This is a preview copy sent to us for our early opinions. No money exchanged hands. Some art, rules or components may change in the final game. You can follow the crowdfunding here.
Golem Run comes from the genius minds behind other such brilliant trick-taking games as White Hat, Tricking with a board; Justice, trick-taking with deduction, and Tolerance, asymmetric trick taking with some very clever post trick card play. This new game comes to Kickstarter in early 2025 and combines trick-taking with a race game. With a Golem theme!
The game is set in the dwarven society of Odrixia, the same world as Justice and Factory 42 (I have not played this one yet). In the game players are Golems... no, that isn't right. We are Golem owners... wait, no, it's not that either. What are we then? Oh yes! We are the crowd! We are the crowd watching the race! Not seen that theme before.
The game unfolds over multiple hands of tricks, concluding when the first Golem crosses the finish line. Players will be dealt or drafted cards (depending on which version of the game you are playing) and will then use their cards to wager on which Golem will win and to try to anticipate the bets of others. This is done through a simple trick-taking mechanic that has some very clever nuances. Let's get into it.
But first, you need to set up your race track. The game comes with four race sections that are double-sided. Place the first one down (the one with the three starting spaces - shown via the cog symbols). Pick the side you want for each piece and slot them together. Each player will choose one piece and a side for that piece in turn order, starting with the Race Marshall (starting player). When placing pieces together, players can do so however they choose, as long as touching pieces have at least four touching hexes.
The Race Marshal then shuffles the deck and deals 12 or 14 cards to each player, depending on the way you have chosen to play: Quick or Tactical. For Quick, deal 12 cards, and that is it. For Tactical, deal 14 cards and then start a draft. Here, players pick four cards from the 14 in their hand, passing the remaining ten to their left. They then choose four more cards from these ten, passing the remaining six. Pick four from these six and discard the remaining two cards. You will now have 12 selected cards.
Each player now chooses one card from their hand to be their Centre Bet, placing it face down in front of them. The colour of the card indicates the colour of the Golem that player thinks will be in the lead come the end of the round. The number of green Speed Dots on this chosen card indicates the number of spaces this player predicts the Golem will be in the lead by. Then, all players place one card face down on either side of this. The card to the right is their prediction as to what they think the player to their right has just bet as their Centre Bet. The card on the left is their prediction for the player on the left.
Players will now play rounds until either a player runs out of cards or one Golem crosses the finish line, starting with the Race Marshal leading the trick. This works by that player playing either one or two cards. If you play two cards, both cards must be the same number. The suit of the chosen card(s) is the suit of this trick. If you play two cards and have two suits, both suits are in play for this trick. Booster cards (plus ones) can be added. This does not count as another card, but rather as a booster to one other played card. Alternatively, the lead player can wait and wager. This means they forfeit the opportunity to play the first card and let the next player choose.
Once a card or cards have been played, all other players must follow by playing a card or cards of the same suit. Wilds (black cards) can be played as any suit. If you cannot follow suit and choose not to play a Wild, you can play any card. Following players can add Boosters too. Following two cards, players must match at least one of the suits played, and the two cards must again be the same number. Again, if you cannot play two matching cards, you can use Wilds or play any single card. Following players can also choose to Wait and Wager.
When you wait and wager, you will, of course, have more cards for following tricks, increasing your options. When you do this, you can take your three face-down cards into your hand and replace them with any three cards.
The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest value card of the lead suit, or the highest value card in a pair with at least one card matching the lead suit. If any identical cards compete, the trick goes to the most recent card played. If all players wait and wager or all cards played are wild, then the trick is considered to be under inquiry. In this situation, all cards bar the current winning cards and play another trick with the same lead player. Determine the winner of the second trick as normal, then the winner of this second trick takes the winning wild from the first trick, adding it to the cards from the second trick. This gives them more options in the next step: moving the golems.
The winning player of any trick now uses one or two of the cards played to win the trick to move the Golems on the race track. The Golems move the same number of spaces as shown by the Speed Dots on the card chosen. Golems must always move so that they end their movement closer to the finish line, but this does not have to be in a straight path. They cannot retrace their steps, they must use the full move possible, and they cannot move through other Golems' hexes. However, when a Wild card is used, players do not have to move closer to the finish line, but they also cannot end further away. Boulders block movement. Water can only be waded through if there are no Wilds in the winning trick. And fences can only be jumped if there are Wilds in the winning trick.
This will continue until one player runs out of cards or one Golem crosses the finish line. Then all players reveal their three Bet cards. Anyone who guessed the lead Golem correctly gains one point. Ties are friendly. Points are also scored if you guess the lead of the Golem in first place correctly, equal to the distance between them and the second-placed Golem. Players will also score two points for any correctly guessed Suit in their other two Bet cards that match their neighbour, and points equal to the number of Speed Dots for any matching card there.
Any player with cards in their hand can then return one of these cards, but they keep the rest for the next round. However, you must then lose points equal to the highest Speed Dot score in your remaining cards. You cannot move below zero at this point, though. The position of Race Marshal moves one space to the left, and a new round is started, dealing players cards up to 12 or 14 (depending on the style of game you are playing), taking note of any cards they may already have in their hand.
Golem Run is an incredibly entertaining trick-taker. The cards in the trick being used to move the Golems—on which you have all placed your bets—is an intriguing mechanic. Games move pretty fast, and the Golems' movement will be somewhat unpredictable, making the prediction of the betting round a little chaotic for some. Especially in round one, where you really have very little to go on when predicting your neighbours' intentions. But as the game goes on, you will start to get a feel for which Golem the other players are trying to get to win. Although players can switch their allegiances as the game progresses, and either bluff on one Golem before switching to another, or simply change focus when one Golem moves ahead of the others. It is an interesting addition of bluffing, betting, deduction, and hidden information to a simple trick-taking game.
This is more of a bluffing and betting game added to the trick-taking than a race game. A race is happening, of course it is. But you don't win if a specific golem wins; you win if you bet correctly on a specific golem and if you can deduce what the other players are up to in their own mischievous plans.
It is a fascinating blend of mechanics, feelings, and tactics. I think this may well be my favourite trick-taker from designer Ren Multamäki yet! I am excited to see this hit Kickstarter in 2025, and would encourage anyone who enjoys clever trick-taking games to check this out. The blend of deduction, bluffing, trick-taking, and racing is a master class in blending mechanics.
Trick-taking games are always fun. I particularly like this designer's style of adding in other elements to the trick-taking form. And I feel with Golem Run, there is the perfect combination of a fun theme, good-looking art, simple gameplay, and intriguing mechanics. This could be a real winner on Kickstarter in 2025.
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