Tabletop Game / Herd Your Horses

Join the herd for 3 wild adventures!

Herd Your Horses is a board game built around life in horse herds, either wild mustangs or tamed rancher horses. Three different multiplayer adventure modes can utilize the same board, and there are also solitaire minigames.

Multiplayer Game 1: Mustang Escape

Players start as captured mustang stallions who escape on the first round of play. From there, players compete to gather NPC horses into herds and get to Green River Valley.

Multiplayer Game 2: Rancher's Round-Up

The player characters are ranchers who chase horses that have already escaped. The goal of this game is to make it to the end with at least one representative of each breed of horse in the game.

Multiplayer Game 3: Rancher's Revenge

The player characters are ranchers who chase horses that have already escaped. This time, the horses you catch must be paired up based on matching coat colors or marks.

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Tropes pertaining to all game versions

• Alliterative Family: Mother and foal Freya and Frig, and twin foals Sun and Sand,
• Cardboard Prison: The starting location is an easily escapable corral. In Mustang Escape, the player characters are mustangs who escape on the first round of play. In Rancher's Round-Up and Rancher's Revenge, the player characters are ranchers who chase horses that have already escaped.
• Color-Coded Characters: Your player pieces are colored red, yellow, white, and black, and the the horses portrayed on those pieces are colored accordingly.
• Cool Horse: YMMV, but the game-makers did their best to invoke this trope.
• Smelly Skunk: One of the locations on the board is named Flat Skunk Mesa. It's right next to Stinking Water Springs.
• White Stallion: One of the player tokens has a picture of such a horse. One of the bachelor stallions is also white.

Tropes pertaining to Mustang Escape

• Butt Biter: A chance card features one of these. The offender gets kicked out of the herd (see Get Out!).
• Casanova Wannabe: Bachelor Stallion cards represent NPC stallions who want to start their own herds. Players use these cards to remove mares from another player's herd - both the bachelor stallion and the stolen mare are returned to the bottom of the draw pile.
• Get Out!: A chance card that forces you to discard a Bachelor Stallion card reads: "A two-year-old colt... bites you on the backside, so you kick him out of the herd."
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Any player can land on any other player and steal one of that player's mares. And the player characters are rival stallions...
• Imminent Danger Clue: Only a mule can smell the wolves in one chance card. If you don't have a mule in your herd, you lose a horse.
• Jump Scare: In-universe example, a chance card reads, "Laundry hanging on a clothesline spooks a Ranch horse. She escapes the ranch and heads for the hills. You find her and lead her to your herd."
• Let's You and Him Fight: A chance card reads, "Two stallions are fighting. You sneak off with one of their mares."
• Reduced to Ratburgers: A watery example from a chance card: "A drought makes water scarce. You'll drink any water you can find." This card moves the player to Stinking Water Springs.
• You All Meet in a Cell: The game starts with the player characters (mustang stallions) in a corral.
• Xenofiction: You play as a horse and the story and adventure cards are written from the perspective of your horse character.

Tropes pertaining to Rancher's Round-Up

• Agony of the Feet: A chance card reads, "An ornery stallion steps on the foot of a rancher. While the rancher hops around and yells, a horse sneaks off. You find [the horse]."
• Boring, but Practical: In-universe, switching to riding a mule. The chance card where you do this lets you catch an extra horse.
• Jump Scare: In-universe examples from chance cards
  • "Thunder and lightning stampede your herd."
  • "You take off your yellow rain slicker while chasing a wild herd. The herd is spooked by the sudden action and flees. Your spare horse follows them."
  • "An upside down tumbleweed spooks your herd into a stampede."
• Gotta Catch 'Em All: The goal of this game is to make it to the end with at least one representative of each breed of horse in the game.
• Horsing Around: Some of the ways ranchers can lose horses to chance cards
  • "A rancher's mount turns "barn sour," meaning it keeps heading for home. You catch it on the way."
  • "One horse escapes from the rancher for the sixth time today. In disgust, the rancher tells you to keep the horse - if you can!"
  • "Your green-broke horse (one that you just tamed) grabs the bit in its teeth and bolts."
  • "A former mustang, now a riding horse, senses an old mustang buddy in the area. It takes off, leaving you stranded."
• Pity the Kidnapper: "A captured horse snorts and squeals all night. It keeps the whole camp awake. You turn the horse loose, gladly."
• The Promised Land: You and your herd are trying to get to safety in Green River Valley.
• Scary Stinging Swarm: A chance card reads, "A rancher's horse steps on a wasp's nest. The rancher takes off in a hurry with his/her herd close behind, but one of the horses joins your band."
• So Much for Stealth: A chance card reads, "You take off your yellow rain slicker while chasing a wild herd. The herd is spooked by the sudden action and flees. Your spare horse follows them."
• Watch Out for That Tree!: One of the chance cards reads, "A tree branch sweeps the rancher on your right off a galloping horse. The rancher is okay, but you get the horse."

Tropes pertaining to Rancher's Revenge

• Agony of the Feet: A chance card reads, "An ornery stallion steps on the foot of a rancher. While the rancher hops around and yells, a horse sneaks off. You find [the horse]."
• Boring, but Practical: In-universe, switching to riding a mule. The chance card where you do this lets you catch an extra horse.
• Jump Scare: In-universe examples from chance cards
  • "Thunder and lightning stampede your herd."
  • "You take off your yellow rain slicker while chasing a wild herd. The herd is spooked by the sudden action and flees. Your spare horse follows them."
  • "An upside down tumbleweed spooks your herd into a stampede."
• Horsing Around: Some of the ways ranchers can lose horses to chance cards
  • "A rancher's mount turns "barn sour," meaning it keeps heading for home. You catch it on the way."
  • "One horse escapes from the rancher for the sixth time today. In disgust, the rancher tells you to keep the horse - if you can!"
  • "Your green-broke horse (one that you just tamed) grabs the bit in its teeth and bolts."
  • "A former mustang, now a riding horse, senses an old mustang buddy in the area. It takes off, leaving you stranded."
• Pity the Kidnapper: "A captured horse snorts and squeals all night. It keeps the whole camp awake. You turn the horse loose, gladly."
• Scary Stinging Swarm: A chance card reads, "A rancher's horse steps on a wasp's nest. The rancher takes off in a hurry with his/her herd close behind, but one of the horses joins your band."
• So Much for Stealth: A chance card reads, "You take off your yellow rain slicker while chasing a wild herd. The herd is spooked by the sudden action and flees. Your spare horse follows them."
• Watch Out for That Tree!: One of the chance cards reads, "A tree branch sweeps the rancher on your right off a galloping horse. The rancher is okay, but you get the horse."