Dubbed 'A Tactical Sailing Game', Windshifts uses a novel game system combined with unusual components to recreate international yacht racing.The board is randomly created as the race develops using 19 plastic cards that lock together. These plastic cards are marked with lines indicating wind direction and strength in that area. The race is in three segments, a windward leg, a downwind leg, and then another windward leg to the finish line. As portions of the race are completed, the cards from that segment are returned to the draw pile to be reused later in the game.There are no spaces on the board. The direction of movement is determined by the lines across the plastic map cards. The distance a ship moves is determined by the wind strength and the ship's bearing in relation to the wind.The ships have clear plastic bases with a numbered wheel mounted in the center. As the ship is moved across the map, the wheel in the center turns, and each number on the wheel indicates one unit of movement.A plastic 'windshadow' card is used to determine when an opposing boat is in 'disturbed air' - this differs based on whether the boats are on the downwind or windward leg. - BoardGameGeek