Heat: Pedal to the Metal Review

Here we are racing fans. It’s time for your feature event – The vintage Grand Prix of The United States of America, in its classic ‘60s circuit layout. Our participants on the track today will start with a hand of 7 cards from a deck of 18 and must play the number of cards equal to the gear that their car is in. The value of the cards played will determine their speed as they try to outsprint and out manoeuvre each other by blasting down the straights and carefully managing speed round testing corners.

Each vehicle’s engine holds 6 ‘heat’ which our drivers can utilise at the right moment for additional speed boosts and effects. However, this historical Grand Prix is such a momentous occasion that it brings with it the added pressure to come top of the podium. 3 ‘stress’ cards are added which could cause lapses in concentration and unknown values to drivers top speed. As stress is played, drivers reveal the next value speed card in their deck and add it to their total. When you are hurtling towards a corner in a glorified bathtub, things could get very hairy indeed. Can our challengers handle the heat?

On the starting grid today it’s a head to head between two legends of motor racing. Robert vs Alyson. It’s hot hot hot here in America meaning 3 heat is immediately discarded from their engine representing the high temperatures of the driver cockpits and race suits. Our skilled pilots will need to act to quickly cool themselves down and get that heat back into the engine to be used again for boosts at the exact right moment for maximum drive.

Rob has been randomly drawn to qualify in first place but is this as good an advantage as he believes? Aly therefore lines up in 2nd and in hot pursuit of that chequered flag in a single lap sprint to the finish. Extra adrenaline (1 extra speed) and engine cool down are available to the racer in last position this evening.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. lights out and … it’s GO! GO! GO! Rob makes a decent getaway off the line, the engine of his Irish Racing Green lump of metal stirs into life as he shifts up to 2nd gear. He accelerates along the straight after gaining 6 speed from the two cards played. Engine cooking now, he pays one heat to boost and the card drawn from the top of the deck is only worth 1! Still, a total of 7 gets him on his way. Aly, in the iconic ‘rosso corsa’ red car also fires it up into 2nd gear but can only muster a speed of 5. But wait, that is a tactical decision perhaps as the adrenaline soon kicks in for one more extra push. She is also able to cooldown, moving 1 heat in her hand and placing it into her engine.

As Aly pulls up behind Rob she can feel the drag subside as a pocket of fast flowing air opens up allowing her to slipstream past for two extra spaces. A confident wave from our lady in red as she breezes by and grips back hold of the steering wheel ready to tackle the first bend. Each player discards what they don’t need (except heat + stress cards) and draws back up to 7.

Phew. We are just getting started and things are already heating up. We have a new leader going into turn 1 and Aly makes the decision to hold it in 2nd gear and play a 3,3 for a total of 6. The max speed for this corner is 7 so Aly steers on through with all four wheels totally in sync in masterful control of her classic motor. Note viewers at home, if any player exceeds the corner total, they must use heat from the engine to cover the cost.

At the same time, Rob makes the choice to move up to 3rd gear and plays a total speed of 5. Adrenaline takes him close enough to his rival on the track and yes, just as before, we see use of that slipstream and the lead of the race changes hands once again! Slipstreaming doesn’t count towards the corner total so no extra heat is required for Rob. This is one titanic tussle and the fans in the grandstands are going wild for it.

Rob, in his big mean green machine, hits maximum drive playing 4 cards for a total of 11 but what’s this? Added stress leaves the crowd on the edge of their seats unsure if he’ll make it count. He flips over the next card in the deck and it’s a four! Like a blur he slams the car down the long straight and prepares for the challenge of the second corner.

Aly meanwhile has burned one extra heat to get that car up from 2nd gear into 4th. She puts pedal to the metal for a huge 15 speed and cool and calmly absolutely sends it after the car of Team Green. Adrenaline pumping and with that sweet sweet slipstream she takes the lead … but only just. Crucially though, she’s that little bit closer to the slow 3 speed corner now.

Aly, so in tune with her race craft pulls down into 3rd and plays 2,1,1 nipping round the corner and burning one heat to do so. The rosso corsa rocket drifts and hugs the racing line right on the track limits and smooth as she likes Aly steadies and readies up to go again.

Rob is in a much trickier spot by the looks of things, he’s not placed his beloved vehicle in the optimum position to take this corner perfectly. He pays heat to jolt the car down into second gear allowing 2 cards to be used this turn. He’s played a single card worth 2 and, taking a huge gamble to try and maintain the gap to Aly, throws in some stress into the mix for his 2nd card. Is this calculated racing greatness or typical daredevil madness of the era? He turns over the top of his deck and … it’s a four! His total for this round is 6 but that corner is a much slower value of 3 and so he needs to pay the difference in heat to stay in control and he just hasn’t got it in the engine. It’s backfired massively! His car starts vibrating, the very rivets holding it together shake and rattle and my god no, he’s spun out into the gravel! Sheet metal, rubber and grit fly everywhere. Wheels spinning on the spot as he tries to get going again. Rob takes two more stress cards into his hand, drops into 1st gear and manages to park it just before the corner line. A cruel punishment for pushing it too hard.

The crowd can only watch on and gasp as surely the inevitable has happened. I think we’ve just witnessed the beginning of the end of the road for Team Green here?

… And sure enough it’s proved costly. Aly is able to maintain the gap keeping the heat on Rob for the rest of the race and takes the chequered flag comfortably. What a fantastic victory for Aly and Team Red, winning the classic USA Grand Prix. She lifts the winner’s trophy aloft as the crowd chant her name.

And that fans tuning in across the world, is Heat: Pedal to the Metal in a nutshell. The game, played out on one of four massive and lovely racetrack boards, does an excellent job of recreating the excitement of a close Formula 1 race (even if such a thing doesn’t happen often in real life).

Hand management is key, as is pushing your luck round bends and the crucial element of cooling to get heat back into the engine and then using that heat (and stress) for boosting greatly adds to the whole overall theme. Your revolving hand of seven cards is the engine that makes Heat work and will be the deciding factor if you like the game or not. I think it is a great balance between random luck of the draw and skillful strategic play that I think makes the game so good for all levels of play. The speed numbers on the cards in your hand are of course critical but almost as crucial is how much heat and stress cards are using up valuable space in your hand (these cards can’t be easily discarded) and also what is likely to come up when you boost or redraw. About to hit a huge straight but just spent your big value cards getting through a fast corner? Well, you might have a bad time trying to stay with the pack on the very next turn. All is not lost if you drop into last place though.

The catch up mechanics such as adrenaline and extra cooldowns keep things close but on occasion I’ve found one or two cars will pull ahead and it can become obvious who will win with a few too many turns to spare. Though in some ways this is also quite evocative of single seater motor racing too.

I love what’s included in the box. The four tracks (USA, Italy, France and Great Britain) all of which have unique layouts, make for very different races on each. The base set of cards is plenty, especially for beginner sessions but it also includes upgrades that replace some of the default cards and there are “pro” upgrades beyond that too. A “legends” mode for automated opponents is available and it’s one of the easiest automations I’ve managed in a board game. It really adds some extra depth and a good busy field of opponents to weave through whether in solo or multiplayer. Also, as hinted in the scenario above, weather effects that change things up from the default track environment keep things fresh and always random. On top of that there’s championship modes and tournament play and a couple of other interesting extras all detailed in the game’s rulebooks. The whole thing makes for fantastic value that will take many playthroughs to see it all. Mixing up each component means no race will play out the same way too and even without expansions (which are on their way) it already feels like a substantially fleshed out and generous base package. The card art is wonderfully intricate and thematic too.

Online there are tonnes of resources to add things like custom markers to help the players in last places remember the extra actions available to them and there are even plenty of fan-made tracks, often based on real circuits. Ever wondered what it might be like trying to navigate the tight streets of Monaco in a steel barrel with wheels? Print it out and try it, sure. Add your own rules and scenarios too, the game is perfect for that extra bit of tweaking and modification all the while everything can be easily stored and reset back for regular races again. One small nitpick is that the official rulebook is open to interpretation but again, online forums and threads will likely resolve any confusions.

My main criticism is going back to that inevitability that starts to creep in towards maybe the final third of the race. If you are over a corner behind the leaders then there is almost no chance to catch up but it’s all about managing the speed cards and heat to try and avoid that scenario.

That can also be written off as part of motor racing and if you are a fan of the sport, or at least go in with the knowledge that gaps can open up then I think you might more readily accept it. However, the hand management mechanics and whole overall design make for such a fun and easy to pick up experience that you will want to immediately attempt to improve your race next time around, eventually adding the included extras to take things to the next level.

Nothing beats the feeling of a close back and forth race where you know you’ve got decent cards coming back through from your discard pile (you aren’t allowed to go looking for them though!). Your opponents’ reveal of their chosen cards to play can be a mini thrill in itself as you try and second guess their intentions and decide when to pull the trigger on a risky manoeuvre or save up the big cards for the final blowout sprint at the expense of track position at the time.

I really adore what I’ve played of Heat: Pedal to the Metal so far, the theme is especially great to this long time F1 fan (for my sins). I’ve started designing my own tracks and other elements and hopefully I can have some of these ready to show you at some point. I very highly recommend this to board game and motor racing fans alike and if you are both of these well then this game is surely right up your street … circuit. Vroom vroom.