A reprint from an earlier edition, Formula D is a racing game from Asmodee for 2 to 10 players. Each person is a formula or street race driver competing on defined racetracks, trying to be first across the finish line. Out of the box the game offers two versions, a basic game and a set of advanced rules. Each player selects a driver, a car, a playing piece, and then they’re ready to race.

The player’s car is represented by an interesting player mat. Pegs are inserted into slots on a cardboard sheet over a plastic frame box which represent the current gear cars are in, and the boards also have spaces to keep track of damage incurred while racing. Each player takes a turn based on their pole position initially or based on their current track position as the race progresses. To move players roll special dice matching the gear that they are in, and then simply move the spaces indicated by their die roll. Yes, it’s a roll and move game but with a bit more nuance.

First are the gears. Each higher gear is represented by a higher numbered faced die. Additionally the die numbers are not normally distributed. An eight sided die for example will go from at least 4 spaces up to a maximum of 8 spaces, with most die results ranging from 6 to 8. There are also restrictions on the lanes and spaces cars can pass through. In general once a player moves from one lane to another, they must either maintain that lane, or move again in the same diagonal direction. In corners this is further reinforced with each space indicating legal spaces using directional arrows. If a player gets behind another player on a straight section, they can gain a bonus slipstream move.

Corners are especially tricky. Each corner on the track has a specified number of stops. That means the player must end their turn movement a number of times matching the value of the corner. If the go too fast and can’t stop enough times within the curve, their car takes damage (in the advanced game it will be a specific car part). For some corners if a car doesn’t stop enough times passing through it, they crash automatically. A player can always move less spaces by braking, but this also puts wear damage on their car.

Additionally if ending their move next to another car, they might take damage determined by rolling a special die. If they ever exceed the damage their car can take, they crash and are out of the race. But this might be worth the risk because if you end up directly behind another player going fast enough and in at least 4th gear, you can get a bonus move for a few spaces using a slip stream maneuver (which can be chained to repeat again on a different car). The players continue taking turns until they run a certain number of laps, with the winner being the first crossing the finish line.

The basic rules offer a fun racing game. There are some difficult choices where a player has to decide if it’s worth downshifting a few gears to navigate through a tight corner, or be risky and incur a little tire damage by braking. You might consider keeping in a middle gear on a straightaway, hoping to end up directly behind a player gaining extra movement so you can easily slip down to a lower gear for a tight corner, rather than just pushing a high gear on those straightaways. Positioning yourself on the board to get the optimal number of stops in the highest gear possible is a key point to the game.

The advanced game opens up more depth. Instead of a single type of car damage, you incur damage to specific components. This leads to the importance having a pit stop mid-race to repair tire damage. These car components are impacted by different actions. Also each racer can tweak the starting component values of their cars or provide a special ability, offering another layer of variation among the cars. Lastly there are rules for weather and track effects, team races, and rules for a longer league circuit.

The game comes with a formula race track and a street race map on the opposite side. The street race has different road conditions, hazards, and additional challenges. This can be a fun change from the vanilla flavor of a proper formula track.

The Good – The concept of rolling higher-faced dice as you go up in gears is clever. It’s balanced with having to stop a set number of times passing through corners, giving the managing of braking and shifting gears while trying to cover as much ground as possible a challenge to work out during your turns. All the while you have to monitor the wear and tear to your car.

The components are excellent, with bright, colorful art for the tracks, to solid cardstock and plastic bits for cars. Some of the driver art is a tad cartoon-like but it works. Yes, you won’t find a hyper-realistic depiction of formula racing. You will find a spectacle of pieces and game bits to sprawl out over the table.

The Bad – Experienced players will find optimal paths on tracks, learning the ‘best’ routes to navigate the course (which somewhat mimics the real thing). If you play the hell out of the game, eventually you will be learning the sweet lane spots for taking corners, so the game can become a tad like a mechanical exercise if you don’t embrace the theme. The play with multiple individual players can drag some with downtime. There can be a little interaction with the bumping of cars, but you are pretty much sitting around waiting for your turn. Working in teams of cars seems to work best rather than every driver for themselves.

The Verdict – Formula D is a fun racing game. I think what works especially well is that it can offer a light racing game to new players, then turn around and provide something with more bookkeeping and interesting racing conditions with the advanced rules. There are many race track expansions available which certainly adds to the variety of tracks to race with, stretching out the value of the game. Over the recent years there have been some other games released that likely capture a more realistic feel of car racing, but Formula D offers an enjoyable game with some strategy and a dash of luck. Combined with the colorful components and board, it’s worth picking up if looking for a more approachable racing game.