Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Heat is a motor-racing game set in the 1960s. Each player has a car and a hand of speed cards. On your turn you choose a gear, which sets how many cards you play from 1 to 4, and you move your car by the total.

Corners have speed limits. If you go too fast into one, you take Heat cards from your engine into your deck, and those clog your hand later. You can also spend Heat to boost or shift more than one gear. Managing Heat is the heart of the game: push too hard and you'll spin out, play it safe and you'll fall behind.

The game includes several tracks, weather conditions and a championship mode where your cars get upgrades between races. It also includes automated rival cars, so it works solo and fills out the grid with smaller groups.