K. David Ladage
United States
Cedar Rapids
Iowa
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Formula De
By: Laurent Lavaur, Eric Randall
Published: Asmodee (Eurogames)
Web: http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/jeux_versions/formula-d_6.p... (Formula D edition)
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A Brief History
As a kid, I loved racing. I was not so much a circuit-racing fan (e.g., Formula 1, NASCAR, etc), I was a drag-racing fan. Once, while living in Michigan, I had the honor of meeting Shirley Muldowney and got to see her pink dragster.
From a 'go to the races' perspective, drag racing is awesome, in my opinion; you get those short bursts of incredible adrenaline, that tension of waiting for the next race to begin as you watch things like the canned-car of the "Boston Shaker" as they prep the tires and so on... Circuit racing, on the other hand, is several hours of watching guys turn left at high speeds.
From a 'board game' perspective, drag racing would not be very much fun. The game would be over too quickly, and the ability to make good strategic and tactical choices would be extremely limited. Circuit racing, on the other hand, is a great topic and theme for a board-game. Ups and downs are taking place, and the choice you can infuse into the mechanics of the game are wide-ranging and varied.
My first exposure to a true 'modern' piece of circuit racing was Circus Maximus (and later, Circus Imperium). Prior to that, I had played games like 'Win, Place, and Show' and the like. But Circus Maximus was a game changer for me. Choices had to be made prior to the game starting, in the game, and each choice had short term and long term consequences. It was great game design. The best overall circuit racing game I have encountered since those days -- and the only one that surpasses it, in my opinion, is Formula De.
Note: Formula De is the edition I am reviewing, as this is the edition I own. However, I have played the latest edition -- Formula D -- and the differences in the game are minor enough that this review will function equally well as a review of the new version. Those very few changes that one might stretch to the point of counting them as significant, are improvements in production values and clarifications to the rules (as well as the addition of Circus-Maximus-like customization of cars in non-Formula-One racing within the game).
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines...
Formula De is played on one of a number of tracks that come with the game or are a part of the myriad of track expansions that have come out (note: the tracks from the De and D editions of the game are completely compatible). You you are playing with five or less players, each player has the option of playing more than one cars (in general, players will play two cars, with a limit of 10 on the track); with more than five players, it is recommended that players play only one car -- although in practice, letting less experienced players have a second car on the track while veteran players have one is not a bad idea.
Cars start in first gear (obviously), and can advance in gears, or drop down in gears as the game progresses. The gear the car is in determines the die rolled, which will determine the number of spaces the car will move. The dice (and the distribution of numbers) are:
1st Gear: ( d4) 1- 2 (average: 1.5)
2nd Gear: ( d6) 2- 4 (average: 3.3)
3rd Gear: ( d8) 4- 8 (average: 6.4)
4th Gear: (d12) 7-12 (average: 9.5)
5th Gear: (d20) 11-20 (average: 15.5)
6th Gear: (d30) 21-30 (average: 25.5)
There is also a standard d20 used for damage and other special rolls in the game.
Obviously, from the numbers you see above, the number of spaces on a track is relatively high. In fact, one of the base tracks that comes in the core game (Circuit #1 -- Monaco) will take a minimum of 170 spaces moved to complete a lap -- do not try this in first gear the whole way :).
On the first turn of the game, players will roll the standard d20 to see if they had a good start or not. If they roll a 20, they had a flying start and do not roll the 1st gear die -- they move 4 spaces instead (they may shift into second gear in the next turn). If they roll a 1, they had a bad start and do not move at all (they will move a normal 1st gear move in their next turn).
So... on your turn, you will decide is you are going to stay in the gear you are currently in, up-shift to the next gear, or downshift one or more gears to slow down. In any circuit racing game, some rule dealing with the speed one can take a curve needs to be included. In Circus Maximus, for example, each lane of a curve is labeled with the maximum safe speed; if you take that lane faster than this speed, then you risk damaging the chariot with rolls that determine what happens modified by the amount of speed you are in excess of the safe speed. Formula De has a simpler, more interesting mechanic.
Each curve is clearly marked with its boundaries. A flag at that curve indicates the turns you must spend in the curve (i.e., how many time you must end your turn in the curve). If you do not meet this minimum, then you will damage your car. This is a significant difference from earlier racing games! And it is a vast improvement. This offers you the ability to hit the curve at the end of a turn in a high gear and meet the requirements, or if you end your turn too close to the curve, force you to slow down or risk damage. Some of the best choices you have to make in the game involve this dilemma.
Speaking of damage, cars in Formula De have tire points (4), brake points (3), fuel points (2), body points (2), and engine points (2). Each of these can be marked off in different ways.
Overshooting a curve: If you fail to make the necessary number of turns in a given curve, then the number of spaces you went past the end of the curve is the number of tire points that are marked off (assuming you only missed the number of turns by one; if you missed it by more than this, the car is just plain eliminated from the race). When the last tire point is marked off, the car will spin out, stop, and have to start their next turn in first gear again. Any tire points marked off while the car has zero remaining will eliminate the car from the race.
Braking:: If you want to slow down after rolling the die, you need to brake. Each brake point marked off will slow the car down by one space. Once the last brake point is marked off... you cannot perform the braking maneuver for the remainder of the race.
Blocking: If you find that you are behind another car and cannot move around them... then you are blocked. This will require brake points to avoid (as long as you have them), and tire points to make up the difference (as long as you have them). If you do not have them... then the car is eliminated.
Excessive Downshifting: You can downshift one gear without issues. Downshift more than this and you can over-rev the engine. Two gears will cost you a fuel point; three gears will cost you a fuel and a brake point; four gears will cost you a fuel, brake and an engine point. Downshifting five gears.... not happening. You may only downshift a number of gears with which you have points to spend.
Collisions: "Rammin' a car," an old NASCAR fan once said, "is wrong. But rubbin'? Rubbin's racin'!" If a car ends its movement directly behind or beside another car... there is a potential for paint to be swapped. Each car in the potential collision rolls the standard d20; on a 1 they will lose a body point.
If the game is running more than one lap, the cars receive additional points for the car (6x tire, 4x brakes, 3x fuel, 3x body, 3x engine); there are additional rules for replacing the tires in the pits. Advanced rules are included that allow drafting, time-trials, various types of tires, weather conditions, three lap races, car-construction, suspensions, and repairing other elements of the car in the pit stops. The game can grow to be as detailed as you would like it to be!
Conclusions
Back in the day, I loved Circus Maximus (and to a lesser degree, Circus Imperium). I had played other racing games as I indicated above. But none capture the world of racing with as much fun, simplicity, and depth as Formula De. If you like racing games, I cannot urge you enough to try this one. You will not regret it.
If the guys that designed this game are reading this -- thank you. And please, please, see if you can buy the rights to Circus Maximus and apply your magic to that game. I would love to see a modern, updated version of that classic!
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Jon K
United States
Sacramento
California
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Very nice review. I received Formula De from my Secret Santa (Thanks again, Santa) and have enjoyed many games!
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