Hot Streak!

• Designer: Jon Perry
• Publisher: CMYK
• Ages: 6+
• Time: 20 mins
• Players: 2-9+
• Review by Nathan Beeler

Pure hilarious fun. That’s a promise that games can rarely deliver on anymore. Not for a lack of trying, it should be said. You could fill a hovercraft with the extremely silly games released every year, any one of which might raise a smile or a chuckle the first time they’re pulled out. But there’s only so much forced jocularity from a fantasy bar brawl or a blended pet one can endure before having to face down the tedium of the game behind the theme. Surely, these kinds of games have their legions of fans who will disagree, but I no longer count myself among them. I am a curmudgeonly old fart now. It’s not the games, it’s me. Or maybe it is the games… 

Enter Hot Streak!, a new contestant in the goofy games Olympiad. Players are, to quote the rules, “degenerate gamblers” who have stooped to betting on low level seventh inning mascot races. That wonderful premise in hand, designer Jon Perry and publisher CMYK have delivered a master class on how to do goofy fun in a box. Every detail is well thought out and delivers a wet fish slap of enjoyment right to the face. It has made my withered old heart grow three sizes. I am a fan.

Let’s start with the bits, because that’s the first thing that grabs your attention. From a display window on the side of the brightly colored box shine the stars of the show: four chunky vinyl mascot figurines (sculpted by Josh Divine), inviting the curious to play with them and the unwary to bet on them. There is Hurley the bun banger (definitely not a hot dog), Gobbler the confusingly named bear, Dangle the cursed angler fish, and the queen Mum from Queveland. Each of them gets a delightful backstory in the rules that I’ll try to resist spoiling here.

Also inside the box is the race field, which unfurls from its side like a baseball field tarp. At the end of the game a knob on the side winds it back into the box again. What a wonderful touch! Inside the magnetically latched lid are the rest of the components. Most notable are the betting slips: thick slabs of cardboard with bright colors matching their racer and with slightly different sizes to allow for quick stacking between rounds.

The game play involves drafting bets, either on the mascots to win, place, or show, or on wacky side bets about things that could happen in the race. Remember, we are degenerates who will bet on absolutely anything. If you’re feeling extra saucy you can even double the risk/reward of a bet by flipping it over. And really, why wouldn’t you?

The races themselves are card driven, a kind of wind-up and release affair that unshackles the players from the bonds of decision making and turns them into laughing, clapping, and shouting spectators. “Come on, Mum!” Before the first of three races everyone gets to see the bulk of the cards that are in the deck, and each player is allowed to add one card of their own, theoretically giving them a smidgeon of control. It’s an illusion. Once the deck is constituted and the race is underway it’s pure chaos. Visceral, surprising, hysterical chaos. You can just see the mascots surge, swerve, trip, crawl, spin the wrong way, and go off the edge of the course. Every card flip is a chance for something unexpected, and everyone is inherently invested in the outcome, which makes it fun and exciting.

When the race is over and the winner’s circle is filled–once again utilizing the box–everyone’s bets pay out. Or, just as likely, they don’t. The race mostly resets and then there is a second and a third race, each time with a subtle twist. There’s just enough illusion of control to make players think they can make a good bet on the next race. Spoiler: they probably can’t. But it is great fun trying.

After three races and payouts, or pay-ins sometimes, players count up their money and determine a…but no. Hot Streak! doesn’t ever take the easy way out. It continually surprises. There is no winner. At least, not by the rules. Players are aware of who earned the most money, but in every game I’ve been in no one cared. Instead, players are given a unique life outcome based on their money earned. This is a sort of fortune read from the back of the rule book. As with the rest of the package, these outcomes are comedy gold.

Hot Streak! is a quick game that is trivial to teach, and can pretty much handle any number of players. The cheering and shouting that erupts never fails to draw a crowd, and the game can easily absorb that crowd mid-race if it wants. In other words, it is a perfect party game.

Will it hold up over time? Will the merriment endure? Time will tell, surely. But I believe it will. Yes, frequent plays in short periods of time (pretty much a guarantee if the game is around) might mean some of the life outcomes get repeated and lose some of their charm. But I find it hard to believe the gameplay itself will ever suffer enough to not deserve its place on the shelf and its time on the table. Plus, there will always be new degenerates to entice with the siren call of easy money, new people who didn’t know they needed an anthropomorphic bun banger in their life.

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What do others think?:

Erik Arneson: So much fun. I’ve played Hot Streak half a dozen times and that’s the phrase that keeps coming to mind: So much fun. All it does is make everyone smile and laugh. An absolute gem of a game.

Dan B.: It’s fun but like many party games really dependent on the group. Will it be fun without someone really into it running the race? I’m not sure.

Mark Jackson: My single play last fall made me a believer. It’s on my birthday list and I can’t wait to spring it on my local gaming group!

Alison Brennan: The fun in this game is directly proportional to the fun you bring to it. You have a little knowledge that no one else knows – less than 5% of the deck? – and you bet on which of the 4 characters will win the race by taking betting chips which are ordered from best return to least. Or you can bet on an event happening or not. The race is run by going thru the shuffled communal deck. You have close to zero agency in the game except a couple of gambles. Is it a game? For every player that’s prepared to ham it up and cheer a frenzy a la ‘My Fair Lady’ each time their horse, er, character moves along, increase the rating by a point. Otherwise, there’s little point.

Larry:  Imagine you’re playing craps at the casino when, after making your bet, the croupier swaps your six-sided dice for 20-siders.  Or maybe a pair of hand grenades, after setting the table on fire.  That pretty much describes Hot Streak.  It’s awfully close to a pure experience game, with very little control.  It gives players who are so inclined an excuse to hoot and holler at the top of their lungs at the crazy events that unfold during the race.  That can be a lot of mindless fun with the right crowd.  But if you’re looking for a game hidden inside your party gaming, playing something else is a better bet.

Ben B: Look at that… Larry hates fun! Cause this game is alot of fun. This is a thrilling, fun for all types, hedge betting game. I would liken the thrill to Ready, Set, Bet! but with more laughter and less yelling (though there is alot of cheering). There’s alot to like here: fun characters, excellent presentation, imperfect information betting, simple gameplay for all to grasp and enjoy.  I have played this game now over 20 times with my family. My friends of my weekly heavy euro-game group have taken it home and taken it to drunk pictionary night and played it with their families. I think this game is not only a winner, but a real keeper. 

Craig M:  Sure the agency players have is thin, but the presentation of the game is fantastic as is the theme. Hot Streak will be easy to explain and play with families and be a fantastic way to close out a game night after we’ve ponderously stroked our beards in deep thought over self congratulatory sentiments for making the most brilliant of moves. So to the OG (and other)  fun haters out there, I quote Sergeant Hulka from Stripes, “Lighten up Francis!” 

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!  Dale Y, Erik Arneson, Nate Beeler, John P, Mark Jackson, Ben B, Craig M.
• I like it. Dan B. (really “love it with the caveat noted above”)
• Neutral.
• Not for me… Alison, Larry