Formula D review

Asmodee | Racing | £47.99 | 2-10 players | 60 minutes | www.asmodee.com 

Even if you’re not a big fan of Formula One, or racing for that matter, Formula D is still a game that’s well worth your attention. Up to 10 players can get involved with this game, which is more about risk versus reward than it is about racing cars. It’s also a title that scales up perfectly from very simple rules for beginners to more complex elements, like weather and different stats for racers, for experienced gamers.

The basic rules see you rolling a series of dice that represent the gears of a car and then moving the amount of spaces shown on the dice. The first gear die only lets you roll up to two spaces but, if you make it up to sixth gear, you’ll be able to roll the massive blue dice that has a maximum movement of 30 squares… there is no greater feeling than rolling that amazing blue dice. NO GREATER FEELING. You can move up the gears at the start of each turn, however you won’t be able to just start rattling through the dice straight away.

That’s because when you approach corners, you’ve got to stop at least once within a clearly marked area, which means you can’t just blast around the course. If you overshoot the corner you’ll ruin your tyres or engine and if you do that too many times you’ll be out of the race. 

As a result, you’ve got to work out what dice it’s going to be safe to use. Yes, you could go down a gear to make sure you safely make the corner but slowing down means your opponents could speed past you… but go to fast and you’ll spin out of control. Even with 10 players, Formula D is still an engrossing game because, basically, it’s huge fun to see someone completely mess up their roll, although the action can get a bit more dangerous as cars crash into each other.

Buy a copy here

Sometimes we may include links to online retailers, from which we might receive a commission if you make a purchase. Affiliate links do not influence editorial coverage and will only be used when covering relevant products.