Racing · Reviewed 2026-10-18
Mille Bornes card game: players, deck & rules
Race as partners to exactly 1,000 miles while repairing hazards and managing speed limits.
Version used: Winning Moves Classic 2008, four-player partnership rules
- Players
- 4
- Deck
- Mille Bornes dedicated pack; 106 game cards
- Learning
- Moderate
Reach exactly 1,000 miles in a hand; score the most when a team reaches 5,000 cumulative points.
Need a term explained? Suit, rank, trick, trump and meld.
Prepare the partnership race
- Partners sit opposite and share a driving area. Set aside the four reference cards; shuffle the 106 game cards and deal six each. Left of dealer starts; continue clockwise.
Draw one, then play or discard one
- Draw one. On the deal’s opening turn, play Roll! to start your team’s Battle pile, a safety, Speed Limit on opponents, or discard, as your cards allow. Later turns also allow legal distances (25, 50, 75, 100 or 200), other hazards and remedies.
- Out of Gas, Flat Tire and Accident require their matching remedy and then Roll! on a later turn before more distance. Stop needs Roll! directly. End of Limit clears Speed Limit without another Roll! if the Battle pile already permits driving.
Speed, safety and reaction
Speed Limit uses a separate pile: only 25 or 50 until End of Limit. At most two 200 cards per team. Safeties cancel an existing matching hazard, permanently prevent further matching hazards and grant another turn. Right of Way prevents Stop and Speed Limit and waives Roll!, but other hazards still need repairs. Immediately countering a hazard with its matching safety is a coup fourré: discard the hazard, refill to six, then take a full turn; play resumes left of that player.
Match hazards, remedies and safeties
Except Speed Limit, attack an opponent’s exposed Roll!; with Right of Way exposed, non-Stop hazards can also attack a remedy.
| Hazard | Remedy | Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Out of Gas | Gasoline | Extra Tank |
| Flat Tire | Spare Tire | Puncture Proof |
| Accident | Repairs | Driving Ace |
| Stop | Roll! | Right of Way |
| Speed Limit | End of Limit | Right of Way |
End the hand without reshuffling
A team reaching exactly 1,000 ends the hand; overshooting is illegal. When stock empties, continue playing or discarding without drawing until 1,000 is reached or every hand is empty.
Score the hand and the match
Score both teams using the table. After a hand in which either team reaches at least 5,000 cumulative points, the higher total wins.
| What happened | Points |
|---|---|
| Distance travelled | 1 per mile |
| Each safety played | 100 |
| All four safeties played by one team | 300 extra |
| Each coup fourré | 300 extra |
| Reach exactly 1,000 | 400 |
| Reach 1,000 after stock emptied | 300 extra |
| Reach 1,000 without a 200 card | 300 extra |
| Reach 1,000 while opponents have no distance | 500 extra |
Worked example
Your team ends on 1,000 miles with one safety, having used a 200 card while stock still remains. Opponents have travelled 650. With no coup fourré or other bonus, you score 1,000 + 100 + 400 = 1,500; opponents score 650. Earlier, at 925 miles, a 75 would finish the hand while a 100 would be illegal.
Give each card type its own place
Separate distance, Battle, Speed and safety piles. Check the edition in your box before using these scores: this is a 1,000-mile four-player game, without a 700-mile extension decision. Coup fourré is a response to a hazard, not a chance to play an unrelated safety outside your turn.
Rule sources and version notes
Rules checked on 2026-10-18. The named version above is the one taught here. Examples and learning suggestions are written for this guide.