Winning Moves licensed Classic rules: four Safety cards. Four-player partnership baseline; separate 2-, 3- and 6-player adjustments.
- Players
- 2, 3, 4 or 6 (Classic rules)
- Cards & equipment
- Mille Bornes Classic deck: 106 playing cards plus reference cards
Mille Bornes rules for the Classic edition
Mille Bornes is a dedicated-deck racing game. Distance cards advance your trip; opponents use hazards, and remedies or safeties keep you moving. This guide follows the licensed Winning Moves Classic rules with four Safety cards. Some later editions use different safety cards, restarts or scoring. Match the guide to your deck before combining rules.
The baseline is four people in two partnerships, partners opposite and sharing one playing area. The Classic rulebook also supports two or three individual players, or six people in three partnerships. It does not list five-player play.
Set up and take a turn
Set reference cards aside. Deal six playing cards to each person and put the rest face down as the draw pile. Keep separate areas for distance, battle, speed and safeties. Begin left of the dealer, moving clockwise.
Normally draw one, then play one legal card or discard one, returning to six cards. Play a Roll/Go to start moving. You can then add distance, attack an eligible opponent, repair your own hazard or lay a safety. Discarded cards cannot be picked up. At most two 200-mile cards may enter one side’s trip, and you cannot exceed the current distance target.
Resolve hazards, remedies and safeties
| Hazard | Remedy | Classic safety |
|---|---|---|
| Out of Gas | Gasoline, then Roll | Extra Tank |
| Flat Tire | Spare Tire, then Roll | Puncture Proof |
| Accident | Repairs, then Roll | Driving Ace |
| Stop | Roll | Right of Way |
| Speed Limit | End of Limit | Right of Way |
The speed pile is separate: a Speed Limit restricts you to 25- or 50-mile cards. Right of Way removes the need for Roll cards and protects against Stop and Speed Limit, but other hazards still need their matching fix. A played safety protects for the rest of the hand and grants an extra turn.
A coup fourré immediately answers an incoming matching hazard with its safety from your hand, even out of turn. Announce it before anyone draws, place the safety sideways, discard the hazard, replace the safety in your hand, then take the safety’s extra draw-and-play turn. Resume with the player on your left.
Finish the trip or play out the stock
Four-player teams aim for exactly 1,000 miles. With two, three or six players, the initial target is 700; the side reaching 700 may immediately call an extension to 1,000 instead of ending the hand. For two or three players, also remove one each of Stop, Accident, Out of Gas, Flat Tire and Speed Limit before dealing.
When the stock runs out, continue playing or discarding the cards in hand without drawing. The hand ends on an exact completed trip or when all hands are empty. Do not reshuffle the discards into a fresh stock under these Classic rules.
Mille Bornes rules in action: restarting a stopped trip
Here is a worked Classic example. Your team has a Roll card showing, no relevant safety, and an opponent plays Out of Gas. On your next turn, draw one card and play Gasoline if you have it. That repairs the fuel problem, but does not let you play a distance card in the same turn. On a later turn, draw and play Roll; a further turn can add distance.
The Classic Mille Bornes rules change that sequence when Right of Way is already in your safety area: you still need Gasoline for the fuel hazard, but do not need the intervening Roll. Right of Way does not itself make you immune to Out of Gas; Extra Tank is the safety for that hazard.
Keep checking the separate speed pile throughout this example. Repairing fuel does not remove a Speed Limit. Without Right of Way or End of Limit, a moving team can still add only 25- or 50-mile cards. Count distance only when a distance card is actually played, rather than when you draw it or repair the car.
Classic scoring and a worked example
- Score one point per mile and 100 per played safety.
- Add 300 for all four safeties and 300 for each coup fourré, on top of its safety’s 100.
- A completed trip earns 400; delayed completion after the stock empties adds 300; a completed trip with no 200-mile cards adds 300.
- A completed trip shutting out an opponent with no distance earns 500. Consult the Classic booklet for extension awards in the smaller or three-team game.
Example: your four-player team finishes 1,000 miles, used one 200-mile card, played two safeties and made one coup fourré. The stock was not empty and the opponent traveled. Your score is 1,000 + 200 + 300 + 400 = 1,900. The two safeties include the one used for the coup; do not count it twice.
Carry totals between hands. The Classic match target is 5,000 points; if both sides pass it in the same hand, the higher total wins. Reaching the distance target ends a hand, so the side that finishes the trip need not have the highest overall score.
Rule references and corrections
This independent explanation uses the references below. Follow the instructions for the edition you own and agree on house rules before play.
- Winning Moves: licensed Classic rulebook, including scoring
- Winning Moves: Classic rules and score sheet
- Hasbro 17147 rulebook: a different five-Safety edition
- Asmodee: current Mille Bornes product information
Found a mistake? Send a correction with the game name and source.
A few useful answers
Questions before you deal
Do you need exactly 1,000 miles in Mille Bornes?
In the four-player Classic game, yes. The two-, three- and six-player rules begin at 700 miles, with an optional extension to 1,000 when a side reaches 700.
Do you need a Go card after a remedy?
Under Classic rules, usually yes: Gasoline, Spare Tire or Repairs is followed by Roll/Go on another turn. Right of Way changes that requirement. Some later editions differ.
Does coup fourré score 300 or 400?
The Classic bonus is 300 in addition to the safety’s normal 100, making 400 for that safety and coup together.
Can five people play these rules?
The Classic rulebook specifies 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. Other editions may advertise a different range, so check the instructions supplied with your deck.
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