Hundreds of Horses Board Game Review

Year Published: 2015

Players: 3-4

Playing Time: 20-30 Minutes

It’s like a less-complicated Dixit. And all horses.

Review over??

Ok, not quite. But this should be one of my shorter writeups.

Horsing Around

In Hundreds of Horses (HoH) you have four pictures of horses face-up, and roll a die. The six possible outcomes determine the round’s format.

For example, you might read a short phrase describing a horse’s favorite activity. You then secretly choose a face-up horse that you think most closely matches the phrase. Points are based on matching with others.

Other times, you secretly pick your favorite, and others will have to guess at it.

Or maybe it’s just an adjective. Is that one running along a river the most rambunctious? Or the one jumping a fence? Or the one making a silly face?

You get the idea. It’s simple fun. With horses. Lots of them.

Horse Ruling the Game

Technically only a certain die roll is supposed to wipe the horse portraits, but I’ve found it better to simply replace them after each round (and ignore the die when it shows that face). Otherwise, you’ll be playing with the same four pictures for long stretches sometimes.

This would be a moderate flaw in the game, but nothing really breaks or changes with the house rule, so I’m happy to ignore it.

Components

The die is nice. It’s large and wooden. The portraits are fun and often funny. Not much else to comment on.

The Limits of Hobby Analysis

This isn’t a game for hobby gamers. It almost feels wrong “reviewing” it in the same way that I might review Twilight Imperium, or even some filler that’s still targeted at regular gamers. We’re not talking about the same audience or intent.

So like, is this a good game? No, not particularly. But it is silly and fun enough to work for a lot of kids, families, and even goofy hobby gamers? Yes, and surprisingly so at times.

So you could look at this and ignore it and you’ll never be missing something amazing. But I have yet to play a game without laughter, as we furiously debate, for example, whether the pony on the left or that saucy forest filly in the center looks the most sarcastic in the current lineup of horses. Or some other similar nonsense.

Beating a Dead Horse

Despite being eclipsed by various other fillers or party games, including the vastly superior Dixit and its various spin-offs, I think Hundreds of Horses fills a niche that most hobby games don’t. I can’t imagine anyone ever hating it, and many will delight at its silly, light theme and gameplay.

It’s also a nice gauge. If you look over this game and think “Ugh, dumb,” I have to seriously wonder if you’re taking the pursuit of game-playing too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll pick a “serious,” more involved game over this one almost any day, and games are capable of deep, serious subject matter with interesting interpretations of those subjects. But others are simply meant to be enjoyed without much critical thought. So I also appreciate the levity HoH brings to a table whenever it gets pulled, and want to play with others who value the same.