Top of the Stretch Horseracing Simulation Game - Fullplay version Top of the Stretch is designed by Lon Whitehead. You can learn more about it at their website: www.topofthestr...
Great explanation Video on how to play this great horse racing simulation. It fully explained game set up an play for the available 1937 season. I never cared to move horses on a game board for a visual. The Fullplay version achieves this well. The detail an realism of the horses performances most definitely reflect the deep knowledge and love for the sport of horse racing by the games designer. Thank you for a very informational video on how to play an enjoy Top Of The Stretch! Hoping you can follow up this video later with a Quick Play Version for those that use this version.
Grew up in Kentucky so I’ve always wanted to learn about horse racing. Recently got into APBA Saddle Racing but this looks interesting too and I may have to give it a try. Thanks for showing the game.
Undoubtedly, the most realistic horse race game I've ever seen. Mr. Whitehead gets much credit for producing such authenticity in a mere game. He seems to have taken into account virtually every element that comprises a real race. However, such devotion to detail can make a game less purely fun to play than is one which isn't quite so relentlessly realistic. I've often felt that applies to many of the highly detailed baseball board games that followed in APBA's wake. They were more realistic as simulations, but far less fun than APBA baseball, and often game play itself FELT less realistic because it moved so ponderously compared to the action on the field. With APBA baseball, the crack of the bat is as instantaneous as the roll of the dice. You get an immediate popup, ground ball, or base hit, no referencing and cross referencing of charts on every roll (the charts get memorized very quickly in APBA baseball). Wargamers are well aware of this authenticity/complexity effect. A wargame becomes more realistic in proportion as it becomes more complex. But the more realistic you make a wargame, the less fun it is as a game. Accepting a certain high level of abstraction is necessary to keep a wargame interesting. Alas, such may apply to horse race games as well. I find that the old board game "Win, Place, and Show," while not as elaborately realistic as Mr. Whitehead's excellent simulation, is more enjoyable as a game. Miniature horse pieces move around a reasonable facsimile of a race track according to the results of a die roll augmented by numbers on a card representing each horse's respective speed per furlong. The result, as each horse comes out of the far turn and into the stretch - a spectacle which you see in 3D on the track - while not as authentic as Mr. Whitehead's results, may be more exciting to many people. I think the best possible game might come from grafting certain elements of "Top of the Stretch" onto the "Win, Place, Show" game system, if that is at all possible. I've not figured a way to do it, but I've not got nearly the horse racing experience nor the game-making knowledge that Mr. Whitehead has.
Great instructional video on a very interesting game system, I had not heard of it before. I use Win, Place & Show with extra charts and horses which gives me times, the option to create a form book on how each horse ran etc. I do like the visual of the horses on the track, but I guess I could simply use this system and place the horses accordingly.
Thanks for the kind words. I love Win, Place and Show. Have not played that anywhere near enough in my lifetime. TOS is a good game, but I don't think it would work with a track. But you could always try. :-)
@@RonEmch Thanks Ron, I should have said place the horses on the track to correspond with the positions worked out in the four parts of the race, if that makes sense. Just for a visual of half a length, two lengths etc. It is just me, but in a race with multiple horses, I can see instantly, rather than look down a list of numbers. Just the very simple way my brain works I guess lol.
Thanks for doing this. I have been looking at this game off and on for a while now and was just poking around the internet looking for either a review of the game or a demo. I found your full demo after seeing Steve Tower mention it on his After Further Review TH-cam Channel. I like the full-play option you used. I also think I am leaning toward the 1937 season as well. Everett
Hello Ron, I just purchased the 1937 season in .pdf style. I ran a first race in Quickplay mode and even jumping around in the rules and charts I got the race completed in about 30 minutes (probably made some mistakes). The real-life winner won in my race as well, and the third place horse came in third, too! From your video I think I will like the Fullplay version even more. Thanks again for helping move me toward this game!
You're welcome Everett. Glad the first game went well. In no time, you will be able to run a race in half the time (a lot of this depending on how many horses are entered). However, I try to announce the horse in my ahead before I roll for it. I don't want this to just be an exercise in rolling dice. I want to see the race in my mind as it unfolds.
Just so, Ron. I play APBA baseball (circa 1960s) much the same way (mentally announcing and visualizing). The game that's occurring in an imaginative mind can be as real as real life. This is especially easy with me in baseball because I clearly recall Koufax on the mound in a World Series, Mantle at bat, Mays's #24 chasing down flies at Candlestick. Not so much with horse racing, though. Not a serious racing fan until just a year ago, the only horse I recall seeing was Secretariat destroying the field at Belmont. This is where the game "Win, Place, & Show" helps me. I can actually tangibly see the movement of the horses around the track, changing places, the lead changing hands (or feet!), the fine color of painted metal horses on a reasonable facsimile of a track. As spectacle, it beats even my APBA baseball. Perhaps one day you might do a You Tube piece on it.
Hey Ron. I watched the video again because I hadn't played the game in a long time and I wanted to make sure I got things right. Thanks to the video, I had to make a small change to the quick reference sheet that I made for myself. Great job as always. I like how you explain what the different ratings mean and I like the pace (pardon the pun) of the video: just right, not too fast and not too slow. I might make my own video for it to show a couple of things that didn't come up in your demo (how the Wet ratings of the horses adjust the Power ratings, for non-real-life races; what happens if a Trouble roll comes up) and I might run a race with the Quick Play mode to show people how that works (I didn't check to see if you've run a race with the Quick Play rules). I did notice a mistake: when you rolled for the Race Factors in Segment 3, you roll BOTH d6 dice and use the red die for Trip/Class/Speed column and the white die for the Jockey column. Anyway, thanks again for posting this demo, I know that I'll be referring to it again! Peter
Hey Peter, glad you liked the video. I have fun making them. And I would venture to say that there is always at least one error in them. Holding an iPhone in one hand, while playing with the other, well, you always forget certain things. :-)
Great explanation Video on how to play this great horse racing simulation. It fully explained game set up an play for the available 1937 season. I never cared to move horses on a game board for a visual. The Fullplay version achieves this well. The detail an realism of the horses performances most definitely reflect the deep knowledge and love for the sport of horse racing by the games designer. Thank you for a very informational video on how to play an enjoy Top Of The Stretch!
Hoping you can follow up this video later with a Quick Play Version for those that use this version.
Grew up in Kentucky so I’ve always wanted to learn about horse racing. Recently got into APBA Saddle Racing but this looks interesting too and I may have to give it a try. Thanks for showing the game.
You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed it. It's different, but it's fun in its own way. APBA Saddle racing is fun also, especially with a big group.
APBA American Saddle Ràcing is my game of choice.
Undoubtedly, the most realistic horse race game I've ever seen. Mr. Whitehead gets much credit for producing such authenticity in a mere game. He seems to have taken into account virtually every element that comprises a real race. However, such devotion to detail can make a game less purely fun to play than is one which isn't quite so relentlessly realistic. I've often felt that applies to many of the highly detailed baseball board games that followed in APBA's wake. They were more realistic as simulations, but far less fun than APBA baseball, and often game play itself FELT less realistic because it moved so ponderously compared to the action on the field. With APBA baseball, the crack of the bat is as instantaneous as the roll of the dice. You get an immediate popup, ground ball, or base hit, no referencing and cross referencing of charts on every roll (the charts get memorized very quickly in APBA baseball). Wargamers are well aware of this authenticity/complexity effect. A wargame becomes more realistic in proportion as it becomes more complex. But the more realistic you make a wargame, the less fun it is as a game. Accepting a certain high level of abstraction is necessary to keep a wargame interesting. Alas, such may apply to horse race games as well. I find that the old board game "Win, Place, and Show," while not as elaborately realistic as Mr. Whitehead's excellent simulation, is more enjoyable as a game. Miniature horse pieces move around a reasonable facsimile of a race track according to the results of a die roll augmented by numbers on a card representing each horse's respective speed per furlong. The result, as each horse comes out of the far turn and into the stretch - a spectacle which you see in 3D on the track - while not as authentic as Mr. Whitehead's results, may be more exciting to many people. I think the best possible game might come from grafting certain elements of "Top of the Stretch" onto the "Win, Place, Show" game system, if that is at all possible. I've not figured a way to do it, but I've not got nearly the horse racing experience nor the game-making knowledge that Mr. Whitehead has.
Mike, I agree with you concerning 'Win, Place and Show'. A very fun game with the right folks and still has some realism to it.
Thanks Walter. Enjoy. It's a fun game.
Great instructional video on a very interesting game system, I had not heard of it before. I use Win, Place & Show with extra charts and horses which gives me times, the option to create a form book on how each horse ran etc. I do like the visual of the horses on the track, but I guess I could simply use this system and place the horses accordingly.
Thanks for the kind words. I love Win, Place and Show. Have not played that anywhere near enough in my lifetime. TOS is a good game, but I don't think it would work with a track. But you could always try. :-)
@@RonEmch Thanks Ron, I should have said place the horses on the track to correspond with the positions worked out in the four parts of the race, if that makes sense. Just for a visual of half a length, two lengths etc. It is just me, but in a race with multiple horses, I can see instantly, rather than look down a list of numbers. Just the very simple way my brain works I guess lol.
APBA American Sadddle Racing game is my game of choice
This video got me to dive in and by the Best of the 20th Century set. Nice job detailing how everything works.
Thanks. It's a fun game. With a little imagination, you can see the race develop.
Thanks for doing this.
I have been looking at this game off and on for a while now and was just poking around the internet looking for either a review of the game or a demo. I found your full demo after seeing Steve Tower mention it on his After Further Review TH-cam Channel. I like the full-play option you used. I also think I am leaning toward the 1937 season as well.
Everett
Thanks Everett. The good thing about this product is that it is priced very reasonably for the play value that it provides.
Hello Ron,
I just purchased the 1937 season in .pdf style. I ran a first race in Quickplay mode and even jumping around in the rules and charts I got the race completed in about 30 minutes (probably made some mistakes). The real-life winner won in my race as well, and the third place horse came in third, too!
From your video I think I will like the Fullplay version even more.
Thanks again for helping move me toward this game!
You're welcome Everett. Glad the first game went well. In no time, you will be able to run a race in half the time (a lot of this depending on how many horses are entered). However, I try to announce the horse in my ahead before I roll for it. I don't want this to just be an exercise in rolling dice. I want to see the race in my mind as it unfolds.
Just so, Ron. I play APBA baseball (circa 1960s) much the same way (mentally announcing and visualizing). The game that's occurring in an imaginative mind can be as real as real life. This is especially easy with me in baseball because I clearly recall Koufax on the mound in a World Series, Mantle at bat, Mays's #24 chasing down flies at Candlestick. Not so much with horse racing, though. Not a serious racing fan until just a year ago, the only horse I recall seeing was Secretariat destroying the field at Belmont. This is where the game "Win, Place, & Show" helps me. I can actually tangibly see the movement of the horses around the track, changing places, the lead changing hands (or feet!), the fine color of painted metal horses on a reasonable facsimile of a track. As spectacle, it beats even my APBA baseball. Perhaps one day you might do a You Tube piece on it.
Hey Ron. I watched the video again because I hadn't played the game in a long time and I wanted to make sure I got things right. Thanks to the video, I had to make a small change to the quick reference sheet that I made for myself. Great job as always. I like how you explain what the different ratings mean and I like the pace (pardon the pun) of the video: just right, not too fast and not too slow. I might make my own video for it to show a couple of things that didn't come up in your demo (how the Wet ratings of the horses adjust the Power ratings, for non-real-life races; what happens if a Trouble roll comes up) and I might run a race with the Quick Play mode to show people how that works (I didn't check to see if you've run a race with the Quick Play rules). I did notice a mistake: when you rolled for the Race Factors in Segment 3, you roll BOTH d6 dice and use the red die for Trip/Class/Speed column and the white die for the Jockey column. Anyway, thanks again for posting this demo, I know that I'll be referring to it again! Peter
Hey Peter, glad you liked the video. I have fun making them. And I would venture to say that there is always at least one error in them. Holding an iPhone in one hand, while playing with the other, well, you always forget certain things. :-)
@@RonEmch I hear ya, Ron, on making mistakes. I've done that many times. Ah well. It happens. Take care.
Great video, Ron. I’ve been intrigued by this game for the last little while and your video is a great demo.
On the Xmas list it goes ! 😀
Glad you enjoyed it Mike. Have fun with the game.
Well done
Thank you!
the correct pronunciation is NAIR-uh-GAN-sett.