User Guide

Overview

Blindfold Horse Race is a fully accessible racing game, for both sighted and visually impaired people, designed for rapid audio play.
The object of the game is use your fingers to race your horse against other horses on a racetrack.

You race your horse by alternately walking your index and middle fingers on the screen, from the top to the bottom.
It’s similar to the flick down gesture, except your fingers are on the screen longer than a flick. The faster your fingers walk, the faster your horse runs.

In the main menu, select Learn to Race. Start by walking your fingers slowly, and you will hear your horse trot slowly.
As you increase the speed of your fingers, your horse gallops faster and faster.
Once you get the hang of it, you are ready to calibrate this game.
Swipe down with 3 fingers, and run your fingers as fast as you can.
That teaches this game your maximum speed, and when you use this finger speed, your horse is running as fast as it can.
Sometimes that’s enough to beat the other horses in the race, sometimes its not.

One you’ve have cailbrated this game for your galloping, you should test your horse in a time trial.
Swipe up with 3 fingers to return to the main menu.
A time trial is one furlong, and usually takes about 12 seconds.
Select the Time Trial game and see how fast your horse runs.

Now you are ready for your first race. More information about each race is in the Games guide.

Picking Horses

In the main menu, press Pick Horses. You can name your horse, and choose which horses to race against.
If you don’t choose your horses, they are picked randomly. You can also change the horse’s names and their racing profile.
To customize or select a horse, you need the CHOOSE HORSE in-app upgrade.

Making the game more challenging

You can have the horse stumble and fall down if you accidentally run both your fingers at the same time. Horses always run one leg at a time.
They only use both legs when jumping. You can turn on stumble mode in the settings screen.

Types of races

Refer to the games guide for details on different lengths of the straight track, steeplechase and figure 8 track.
There are over 15 different types of races included with this game.
If you are using voice-over, swipe down with 3 fingers to move through the game list in the main menu.

Games

To exit from this screen, tap in the upper right corner.
If you are using voice-over, swipe up or down with 3 fingers to move through the list of games in the main menu.

Time Trial, 1 Furlong

One furlong is about one-eigth of a mile, and a fast horse can run one furlong in about 12 seconds.
You will hear a timer beep prior to your time trial, and then see fast your horse can run.

Race, 3 Furlongs

Three furlongs is a little less than half a mile, and takes about 30 to 40 seconds to reach the finish line.
You can name your horse, and you will race against two other horses.
Your horse is in post 2, in the center, and the other horses are in post 1 on the left and post 2 on the right.
In each race, you compete against two horses chosen randomly.
If you get the PICK HORSES upgrade, you can chose which horses you want to race against, and change their racing statistics.

Race, 5 Furlongs

Similar to the 3 furlong race; 5 furlongs is about 2/3 of a mile, and takes about a minute to reach the finish line.

Race, 1 mile

Similar to the 5 furlong race; and takes about a minute and a half to reach the finish line.

Steeplechase Time Trial, 1 Furlong

The Steeplechase Time Trial has 2 fences for your horse to jump over. To jump, swipe down with 3 fingers just prior to the fence, when you hear a dong indicating a fence.
The dong is sounded about 10 strides prior to the fence; if you are galloping at about 5 strides per second, you will hear the dong about 2 second before you get to the fence.
If you jump too soon, or too late, you will smash into the fence and lose the race.
If you jumped properly, you will hear ding-ding, and you can continue your galloping.
You can change the number of strides for jumping in the settings screen.

It’s easy to become a master jumper. When you hear the dong, walk your fingers 10 more times, and your horse is at the fence.
So if you alternately move your index finger, then your middle finger, move your index finger 5 times and your middle finger 5 times,
and then jump by swiping down with 3 fingers.

Steeplechase Race, 3 Furlongs

Similar to the 3 furlong race, except there are several fences for your horse to jump over. If you jump too soon or too late, you will smash into the fence and lose the race.
You can change what happens if you jump too soon or too late in the SETTINGS screen.
Normally, you will smash into the fence and lose the race, but you can instead be penalized when jump badly.
Each time you miss a fence, you will hear a several honks, and you are penalized 15 steps.

Steeplechase Race, 5 Furlongs

Similar to the 5 furlong race with several fences jumping.

Steeplechase Race, 1 mile

Similar to the 1 mile race with several fences for jumping.

Figure 8, Time Trial, 1 Furlong

In the figure 8 races, you must steer your horse right and left as you race down the track.
One twang means steer left by moving your phone to the left, two twangs means steer straight ahead, and theree twangs means steer to the right.
If you don’t hear any twangs, that means you are going the correct way.
If you do hear twangs, steer left if you hear one, steer right if you hear three and steer staight if you hear two.

The Figure 8 has only left and right steering – there are no straightawys in the course.
The course starts with a veer to the left, then veers right, and then veers left again.
The first time you race on the Figure 8 racetrack, the game will calibrate your left and right arm movements.

Long Figure 8, Time Trial, 1 Furlong

This time trial is the same as the Figure 8 track, but there are two straightaways.
The course starts with a veer to the left, followed by a long straightaway, then veers to the right, then another straightaway, then veers left again.

Figure 8 Race, 3 Furlongs

Similar to the 3 Furlong race, but you need to steer.
You are penalized when you don’t steer properly.

Long Figure 8 Race, 5 Furlongs

Similar to the 5 Furlong race, but you need to steer, and you are penalized for steering badly.

Long Figure 8 Race, 1 Mile

Same as Long Figure 8 Race, but longer.

Steeplechase Figure 8 Race, 3 Furlongs

Similar to the 3 Furlong race, but you need to steer.
You are penalized when you don’t steer properly, or when you miss a jump
Remember, the twang tells you which way steer, and the dong tells you that a jump is coming up.

Steeplechase Long Figure 8 Race, 5 Furlongs

Similar to the Steeplechase Figure 8 Race, 3 Furlongs, but there are long straightaways.

Steeplechase Long Figure 8 Race, 1 Mile

Similar to the Steeplechase Figure 8 Race, 5 Furlongs.