Devil Take the Hindmost

About the game

What is Devil Take the Hindmost?

In this clever racing game, cars move around a 30-space track on which the spaces are numbered from 1 to 10, then 1 to 10 again, then 1 to 10 for a third time. The cards have different powers depending on which number your car is sitting on. For instance, a card might move you 8 spaces if you're sitting on an 8, but only 3 spaces otherwise. Cards go in and out of your hand at a rapid rate as you play and discard your way through a series of races, and card management skills will come in handy if you've got them. Each race goes by quite quickly, but the game consists of a whole series of races -- 11 if you play with the full complement of 3 cars each for 4 players or 2 cars each for 6 -- the gimmick being that, at the end of each race, the car that came in last is removed from the game, and the next race has one fewer starters -- and so on until the game is down to the last two cars and the last race for the ultimate victory. Originally released as Devil takes the Hindmost which has the same mechanics but is a cycling-racing game.

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Devil Take the Hindmost?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?