Heat: Pedal to the Metal

1 / 30 ~15 min
Welcome to Heat

1960s Grand Prix Racing

Welcome to Heat: Pedal to the Metal -- a racing game set in the thrilling world of 1960s Grand Prix. You are a driver pushing your car to the limit on legendary tracks across the USA, France, Great Britain, and Italy.

The heart of the game is a simple tension: go fast and risk overheating your engine, or play it safe and watch your rivals streak ahead. You will manage your Speed, Gear shifts, and Heat as you navigate tight Corners and jostle for position over multiple laps.

Tutorial Overview

Glossary

Adrenaline

A bonus for the last-place car each round. Grants +1 Speed and access to 1 Cooldown. Helps trailing drivers stay competitive.

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Boost

Pay 1 Heat to flip the top card of your draw deck. If it is a Speed card, add its value to your speed. If not, keep flipping until you find one. You may Boost once per turn during the React step.

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Cooldown

An ability that lets you return Heat cards from your hand to the Engine, clearing dead cards from your hand. Available in 1st gear (Cooldown 3, return up to 3 Heat) and 2nd gear (Cooldown 1, return up to 1 Heat). Also granted by Adrenaline.

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Corner

A section of the track marked with a corner line and a speed limit. When you cross a corner line, you must check whether your speed exceeds the limit. Multiple corners crossed in one turn are checked separately.

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Discard Pile

Where your played cards go after each round, along with any Heat cards you have paid. When your draw deck runs out, the discard pile is shuffled to become your new draw deck.

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Draw Deck

Your personal face-down deck of cards. You draw from it to replenish your hand to 7 cards. When it runs out, shuffle your discard pile to form a new draw deck.

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Engine

The area on your player mat where Heat cards are stored face-up. Heat is paid from here. When the Engine is empty, you cannot pay Heat -- meaning no Boosting and potential Spin Outs at corners.

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Gear

Your current gear level (1st through 4th). The gear number determines how many cards you play each round. Higher gears mean more cards and typically more speed. You shift up or down one position each round for free, or two positions by paying 1 Heat.

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Heat

A resource representing engine strain. You pay Heat by moving Heat cards from your Engine to the discard pile. Heat is spent on aggressive gear shifts, Boosting, and exceeding corner speed limits. Running out of Heat at a corner causes a Spin Out.

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Heat Card

A card that starts in your Engine. When you pay Heat, it moves to the discard pile and eventually cycles into your draw deck and hand. Heat cards in your hand are dead weight -- they cannot be played and waste hand space. Use Cooldown to return them to the Engine.

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Slipstream

If you end your move next to or directly behind another car, you may move 2 extra spaces forward. This bonus movement does not count toward your speed for corner checks. Not allowed across the finish line on the last lap.

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Speed

The total value of all your played cards for the round, plus any Boost. Your car moves forward exactly this many spaces. Higher speed is faster but riskier around corners.

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Speed Card

The core cards in your deck with values of 1, 2, 3, or 4. You start with 12 Speed cards (3 of each value). Their total determines how far your car moves each round.

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Speed Limit

A number printed on each corner of the track. If your speed exceeds this limit when you cross a corner line, you must pay Heat equal to the difference. Failing to pay causes a Spin Out.

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Spin Out

Occurs when you cannot pay enough Heat at a corner. You pay all the Heat you have, your car moves back to the first available space before the corner, you gain 1 Stress card (1st/2nd gear) or 2 Stress cards (3rd/4th gear), and your gear drops to 1st.

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Starting Upgrade

Three cards included in your starting deck with values of 0 and 5. They add variability to your hand -- a 0 is a dud, while a 5 gives a big speed burst.

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Stress Card

A card that adds randomness. When played, you flip cards from your draw deck until you find a Speed card, which replaces the Stress card's value (giving you a random result of 1-4). You gain extra Stress cards from Spin Outs.

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