Guides · Updated · By the So Many Levels team
How many turns does a 36-space race board game take?
A game of the 36-space race board takes about 8 rounds with four players and one die, and one player alone needs a median of 10 turns. Nine games in ten with four players end within 10 rounds; playing to land exactly on 36 stretches the median to 10.
Rounds to finish, by number of players
Reach or pass space 36 to win (the standard rule).
| Players | Median rounds | Average | 8 in 10 games | First player wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 8–12 | – |
| 2 | 9 | 9.1 | 8–11 | 56.3% |
| 3 | 9 | 8.7 | 7–10 | 39.2% |
| 4 | 8 | 8.5 | 7–10 | 30.1% |
| 5 | 8 | 8.3 | 7–9 | 24.4% |
| 6 | 8 | 8.2 | 7–9 | 20.6% |
| 9 | 8 | 7.9 | 7–9 | 13.7% |
Playing to exactly 36
A roll that would take you past 36 is not moved, so the end drags.
| Players | Median rounds | Average | 8 in 10 games | First player wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 14.4 | 9–22 | – |
| 2 | 11 | 11.5 | 8–15 | 52.5% |
| 3 | 10 | 10.4 | 8–13 | 36.0% |
| 4 | 10 | 9.8 | 8–12 | 27.6% |
| 5 | 9 | 9.5 | 8–12 | 22.6% |
| 6 | 9 | 9.2 | 8–11 | 18.9% |
| 9 | 9 | 8.7 | 7–10 | 12.9% |
What the numbers mean at the table
- A round is everyone taking one turn, so the table above counts how many times each player rolls in a typical game.
- More players makes the game shorter in rounds, because the first player to finish ends it and more players means more chances for a fast run.
- Going first helps a little: with two players the first player wins 56.3% of games, not 50%.
- Want a longer game for older children? Use the exact-36 rule. For toddlers, play the standard rule.
How we worked it out
We played the board 200,000 times for each row (100,000 for nine players) in a computer simulation (seed 20261104), using the
exact rules printed on our race board: start on space 1; Go ahead 2 on space 4, Back 1 on 9, Spin again on 14, Go ahead 3 on 19,
Back 2 on 23, Swap places on 27 and Go ahead 1 on 31. A twist space works once, without chaining. Swap places swaps you with
the player furthest ahead, and does nothing if you lead. "8 in 10 games" is the range from the 10th to the 90th percentile.
The script is scripts/sim_race.py in our code. These are our rules; other race games with different twists will differ.