We played a family game recently that I suspect will become a house staple. Hot Streak (CMYK Games, $45, 2-9+, Ages 6+) is a fast, chaotic betting and racing game that leans hard into slapstick silliness. The theme is a race of the world's worst sports mascots. Players take on the roles of down-on-their-luck gamblers betting on the four clumsy mascots as they fumble and stumble toward the finish line.
The game involves placing bets (and side bets) and then a foot race driven by a deck of 14 racing cards. The cards depict each of the racers (Hurley the hotdog, Dangle, an angler fish, Gobbler, the bear, and the Queen "Mum") and instruct things like moving a certain number of spaces forward or backward, turning around and running in the opposite direction, falling down, recovering, or careening off the track entirely.
In a really clever mechanic, the dealer shows all the cards that will make up the racing deck before play (and before betting). Each player has a deck of three cards, and after seeing the deck, each secretly inserts one card into it. This open-information setup creates some tension: you know what mayhem is coming, but you don't know in what order and how other players might have tilted the odds. So, for instance, if you see that the deck contains a card of Hurley the hotdog falling down, and you have a Hurley running in the opposite direction card, you can secretly place that in the deck and then bet against Hurley. Or if you have a Mum star card (which allows her to move multiple spaces to the next star space on the track), and you have another card advantageous to Mum, you might want to play that and bet the farm on the Queen. Each betting ticket has a Safe side and a Risky side. The Risky side pays more for 1st place but less for 2nd and 3rd. There is also a group side bet that you vote Yes or No on before the race begins, adding another layer of table talk and bluffing.
The race itself goes fast and is good, silly fun as mascots fall down, collide into each other, tear off in the opposite direction, and wander off the track (which disqualifies them). It has that rare quality in a tabletop game where spectators end up shouting at inanimate objects as if they have agency. You run three races per game.
The game is played in three races, and the gambler with the most money at the end wins.
I got this game for my 9-year-old granddaughter because it looked like a fun kid's game. It certainly seems that way at first glance. It is cleverly packaged in a cardboard and plastic box that the race mat rolls up into, and it also serves as the victory plinth for the mascots to stand on after the race. There is also a window on one side where you can see the four mascot figures, which are lovely, fully painted vinyl figures.
One of the first things that caught our attention and made us laugh is that you can see the eyes of the humans peering out from the bulky mascot suits. That wacky little detail reinforces the game's tone perfectly. But toy-like game components aside, this is a game that can appeal to players of all ages and makes a great party game or palette cleanser between more serious fare at a game night. While best played by four, the game can be played by two and can accommodate up to nine (or even more) players. Once the race is set up, only one person, the Handler, moves the figures while the Dealer flips the cards, and the Bookie pays on the bets, so it's a game well-suited to rowdy, cheering spectators.
In the end, Hot Streak is somewhere between a light strategy betting game and a tabletop drunken potato sack race. In other words: Great fun!
