BoardGameArchiveHow to Play Magical Athlete: Second Wind
Set up the race, recruit your team, and follow CMYK’s official Second Wind tutorial.
Recruit racers and use their powers across four races.
Magical Athlete: Second Wind is a standalone racing game for two to six players. You recruit racers with different powers and send them around the course, using dice for ordinary movement. The power on the card can change what happens during a race. You can start with the Second Wind box alone, or use both boxes for combined play.
Rules reference. This guide covers the race format and a practice opening. For the exact draft order, finishing awards and tiebreakers, use the Second Wind rulebook and CMYK’s tutorial below.
How a Second Wind meet works
Recruit a team, choose who runs each race, and check the racer’s power when it can affect play. The standard meet runs across four races.
Before the first race
Lay out the Second Wind board, racer pieces and their matching cards. Keep the dice and scoring pieces within reach. If you have both editions, begin with the Second Wind components together so the table has one set of cards and instructions to consult. Check the player-count setup in the Second Wind rules before recruiting, especially if only two people are playing.
Give players a moment to look at the course and locate the start, the finish and any special markings. If you are teaching at the table, show the ordinary move with a piece and a die, then return the piece to the start. This gives everyone a baseline for understanding what their racer changes.
CMYK’s official Second Wind tutorial
Video credit & disclaimer
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Game at a Glance
Recruit a Team
Keep each racer piece with its card.
Choose Who Runs
Pick a racer for the current course.
Roll and Move
Roll the die for ordinary movement and check the card for powers.
Race Across the Meet
Play four races and compare the overall result.
Where to find each rule in the video
Recruit racers and choose who runs
The standard format described for Second Wind is a four-race meet. Players choose racers for their team and field a different one in each race. Teach the difference between recruiting a team and choosing a racer for the current course before anyone makes a pick. Keep each racer’s card with the matching piece so the group can look up an ability without guessing from the artwork.
Movement and racer powers
CMYK describes the ordinary move as rolling a die and advancing that many spaces. Check the racer’s card whenever its power may apply. A first teaching example can show a racer moving three spaces after rolling a three on an ordinary stretch of the board. Then reset the piece and use one of the actual cards to illustrate how a triggered power can change what happens. Use the wording and timing on the card you choose for that example.
How to teach Second Wind before anyone rolls
Start by showing the group the finish line, then give each person a look at a racer card and its matching piece. Explain that a normal move uses a die and that the racer’s card tells you when that ordinary move might change. Give the table the purpose of the four-race meet before you describe individual powers. A player who knows they are choosing a team for several races will understand why they need to think beyond the piece currently on the board.
Demonstrate the standard move on an unmarked part of the course. Put one piece on a space, roll a die, and count the spaces out loud. Then bring over one of the actual cards you plan to use. Ask the player to point to the part that describes when the power applies. That is more useful than reading through the full roster, because players learn where to look when a real question comes up. Return the demonstration pieces to their original positions before setup continues.
With new players, give everyone a clear view of the active course and enough room to lay cards face up. If one person is teaching, let the racer’s owner read their own card aloud when needed. This helps people remember which effects belong to which piece and reduces the chance that the teacher will have to track every interaction alone. If everyone has played the first Magical Athlete, spend that time on the new track reference and the Second Wind cards in the current race.
A worked opening for your first race
Imagine a three-player table practicing the opening on an ordinary stretch of track. The group has checked the starting procedure in its Second Wind rules and knows whose turn comes first. For the demonstration, suppose none of the active powers changes the first roll and there are no marked spaces involved. The first racer rolls a three and advances three spaces. The next racer rolls a two and advances two spaces. The point of this example is to show the baseline move before adding exceptions.
Now suppose the third racer’s move would take it past one of those pieces. Before moving it, have the group check the active cards for an effect that cares about what is happening. If none applies, finish the ordinary movement. If a card does apply, read the trigger and the effect together, then follow the card and the Second Wind timing reference. This is a practice scenario. Use the actual card text at your table to decide whether an effect applies to crossing a space or only to the place where a racer finishes moving.
Once the race is under way, you can use the same approach near the finish. If a roll or power would move a piece across the line, pause long enough to check the finish and scoring instructions. Put any awards in front of the right player and keep the pieces and cards for racers who have already run separate from the ones that are still available. At this stage, everybody should be able to tell who has raced and where the group is in the meet without having to reconstruct it from memory.
For a short teaching session, stop after the demonstration and reset the board before the real opening. For a group that is already playing, use the first ordinary turn as the demonstration itself. The important difference is whether positions and awards count. Saying this out loud before the roll avoids confusion when you move from practice to play.
How to read racer powers at the table
Read a power in three parts. First find the event that makes it relevant. Then identify which piece or player it applies to. Finally check what the card tells you to do. This helps with text that mentions several racers or refers to an event that can happen more than once. It also gives the group a common way to ask about an interaction without summarising the card so loosely that its conditions get lost.
If a power seems to apply, describe the board state before touching the pieces. For example, say which racer is moving, where it began, and which piece is in the space it may reach. Then look at whether the relevant text refers to starting, moving past a piece, or stopping. Those are different moments in the example. The card and the rulebook determine whether they are distinct triggers for that actual power. Keeping the pieces in place while you check makes it easier to agree on what happened.
When two cards both seem relevant, identify the two claimed triggers and look for a timing explanation in the Second Wind rules. The chapter at 8:44 in CMYK’s video is the quickest route to the tutorial’s discussion of detailed rules. Keep the original game’s FAQ handy for the original box. During Second Wind, the rules that came with that box and the cards in play are the references to use.
What to check when you switch courses
Second Wind’s two course faces are Twisty Twirl and Whirly World. When the instructions call for a course change, turn the board and point out the new start, finish and printed symbols before the next race begins. Ask players to look at the new layout before choosing their racer for that race. A card whose effect depends on the relative position of pieces may give you a different reason to choose it as the track and the field change.
If a space has a symbol that nobody recognises, check the Second Wind track reference before applying an effect. Start with what the symbol represents on that board and then ask when the reference says it is resolved. Someone who knows the original game may recognise the general idea of a track effect, but the relevant description is the one for the course you are currently using. CMYK’s track chapter begins at 7:22.
When you pack up or change courses, keep the race results separate from the moving pieces. For a group learning the game, a small note showing the current race number and the awards already handed out can be easier to read than a pile of pieces. It is a teaching aid. Use the actual scoring pieces and the rules in the box to determine the result.
Keeping track of results across four races
Explain the relationship between an individual race and the overall meet before the first person finishes. A finish can change the standings, and the game result is determined across the meet. Use the scoring values in the Second Wind instructions for the current race. Keep awards visible and separate by player so that the group can check what was earned before the board gets reset.
If you want a written record while you learn, make four rows, one per race, and give each player a column. Record the actual award for that player in the corresponding cell. This lets you review a disputed result without trying to remember who used which racer two heats ago. At the end, use the game’s scoring and tie instructions to check the final result. This record is optional and works alongside the components in the box.
A useful check before the next race is to ask three questions. Has the current race been scored? Have the used racers been separated from the remaining options? Is the course and starting procedure for the next race ready? Once everyone can answer those questions, the next race can start with fewer interruptions.
Standalone and combined play
Either box can be played by itself. If you want to mix racers and courses, start with CMYK’s combined-play chapter above. Our Second Wind hub covers the four courses and the Grand Circuit. Our edition comparison explains which box to buy first.
Second Wind FAQ
Can I play Second Wind by itself?
Yes. CMYK lists it as a standalone game. Set up with the Second Wind board, racers and rules if this is your first session. The original box is useful if you later want to combine the two sets. It is an optional second purchase for a group that wants to play Second Wind on its own.
Can two people play?
Yes. CMYK lists Second Wind for two to six players. Check the Second Wind instructions for the two-player setup before recruiting. The original game’s two-player guide explains that earlier box’s procedure. Have the relevant rules open during setup so both players agree on who controls each racer and whose turn comes next.
Where should I look if I’m unsure about a racer?
Start with the card for the racer actually on the course. Check the exact event the ability refers to and which piece it affects. If the card alone leaves a question about timing, turn to the Second Wind rules or the detailed rules chapter of the tutorial.
What should I look up before combining boxes?
Watch the combining-boxes chapter beginning at 12:01 and locate the corresponding directions in the rulebook. Check which tracks and racers you’ll need before anyone recruits. The Grand Circuit overview on the hub explains how the four named courses relate to the two boxes.