How to Play Heat: Pedal to the Metal – Gears, Speed, Corners & Heat
Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a hand-management racing game. Your current gear determines how many Speed cards you must play, those cards determine movement, and corners punish excess speed by forcing Heat out of your engine and into your deck system.
Base-game guide. Checked September 20, 2026 against Days of Wonder’s current Heat rules. Championship, Garage and Legends modules add options but keep the basic race structure.
1. Change gear
At the start of the round, choose your new gear. Your gear controls how many cards you will play this round. Normal shifts are limited; aggressive multi-gear changes require paying Heat, so gear choice is both a speed decision and an engine-management decision.
2. Choose cards equal to your gear
Select Speed cards from your hand equal to the number shown by the gear. Choices are made simultaneously. Stress cards are less predictable because their value is resolved from the draw deck when played.
3. Reveal and calculate speed
Reveal the selected cards and total their speed values, resolving Stress and any relevant effects. This total is your base movement for the round before effects such as Boost or Slipstream are applied.
4. Move on the track
Move your car forward the required number of spaces, following the occupancy rules. Cars can pass one another, but space limits near the front of a pack can affect exactly where you end movement.
5. Check any corner line you crossed
Every corner has a speed limit. If your relevant speed exceeds the limit, you must pay Heat for the excess. Paying Heat moves Heat out of the engine and into circulation, reducing how much punishment the engine can absorb later.
If you cannot pay the required Heat, you spin out and suffer the penalties described by the rules. This is why a huge straight-line hand can be dangerous immediately before a tight corner.
6. Use optional effects such as Boost and Slipstream
Boost can convert Heat into additional speed, while Slipstream rewards positioning behind other cars. These effects can change track position without behaving exactly like ordinary Speed-card movement, so check their timing before corner calculations.
7. Cool the engine and refill your hand
Lower gears provide opportunities to move Heat cards from your hand back into the engine. After resolving the round, discard played cards as required and draw back up to your hand size. If the draw pile empties, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
Winning the race
The objective is to complete the required laps and cross the finish line ahead of the other cars. When several cars reach the finish in the same final sequence, use the race-position rules to determine their order.
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Sources and scope
Checked September 20, 2026. Expansion-specific tracks and modules can add rules not covered here.