Days of Wonder | Heat: Pedal to the Metal | Racing Game | Ages 10+ | 1-6 Players | 60 Minutes Playing Time

If you're looking for a board game that blends strategy, adrenaline, and just the right amount of chaos, Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a winner. I’ve played this with both seasoned gamers and casual friends, and it consistently delivers high-energy fun. What I love: - Fast-paced gameplay: Turns move quickly, and the tension builds as you push your car to the limit. The “heat” mechanic is brilliant, it forces you to manage risk without slowing the game down. - Strategic depth: It’s not just about going fast. You have to plan your gear shifts, cornering speed, and when to cool your engine. It rewards smart play without punishing newcomers. - Beautiful production: The components are well-made and the retro racing theme is immersive. - Scales well: Works great with 2–6 players, and the solo mode is surprisingly solid. The AI drivers are clever and keep the race competitive. Minor nitpicks: - Setup can take a bit of time, especially with new players. There are a lot of cards and modules to sort. - The box insert isn’t perfect—expect a little chaos unless you use baggies or a custom organiser. Overall, Heat is a must-have for fans of racing, tactical card play, or anyone who wants a game that’s easy to learn but hard to master. It’s become a staple in our game nights, and I can’t recommend it enough.

I'm a big fan of board games, from simple party ones to very complicated strategic ones. HEAT is simple enough to learn even for players who are new to these deck-builder type games. However it also has a good amount of depth to allow for strategy which satisfies the geeks. In addition, you can pick and choose to make it more complicated by adding 'modules' such as weather effects, car upgrades and a longer championship mode with even more features. On top of that you can add in bots to be your opponents and play solo if you want. HEAT does a great job at capturing the intensity of a race through a board game medium. Once you know what you're doing the turns go by quickly. At first one race took and hour but soon I'm sure I can do a whole championship in 2 hours. If you're not sure if you'll like it, the answer is probably YES you will.

As someone who primarily plays board games solo, I wasn’t sure how well a racing game like Heat: Pedal to the Metal would translate without human opponents. Spoiler: it works brilliantly. The solo mode uses an “AI driver” deck that simulates multiple opponents at once, and it’s much more competitive than I expected. The bots are quick to capitalize on your mistakes, so there’s real tension in deciding when to push your engine, when to play it safe, and when to risk overheating for that extra corner advantage. Setup is quick for a game of its size, and the rules for solo are clearly laid out—no confusing exceptions or endless cross-references. Each race plays out differently because of the AI cards, track layouts, and your own strategic choices. You can also adjust difficulty by changing the number of AI drivers or tweaking their performance, which adds a lot of replayability. What I love most is how Heat nails the feeling of a race: the build-up on straightaways, the stress of tight corners, and that final adrenaline rush as you push your car beyond its limits on the last lap. Even playing alone, I’ve found myself leaning forward in my chair during the final stretch, willing my little plastic car to cross the line first. If you’re a solo gamer who enjoys tactical decision-making, a bit of push-your-luck, and thematic gameplay, Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a winner. Highly recommended.

A bit dubious at first however this has become in our group called a Sunday game meaning easy to play a few games and have a good time with. The rules are simple and if you add the alternative elements slowly you can see how different the game can be. The game itself is simple to learn and there is variety in the base game to make it highly replayable (we also have the expansions which add more to it and would alao recommend)

Really like the game. Shame the box was damaged on arrival

Days of Wonder produce some great games, usually versions of Ticket to Ride which we enjoy. Therefore, when I read the reviews of Heat, Peddle to the Metal we had to buy it. It is a great game with lots of variations to keep it interesting such as 4 courses and the different upgrades for your cars and you can play with 6 players! It is a game they keeps you on the edge of you seat to the end and in one game the person in last place came past everyone on their last go to win! Few games are that gripping and exciting. If you like racing games this is fantastic and will bring out the competitive nature in everyone who plays it. There is even an expansion with two more courses and additional cars which should be fun!

Really easy to play. Don't let the rule book frighten you. Easiest way to learn the game is to watch a video of how to play. Played numerous times now and every game is close and the lead changes nearly every round. There is extra in teh box as well to create a more varied game should you wish. All parts are of good quality. My only gripe would be that it would have been nice for the cars to have been metal not plastic.

A crowd pleaser, gets everyone involved and thinking different strategies. I like how this already includes expansion cards and can be played 2-6 players, bots, etc. good variety of ways to play with different boards, worth the purchase!

Great quality…a little pricier than other websites but I didn’t have a choice when buying because it wasn’t available anywhere else and I so so wanted to play… My mom loves Heat compared to other racing games but she always loses to me still loves playing it

Great buy

As the title says, a fantastic game, either solo to 6, or up to 8 with expansions, player count. AI drivers are smooth, quick, and challenging. Great selection of racetracks with interesting mechanics.

Ce jeu est en anglais !!!

Es un juego que recuerda mucho a aquellos que jugábamos “metitas”, pero en un tablero con unas reglas muy faciales de aprender pero suficientemente complejas para mantenerte pensando en tu estrategia, tiene 4 pistas y con la expansión sube a 6 pistas, muchos modos de juego y hasta 6 jugadores con el juego base, la calidad excelente y sin duda un juego que debes tener en la ludoteca si es que te gustan los juegos de mesa. Me encanta jugarlo porque mantiene activo, pensando y divirtiéndote a la vez. MUY EECOMENDADO, a partir de los 12 años creo lo pueden jugar.