HEAT: Pedal to the Metal is one of my favorite games. Every time I play, I always have a great time whether I win or lose and the people I m playing with also enjoy it. In fact, HEAT: Pedal to the Metal was GeekDad’s Game of the Year for 2023! Since it release, there have been three expansions: Heavy Rain, Tunnel Vision, and Rocky Roads, each of which added two new race courses as well as new features. Now another expansion is out: HEAT: Legends. This expansion does not add more courses but instead adds more competition to make your races even more challenging.
What Is HEAT: Legends?
HEAT: Legends is an expansion for HEAT: Pedal to the Metal and requires the base game to play. It is designed for 1-8 players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 60 minutes to play. It’s currently available from your local game store as well as online retailers such as Amazon and sells for around $19. HEAT: Legends was designed by Asger Aleksandrov Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen and published by Days of Wonder, with illustrations by Vincent Dutrait.
HEAT: Legends Components
Here is what comes in the box:
- 36 Legends cards
- 36 Power Up cards
- 12 Rival cards
- 21 Sponsorship cards
- 1 Rules booklet
The new Legends cards are similar to those included with the base game. However, there are a few differences. First, the new cards have drivers for up to 12 different colored cars. Second, they have different difficulty levels designated by the color at the top of the card to create green, yellow, and red decks. Finally, some of the drivers have a star over their helmet which is used with the Stars module described later. The three colored decks allow you to create six different decks of increasing difficulty by either using a deck by itself or combining it with another deck.
Rivals cards are used for the Rivals module. This designates two of the Legends on the track as Rivals which get to use the Rival ability on Power Up cards. For a single race, the two front most Legends become the Rivals. Use the Rivals cards which match the color of the cars as a reminder for which cars are the Rivals. During Championship play, there are no Rivals for the first race. Starting with the second race, the two Legends that are currently ranked the highest in the Championship will be the Rivals for the race. Rivals may change from race to race.
Power Up cards are used with both the the Stars module as well as the Rivals module. When a Legends card is revealed during a turn, also reveal the top card of the Power Up deck. The Star ability is listed on the left side of these cards and the Rivals ability on the right side. Any drivers who have a star over their helmet on the Legends card gain the Star ability from the current Power Up card. All Star abilities also have a secondary ability of +1 Space if the primary ability does not apply. The higher the difficulty level of the Legends card, the more drivers get the Star ability. Rivals always get the Rival ability on the right side of the card each turn.
The expansion also includes 7 copies of 3 different sponsorships which can be used when playing Championship mode. Each of these cards are one time use and are removed from the game if in your play area at the end of the turn instead of discarding them. The Moquette Grip allows you to play this card from your hand during the React step to give you 2 additional speed. Beewee Racecraft lets you look through your discard pile and select two cards to add to your draw deck. Finally, the Noctie Motorsport card has a speed of 7, but also reduces the speed of any corner you cross this turn by 1.
Why You Should Play HEAT: Legends
One of the features that makes HEAT: Pedal to the Metal such a great game are the Legends drivers. These are essentially AI controlled cars that provide more competition. The Legends system is very easy to use and I use it for all my races to fill out the track so I always have 8 cars. The Legends cards tell you how many spaces to move each of these non-player controlled cars as well as what they do when they will cross a corner. I have even played solo against six other racers and found those games almost as challenging as playing against human opponents. In fact, I read that the developers of the game always use Legends when they play.
Since there were only six cards included with the base game, the original Legends cards only had six drivers. With the release of the three race track expansions, three more colors of cars were added so you can now play with up to nine cars if you have each of the expansions. The new Legends cards even provide for three additional colors: pink, tan, and light blue. If you have enough cars, you could race with up to 12 cars now.
In addition to the Stars and Rivals modes which are added and use the Power Up cards, Legends now get to us Adrenaline which allows them to move 1 extra space if they are the last car to move in a round or one of the last two in a game with 5 or more cars. Previously, only human drivers were allowed this. The Power Up cards also add some new abilities such as Draft which lets a Legend move up to 3 extra spaces as long as the spaces are clear of other cars and they have at least one card in the space in front of it. Impeding lets a Legends car take up both spots in a space. Finally, Nimble prevents a Legend from being blocked. If they would stop on a space where there are 2 cars already, the nimble Legend instead takes up a space to the side of the two cars and moves before them during the next turn.
As I mentioned earlier, the Legends mode really adds to the game. However, each Legend always acts in the same manner. With HEAT: Legends, there is not only more challenge, but also the Legends drivers may get some cool abilities that can really mess with your race strategy each turn since you don’t reveal the Legends and Power Up cards until the reveal step after all players have already chosen which card they will play. I have been very impressed while playing with the HEAT: Legends expansion. It is one of those expansions that doesn’t just add more content to a game, but it also makes a great game even better. If you enjoy playing HEAT: Pedal to the Metal then I highly recommend you add HEAT: Legends to your collection. Whether you are playing a solo game or with lots of other players, adding some Legends will make your game more fun.
For more information, visit the HEAT: Legends webpage page!
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
