SPORTS HORSE 3.1
A game about horse sports
2023-08-01
A game about horse sports
2023-08-01
You are an equiludologist. A student of Horse Sports. You also have a gambling problem. Your goal is to build a stable full of the finest Sports Horses possible.
In this game you will:
These instructions!
A whole bunch of six-sided dice. Like maybe 12 or more.
Maybe some pen and paper to chronicle the adventures of your horses.
TIMED: Play two rounds of HORSE CHAMPIONS and see how wonderful are your horses
FREE PLAY: Play forever, just you and your horses.
SOLO: Play by yourself!
AMONG FRIENDS: Play with others.
MULTIVERSAL OMNIHORSE: Import and export your horses, taking them with you between games!
To make a horse, use the tables below to give your horse a Type (which will determine their Qualities). Then give them a Look and a Name. Finally, gather up your dice for your Spirit pool. Then you will be ready to play SPORTS HORSE.
Every horse has three basic qualities.
RAZZLEDAZZLE: speed, agility, precision, showmanship
GUMPTION: brawn, boldness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness
MOXIE: cunning, smarts, know-how, insight
Your Horse Type will tell you what your horse is naturally good at. (And not-so-good at.)
Roll or choose a Horse Type and note your Horse Quality modifiers.
| d6 | TYPE | GUMPTION | RAZZLEDAZZLE | MOXIE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Draft horse | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Stallion | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Unicorn | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Pony | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Mustang | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Quarter horse | 1 | 2 | 0 |
To determine the look of your horse, choose or roll (twice) on the table below for Base Color and Markings.
| d6 | BASE COLOR | MARKINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | None |
| 2 | White | White stockings and blaze |
| 3 | Gray | White splotches |
| 4 | Red | White spots |
| 5 | Brown | Black dots |
| 6 | Tan | Star |
Roll d6 to determine how many times to roll on the tables below.
| d6 | Roll… |
|---|---|
| 1 - 3 | Adjective Noun |
| 4 - 6 | Adjective Adjective Noun |
Roll 2d6 and read them in order from left to right to create a two digit number between 11 and 66. e.g. if you roll a 2 and a 4, that is 24.
| d66 | ADJECTIVE | d66 | ADJECTIVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Bucket Of | 41 | Too Much |
| 12 | We Bought The | 42 | Eldritch |
| 13 | Exceptional | 43 | Her Imperial Majesty’s |
| 14 | Understood | 44 | The People’s |
| 15 | Electric | 45 | Coal Miner’s Daughter’s |
| 16 | Lunar | 46 | Your Very Own |
| 21 | Wild | 51 | Randy |
| 22 | Soupy | 52 | Clever |
| 23 | Balanced | 53 | Punctual |
| 24 | What | 54 | My Favorite |
| 25 | Humble | 55 | Effectual |
| 26 | Tropical | 56 | Reliable |
| 31 | Proud | 61 | Mister |
| 32 | Give Them | 62 | Doctor |
| 33 | Let Them Eat | 63 | Eventual |
| 34 | Perfect | 64 | Naked |
| 35 | Handsome | 65 | Soaking |
| 36 | Ugly | 66 | Blistering |
| d66 | NOUN | d66 | NOUN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Wizard | 41 | Commitment |
| 12 | Apple | 42 | Ransom |
| 13 | Farm | 43 | For The People |
| 14 | Dancer | 44 | For The Win |
| 15 | Cheese | 45 | In A Box |
| 16 | Shrubbery | 46 | Under The Sea |
| 21 | Panic | 51 | Filibuster |
| 22 | Chocolate | 52 | Know It All |
| 23 | Horror | 53 | Bluster |
| 24 | Queen | 54 | Tornado |
| 25 | Tropic | 55 | Gravity |
| 26 | Thunder | 56 | Mess |
| 31 | Pride | 61 | Aristocrat |
| 32 | Holiday | 62 | Royalty |
| 33 | Hangover | 63 | Slander |
| 34 | Cake | 64 | Twenties |
| 35 | Smoke | 65 | Hope |
| 36 | Echo | 66 | Science |
Start every game with a pool of at least nine dice. This is your Spirit pool. It represents your horse’s wild, untamed, noble essence.
At some point, you will choose to gamble away your horse’s Spirit in order to win competitions.
If you finished last session with more than nine dice in your pool, begin the next session with that many. If you finished last session with less than nine, begin the next session with nine.
Each Horse Sport has an associated Horse Quality. To compete in a Horse Sport you will assemble and roll a Horse Sport dice pool. Your Horse Sport dice pool is made up of a Gift, your Type modifier, and Spirit:
Always start with 1 dice. This is a Horse Gift. Don’t question it, accept it. You never look a horse gift in the mouth.
Add a number of dice equal to your Horse Type modifier (+0, +1, or +2) for this kind of Horse Sport.
Add as many dice from your Horse Spirit pool as you are willing to gamble, between 0 and all of them.
Once you have assembled your Horse Sport dice pool, then it’s time to roll all those dice! Here’s how to interpret the results.
WHINNY: If any die shows a 1, then you win! Describe a favorable outcome. Add 1 die to your Horse Spirit pool.
NEIGH: If there are no 1s, then you have lost the Horse Sport competition. Describe a less than favorable outcome, or a setback or a complication. Also your horse loses Spirit: any dice you have gambled from your Horse Spirit pool are lost.
These Horse Sports require agility, precision, and showmanship.
Ring Jousting: the horse must carry its rider so that they can spear and capture a ring with their jousting instrument
Lemon Sticking: the horse must carry its rider so that they can pierce a lemon on the ground with their jousting instrument
Chariot Racing: the horse must draw a two-wheeled chariot
Ballroom Dancing: the horse must dance with elegance and poise
These Horse Sports require brawn, initiative, and aggression.
Basket Duck: played with a live duck in a basket. The first side to deliver the duck back to their home ranch wins.
Polo: smashing balls through hoops with mallets
Horseball: similar to basket duck, but the ball is a ball instead of a duck, and it must be passed through large vertical hoops in order to score.
Running And Jumping: the runningest, jumpingest horse is the winner.
These Horse Sports require cunning, smarts, and know-how.
High Dive and Swimming: a high dive competition, with a synchronized swimming event
Horsegammon: it’s like backgammon but for horses
Social Etiquette: manners and social grace
Rhyming and Riddling: a battle of horse wits
A Horse Championship Game consists of one Horse Sport of all three types. If your horse wins all three games, they become a celebrated Horse Champion.
At any point you can create a new horse by splitting your current SPIRIT pool into two piles. Keep one pile for your original horse, and give the other one to your new horse.
Give your new horse a Type, a Look, and a Name.
There may come a time when it is appropriate for your horse to retire and go out to pasture. This might be because they have had a long and accomplished Horse Sports career. Maybe they had an injury or their Spirit is broken by a particularly devastating defeat.
Nothing mechanically needs to be done for this. Just imagine a beautiful grassy pasture for them to graze in. You can visit them any time you want, and they will always be happy to see you.
Hey are you into tabletop roleplaying games? Do you maybe play some kind of Sword and Sorcery fantasy and wish your character had a horse? Lucky for you! You can easily export any of your horses from SPORTS HORSE to your other games! Similarly you can import a horse from any other game into SPORTS HORSE.
horse, m455: https://git.m455.casa/horse/
Sports, Viagra Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjL7D33xpS4
The Pool, James V. West: http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/the-pool
Town Of You, kumada1: https://kumada1.itch.io/a-town-of-you
Horse Master https://tommchenry.itch.io/horse-master