – how to play and how to score

Heat: Pedal to the Metal quick rules

The goal

Each player drives a race car around a track. The first to cross the finish line, after the number of laps shown on the board, wins. You move by playing cards: their total is your Speed. Going fast heats up your engine, and the whole skill is not spinning out in the corners.

A round

At the same time, everyone shifts gears, then places facedown as many cards as their gear: one in first, four in fourth. Then players take turns, starting with the frontmost car. On your turn, reveal your cards and move exactly their total. Then discard your played cards and draw back up to 7.

Gears and the engine

Each round, stay in your gear or shift one gear up or down; shifting one more costs one Heat card. Paying Heat moves a card from your Engine to your discard pile: you’ll draw it later, and in your hand it can’t be played. To get rid of it, cool down: first gear puts 3 Heat cards back on your Engine, second gear 1.

Corners

Each corner has a Speed Limit. If you cross its line at a higher Speed, pay as many Heat cards as the difference. If your Engine doesn’t have enough, pay what you can and spin out: your car moves back to just before the line, your Gear pawn returns to first, and you take 1 Stress card (2 if you were in third or fourth).

Stress and Boost

A Stress card is played like a speed card: flip cards from your deck until a Basic card, whose value (1 to 4) is added to your Speed. Boost works the same way: once per turn, after moving, pay one Heat to flip a Basic card and move that far. Boost counts toward your Speed for corners.

Slipstream and Adrenaline

After your move, if your car is next to or right behind another, you may move 2 more Spaces, once per turn; it doesn’t count for corners. Adrenaline helps the last car at the start of the round (the last two with 5 cars or more): 1 extra Space, which counts toward Speed, and 1 extra Heat card to cool down.

The end of the race

The first car to cross the finish line after the last lap wins. If several cross it in the same round, the one furthest ahead wins. You can never Slipstream across the finish line. The others keep going until every car has finished: the finishing order gives the ranking.

Beginner pitfalls

Staying in fourth too long, until your hand fills with Heat cards; forgetting to shift down before tight corners, the right time to cool down; not counting the Spaces to the corner (the number is on the track); playing Stress cards right before a corner; keeping cards you won’t need at the end of your turn.

With Heavy Rain

The Japan and Mexico tracks, and components for one more player. In Japan, shifting down when you start a round on a Flooded Space costs one more Heat card. Both tracks have Chicanes: two Corner Lines in a row with the same limit, each checked separately.

With Tunnel Vision

The Spain and Netherlands tracks, and components for one more player. In Spain, while your car is in a Tunnel, you can’t discard any card from your hand; cooling down is still allowed. Both tracks have Chicanes.

With Rocky Roads

The South Africa and Germany tracks, and components for one more player. In South Africa, ending your turn on Gravel costs one Heat card (nothing if your Engine is empty). The Germany track has Chicanes.

With Legends

The Legends, the automated drivers, get tougher, with a difficulty level from 1 to 6. They benefit from Adrenaline like players. From level 2 up, a Power Up card revealed each round gives an ability to the Legends marked with a star.

How to score Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Finishing position

Your rank at the finish: 1 for the first car across the line. The lowest position wins.

Finishing in the same round

If two cars cross the line in the same round, the one furthest ahead is in front.

With Legends

Count them: your position is your car’s rank among all the cars.

Worked example

Emma, Jake and two Legends race on the USA track. Emma and Jake cross the line in the same round, Emma three Spaces ahead: she finishes 1st, Jake 2nd. The two Legends come in next, 3rd and 4th. Earlier, Jake took a corner with a Speed Limit of 6 at a Speed of 9: he paid 9 − 6 = 3 Heat cards.

Common mistakes

• Slipstreaming across the finish line: it’s not allowed.
• Ranking two cars that finish in the same round as tied: the one furthest ahead is in front.
• Leaving the Legends out of the ranking: your position counts all the cars.
• Looking for race points: only the finishing order counts (the Championship in the advanced rules has its own scale).

How to set up Heat: Pedal to the Metal

With several players, follow the first three parts; with Legends, and always solo, add the last one. For your first game, use the USA track.