Cape Horn

About this board game

Cape Horn is a sailing race for 3–5 players that takes about 60 minutes to play. Released in 1999, it challenges players to move their boats around Cape Horn while competing to reach key way-points before their rivals.

Each turn, a player may move their boat by using the wind markers placed on the board. These markers determine how boats progress through the race, making the available wind an important part of every move.

The race is not simply a matter of advancing as quickly as possible. Other players can play their wind markers to impede progress, slowing down an opponent’s boat and affecting the course of the competition. Timing movement and interference is central to the game’s tense sailing challenge.

• Race around Cape Horn using wind markers on the board.
• Use wind markers to slow down other players.
• Win by reaching three way-points, or by reaching two way-points and crossing the finish line.

The first player to hit three way-points wins. Alternatively, a player can claim victory by hitting two way-points and then crossing the finish line, creating more than one route to the finish.

With its direct racing objective and opportunities to hinder opponents, Cape Horn offers a focused sailing competition for groups of three to five players. Players must use the wind available on the board while watching how their rivals may use it against them.