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| 1964 Parker Brothers American Edition |
Game: Mille Bornes
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Designer: Edmond Dujardin
Year: 1954
Price Paid: $2
Playing Time: 30-45 minutes
Recommended Ages: 8 and up
Synopsis: Mille Bornes is a card game for 2, 3, 4 or 6 players, though the rules state it is intended for 4 (for 4 and 6 player games, it is a partnership game of 2 or 3 teams, respectively), in which you are trying to drive a distance of exactly 1000 kilometers.
Components: 112 cards (110 in later editions), 1 card tray, 1 score book/pad, 1 rulebook.
Hazard Cards:
3 - Accidents
3 - Out of Gas
3 - Flat Tire
4 - Speed Limit
5 - Red Light
Remedy Cards:
6 - Repairs
6 - Gasoline
6 - Spare Tire
6 - End of Limit
14 - Green Light
Safety Cards:
1 - Driving Ace
1 - Extra Tank
1 - Puncture Proof
1 - Right of Way
Distance Cards:
10 - 25 Kilometers
10 - 50 Kilometers
10 - 75 Kilometers
12 - 100 Kilometers
4 - 200 Kilometers
Information Cards:
2 - Scoring Cards (English)
2 - Rules Cards (English)
1 - Scoring Card (French)
1 - Rules Card (French)
Gameplay: Game play begins by the dealer shuffling the deck and dealing 6 cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed in card tray face down as the draw pile. Then, starting with the player on the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise, players will draw a card from the draw pile and play a card, or discard if they are unable to play, always ending their turn with 6 cards in their hand until the end of the game, when the draw pile runs out. A hand ends when either a player or team reaches 1000 kilometers or there are no cards left in the draw pile and no player has a card they can play. Scoring occurs at the end of each hand and a new hand begins, with the player to the left of the dealer becoming the dealer for the next hand, until one player or team reaches 5000 points, and is declared the winner. In the event more than one player or team has 5000 or more points, whoever has the higher score wins.
The deck is comprised of various obstacle cards you may place in front of your opponents (and vice versa) to hinder their travels, and remedy cards to overcome these obstacles. Additionally, there are special Safety cards that protect you from certain obstacles. Finally, there are the distance cards that allow you to travel the distance given on the face of the card.
On a player’s turn, they may play a Hazard card on an opponent, play a Safety card on their own tableau, play a Remedy card to counteract any hazard played on their tableau or play a distance card, provided they have a Roll (Green Light) card played on their tableau. In 4 and 6 player games, partners play onto the same tableau. If they are unable to do any of these actions, they must throw a card into the discard pile in the card tray and their turn is over. A player may, even if they have a valid move, choose to discard instead. Any time a player plays a Safety card, they immediately get an additional turn. One additional rule is called the Coup Fourre (coo-foo-ray). If an opponent plays a hazard on a player’s tableau, and the player has the corresponding Safety card in their hand, that player may immediately play the Safety card, both nullifying the Hazard card and immediately receiving an extra turn, skipping any other players.
Once a hand has finished, each tableau is scored based on the cards played and the actions taken during the hand.
Scoring:
- Each team receives points equal to the amount of kilometers played that hand.
- 400 points for completing exactly 1000 kilometers
- 100 points for each Safety card played by a player or team
- 300 points for one player or team playing all 4 Safety cards in addition to the 100 points for each cards (a total of 700 points)
- 300 points for each Coup Fourre performed
- 300 points for a Delayed Action (completing 1000 kilometers after the draw pile is empty)
- 300 points for a Safe Trip (completing 1000 kilometers without using a 200 kilometer card)
- 500 points for a Shut-Out (completing a trip before any other opponent has played a single distance card)
Review: Created in 1954 by Edmond Dujardin, Mille Bornes is a light “take-that” racing card game in which you are trying to travel exactly 1000 kilometers before your opponents can. Very similar to an earlier American Game, Touring, Mille Bornes, which translates to 1000 Waystones (the French version of mile markers) adds the concept of the Coup Fourre, playing a Safety card immediately after a Hazard is played on you.
Those looking for deep strategy will probably be disappointed with Mille Bornes. While a certain amount of card-counting and hand management is present, it is largely a light, luck-based melding game with some player interaction. While there are rules for 2,3,4 and 6 players, the game is really best with 4 playing as two sets of partners. Two player games make this luck-based game feel even MORE luck-based while a six player game makes a player wait far too long between turns, as whatever they were thinking of doing will most likely be obsolete by the time it gets back around to them. A three player game is all right, but doesn’t seem to flow as well, and the cooperative nature of a four player partnership game suits the pacing well.
All in all, Mille Bornes can be a fun little filler game, probably best played with casual gamers and children. It is fairly short, hands taking between 5 and 10 minutes, full games around 30 minutes, and can be taught very quickly.
Rating: 7/10
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