Game: Formula-1

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

chiarasdad — 2007-12-18T23:01:46+00:00

Have just obtained a copy of Formula One, which I used to play as a kid. Playing it with my son, we have adopted a couple of modified Speed Circuit rules.

1. Order of movement is in race order. If a tie, then higher speed. If still tied, lower brake wear, then lower tire wear, then die roll.

2. Slipstreaming: If you start a turn directly behind another car you may take a 1 space bonus if travelling at 100 to 120 or a 2 space bonus if travelling at 140 to 160

3. Qualifying: 1 lap with 2 tactic cards. Fewest turns for pole position. If equal, furthest past winning line on final turn. If still equal, total wear points on tires and brakes. Until third corner, grid position counts as first tiebreaker for turn order.

Speed Circuit tracks can be used with only slight modifications.

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

Marcus de Bassus — 2007-12-15T14:15:20+00:00

And...although I really did love it as a kid,(those steering wheels are really cool.) Speed Circuit is an improvement in almost every way. No "SPLIT" corners!

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

dave45 — 2007-12-14T12:09:50+00:00

I owned this game quite a few years ago. I found it in a charity shop & paid about 20p for it. I sold it about a year later at "GamesDay" on their bring & buy stall (this was in the days before ebay). It sold for about £10. Quite a nice profit for me

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

BrouHaHa — 2007-12-14T10:08:19+00:00

Great review. This was one of my favourite games as a kid and I made a number of different maps for it to extend its life. Haven't played for a few years now, but I still like this game. It looks great and holds tension well throughout. Can't wait until my kids are old enough to play this - my oldest son LOVES all things cars right now, so it's sure to be a winner!

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

NikTheRake — 2007-12-14T08:33:09+00:00

Nice review. Our local (gatewayish) group play Formula 1 from time to time and ususally enjoy it. Like all such race games, players should make their moves fast with minimal square counting.

My peeve with this game is the unrealistic track which splits and rejoins itself like no circuit I ever saw, but I can live with that for the fun element.

Peter

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

fmoros — 2007-12-14T07:59:46+00:00

Goooood review! thanks,
I actually dont mind the oldish look , actually, I think is great.
I like old looking games.
Your review makes me want to try the game, I do have a copy, but i have never played it.

thanks and happy games
fer
sk

Thread: Re: A shameful secret...

Marcus de Bassus — 2007-12-14T05:30:49+00:00

I have an old Parker Bros. version with metal cars.

Thread: A shameful secret...

Badgerman — 2007-12-14T03:32:25+00:00

...when I'm not putting generic Eurocubes on my Agricola farmstead, I'm actually a bit of a petrolhead.

I know this goes against everything a true geek should stand for, but it's not my fault! I blame Waddingtons - in the early 60's they created Formula-1. In the mid 70's I was given a copy of this game. What can I say... I was young, impressionable and Herr Knizia wouldn't design a game for another decade! Waddingtons were offering me the thrill of motor racing in a game with a difference. It didn't use dice! (Well, not for moving at least!) Perhaps this is where my dislike of roll and move games began...

I was parted from the game in the 80's, but by then I was regularly found at various circuits, watching motorbikes and cars speeding round the tracks. Two years ago, whilst out thrifting, I found a copy of this gem from my past. These days the thrill of cardboard is just as great as the thrill of actual motor racing - I had to buy it!

Now, three decades after I first played it, how has this game stood the test of time?

What's in the box?
The track - This is printed on a 4-piece 'jigsaw' board.
There are six 'dashboards', one for each player - These have separate dials for speed, tire wear, brake wear and a lap counter.
Two decks of cards - A 'Pit' deck and a 'Tactic' deck.
Two dice
A penalty chart
Most important of all, six cars.

At first sight, time hasn't been kind. Those mean and nasty racing teams have changed car designs. The 60's styling of the cars really looks dated. Just compare them with the cars from Formula Dé:

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A bit of background:
The games made by Waddingtons during the 60's have one thing in common: The rules are horrendous - not in terms of mechanics, they're good. They just couldn't explain them clearly. Waddingtons were fond of creating new mechanics for their games. Selling their games to Britain, a nation where board games consisted of Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly and Clue (Cluedo in English!), made it difficult to explain the new concepts.

Once you get past the awkward phrasing of the rules and get down to playing, the true genius of the game shines through. When Formula-1 was created, the natural idea would have been to make it a roll and move game. Waddingtons realised that this would take away some of the realism of the game and worked out a way round it. (Remember kids, in 1962 people didn't know about dice other than the good old d6! Formula De had it easy with the range of poly-dice available.)

Gameplay:
The players determine their order of play. A die roll is the suggested method. Interestingly, the colour of each player's car is determined by their turn order. The first player is always yellow, then orange, green, red, black and blue. (No fighting over who gets the blue piece in this game!) Each player places their car in the appropriate space on the grid and the race begins.

The beauty of Formula-1 is in its dice-free movement. The circuit is divided into small rectangular spaces. The number of spaces a car can move each turn depends on its speed. They can move one space for every 20mph. (So a car travelling at 100mph can move 5 spaces.) The players can choose how fast they will move. Acceleration of up to 60mph is allowed each turn with speeds set in 20mph increments. The top speed is 160mph. Slowing down by up to 20mph each turn is also allowed - harsher braking is penalised!

So why not accelerate to 160mph and sit at that speed for the entire race? Quite simply, there are corners involved. Each corner has red spaces showing the safe speed. Take the corner at this or a lower speed and you will be perfectly safe. But that won't win the race! Each corner can be taken at up to 40mph over the safe speed. When this is done the player rolls two dice and consults the penalty chart. The chart shows the penalty incurred. For example, the red car takes a corner at 120mph but the safe speed is only 100mph. The player rolls 2d6 and gets 4. On the chart, this shows that they take 1 point of tyre damage. You can also damage the brakes, spin off the track, or you may be lucky and take no penalty.

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A car that spins off is placed at the side of the track, its speed is set to 0mph and it rejoins the race on the next turn. Spinning off will also happen if you have completely worn out your tyres or brakes and need to take a further penalty. It also happens if you try taking a corner at 60mph or more over the safe speed.

Heavy braking (a reduction of more than 20mph) is allowed but this severely damages brakes and tyres. Any damage can be repaired at the end of a lap by making a pit stop.

If things are sounding a bit too easy, there are a few extra tricks thrown in:

Baulking
This is where a car is positioned, blocking the track and preventing another car from using its full movement. If the baulked car is travelling slower than the blocking car, it just moves into the space behind. If it was travelling faster then it must slam on the brakes - potentially causing damage!

Pit Stops
These are good things, they fix your car. That's true, but they may cause problems. Whenever you make a pit stop you draw a card and follow the instructions before leaving on your next turn. Some will make you miss a turn, others let you take corners at higher speeds without penalty.

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Sometimes you'll just want to fire your pit crew!

Tactics
At the start of the race each player is dealt 5 tactic cards. These represent special plans your team has for the race. Each card can be used once during the race then it is discarded. All the tactic cards are beneficial but you need to judge the best time to play them. Some let you move a few extra spaces, others will let you get a quick start from the grid or pits. Use these well and you may well find yourself on the podium. My favourite trick was using a tactic card to make a pit stop at 160mph! (Then I usually stalled the car in the pits!)

Conclusions:
This game looks dated, the rules are written in gibberish and there are many newer motor racing games on the market. So why would anyone want to play this? Let me try and explain...

It may look dated, but there is a kind of kitsch coolness to its looks. The pieces may be plastic, but I really don't care (There goes my Eurosnoot club membership for next year!) There is something in this game's 1960's styling that makes it feel so right!

Getting over the poorly written rules? Play the game a few times and you realise that the rules are really very intuitive. By your third race you won't need them any more.

Newer rivals? Don't get me wrong, I like Formula De. But the gameplay for Formula-1 just feels so much better.

If you haven't played this game and you get the opportunity, play it. You won't be disappointed.

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Badgerman — 2007-12-14T03:04:48+00:00

There are times you need to fire your pit crew!

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Badgerman — 2007-12-14T01:35:36+00:00

For comparison - Formula De 'Go Karts' join the race!

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Badgerman — 2007-12-14T00:46:02+00:00

Race in progress

Thread: Re: formula one or formula de?

Tony La Morte — 2007-11-16T17:33:07+00:00

IMHO Speed Circuit is far and away the best F1 game.

Formula De is not a bad game which could easily be better if the dice were not so varied. What is there in 5th gear 10 space difference? That's HUGE!

Thread: Re: formula one or formula de?

RobertBr — 2007-06-11T09:56:06+00:00

"...however I actually think F1 is a better game! "

Without a shadow of a doubt. Formula De is essentially a rip-off, the differences being there not to improve the game but to avoid any legal issues. Its a pity no-one would re-release this.

Robert

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fellonmyhead — 2006-12-29T23:54:18+00:00

British 1964-1974 version

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FitisGames.be — 2006-12-22T15:08:11+00:00

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FitisGames.be — 2006-12-22T15:08:07+00:00

Thread: Re: HELP---I A HAVE PROBLEM ON UNDERSTANDING SOME RULES TO P

wild_angel1970 — 2006-10-01T01:14:11+00:00

Thank you all. It was very fast and accurate your help. I hope you all have a great weekend we will finaly play this old but interesting game.regards

Thread: Re: HELP---I A HAVE PROBLEM ON UNDERSTANDING SOME RULES TO P

tool — 2006-09-30T20:22:30+00:00

I haven't played the game, but looking at the penalty chart pictured in the game entry, the penalties are NOT the same in all cases. Look at what happens if you roll a 7 - if you are at +40, there is a penalty, but there is NO penalty if you are at +20, because there is no entry in the +20 column.

Thread: Re: HELP---I A HAVE PROBLEM ON UNDERSTANDING SOME RULES TO P

wild_angel1970 — 2006-09-30T18:49:46+00:00

Thank you for your reply, but I still dont get it. I am not DAHHH or anything its juts like...let me describe the Penalty Chart
Column 1 is Number of Dice second column is Speed Over Safety Speed and that is divided into two sub columns that 1st column is +20 and the second +40 the third column is the Penalty. So lets say that I run +20 then the penalty is the same even if I run with +40. for example if my die is 2 then the penantly for either +20 or +40+ is the same NO PENALTY. If my die is lets say 8 then +20 and +40 is Tire wear 1. What I want to say is that there isnt different columns of penalties if you have +20 or +40. Thats why I am so puzzled about it. What is the purprose then to have two subcolumns with +20 and +40 when there isnt any bpointand the results are the same? So if you speed up more than +20 and +40 the penalty is just to spin off? Thanks again for everything I just6 really wanna paly that game that seem so funny and good.regards

Thread: Re: HELP---I A HAVE PROBLEM ON UNDERSTANDING SOME RULES TO PLAY

Kevin_Whitmore — 2006-09-29T03:13:08+00:00

I don't have the chart in front of me, but basically it is a complete reference. So if you are travelling at +20 over the posted speed limit, you roll the dice and look up your result under the +20 column. If you were going 40 mph over the limit you would look under that column.

As to the results. Yes some results are the same, whether you are + 20 or +40. But it would really be confusing if it didn't tell you what the result was supposed to be!

If you spin off, you place your car on the red spin-off space. Set your speedometer down to 0 mph, and accelerate away on your following turn. It is possible for more than one car to be on the same spin-off spot.

Good luck,

Kevin

Thread: HELP---I A HAVE PROBLEM ON UNDERSTANDING SOME RULES TO PLAY

wild_angel1970 — 2006-09-29T01:35:38+00:00

Hi there, can anyone help me with some rules please? I dont understand why on the penatly board there are two speeds +2- and +40 column but the penalty is the same. I just cant read that board can anyone expelain to me? Also explain to me as simple as you can the Spining off...I just dont u8nderstand the way is being explained in the book of instructions. I think is great game and I am not able to play it. So any help is vital.

Thread: Re: My Introduction Into 1960s F1 Racing

PsyJam — 2006-07-21T19:15:23+00:00

Ah junk, what's this Bolide business? Sounds like something else I'll have to buy.

Thread: Re: My Introduction Into 1960s F1 Racing

DarrellKH — 2006-07-21T17:54:05+00:00

You can do better than that.

Get Bolide. If you want tactical planning, Bolide has it all over Formula De.

Thread: My Introduction Into 1960s F1 Racing

PsyJam — 2006-07-21T16:55:21+00:00

It all starts like this..

My coworker Marc finds out that I'm really into board games, and I find out that he's a NASCAR fanatic. He tells me that he doesn't have any Nascar games, but that he does have this one particular game that he plays almost religiously - Formula 1 (F1).

We talk about it, he explains the basic premise. At this point, I am familiar with Forumla De and I start to draw similarities in my mind. He's really keen to show me F1 and how he dominates the track.

Weeks go by.

Last night, finally, we arrange for a night of games at Marc's house. We start off with some Modern Art (which goes down very well) before proceeding to the F1 game, and at this time, we have 6 players (including myself) who will be participating.

Marc brings out the old, battered box that's missing many sides. He flops the board down on the table and spills out the metal 60s cars.. (they all look like the 'car' piece from Monopoly, but different colours) Dashboards are given out (!!!) that show your car's status (speed, tire and break damage) and tactic cards are also given out.

Now, whenever you're playing a game that has been in someone's family for an amazing number of years, you feel that much more compelled to beat the owner, and I was rearin' to go.

We decide on a 3-lap race, and have at it. I was just following (pretty much) everyone else by playign at tactic card off the bat, but I kept my speed realtively low around the corners as to avoid damage. The other guys, though, are screaming through the corners and taking massive damage.. "It's time to stop being so damn conservative", says I, to myself.

1 lap down, all cars are good. Marc has a clear lead with his wife following closely behind him. Second lap, I block one of the competitors (although I didn't really realize I was doing it), and she was most unhappy.

Flying around the corners, still, fiddling with my dashboard and making approrpriate adjustments. Marc is coming up to begin his third and final lap while I'm still 2 turns away from where he is. I may be in contention for 3rd place, I'm thinking, as one of the other drivers has to make a pitstop to fix his battered car.

Marc takes a 'voluntary spin out' on the first turn of lap three (house rules, I suppose) and on his next turn, plays the tactic card that brings him right up to 120mph. I'm all over it, no way does that make sense. Is this racing?

Carrying on, Marc remains the clear leader, with his wife in a solid second place - the rest of us forced to jockey for 3rd place. As Marc crosses the finish line first, and his wife second, I look at the baord and decide to do the same move that Marc had done previously - do a voluntary spinout and then use one of my remaining tactic cards to speed right up to 120mph. Ok. Unfortunately, the girl whom I cut off earlier hasn't forgotten and is out for revenge. Right after my beautiful move, she cuts in front of me and i'm forced to miss my turn.

In the end, the girl that I blocked in the second lap came 3rd, while the guy who pitstoppped came in 4th, and because I was blocked on the crucial turn I ended up in 5th.

All and all, pretty fun and fast. I'm trying to get the same folks into someting a bit more contemporary - say - Formula De - but that's ... another story.

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DavemanUK — 2006-06-03T00:54:30+00:00

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DavemanUK — 2006-06-03T00:18:20+00:00

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Der Das — 2005-12-22T17:34:56+00:00

'Formule 1', board of Dutch edition by Smeets & Schippers

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Der Das — 2005-12-22T17:34:56+00:00

Thread: Re:Rule changes

Triggy — 2005-04-30T00:52:50+00:00

bhwsyd (#25303),
Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I recall, you must slow for a corner if able to do so (as permitted by your remaining brake and tyre wear) to a maximum of +40 over the speed limit. If this is the case then it simply stops the problem you have!

Thread: Session Report

andyc32 — 2004-11-17T15:10:05+00:00

My four-year-old and I started playing this in July 2004. He loves racecars and the dashboards were irresistable. We play the game with everything except the tactics cards, and he has quickly grasped the risk/reward of pushing his car vs. playing it safe. The only tension is getting him to agree to go less than 10 laps...

We have played about 10 games, all without the Tactics cards, and he has beaten me about five times. He really doesn't like losing, but he's getting better and better about it.

Thread: Re:formula one or formula de?

wheelnut — 2004-11-15T23:24:53+00:00

Floydski (#64105),

thanks...you spotted I posted on both sites (waddingtons and formula de!).

thanks for links also.

Currently we are mainly playing formula one (the lads went away last week to make their own tracks)

Regards

Andy

Thread: Re:formula one or formula de?

Floydski — 2004-11-07T15:38:23+00:00

wheelnut (#64099),

(I posted this on the Formula De thread as it was the first place I saw it)

I also love Waddingtons Formula One. And if you want tracks grab a bunch of Speed Circuit tracks available around the web(I think there around 50?). Since Speed Circuit is based on Waddingtons Formula One, very little modifications need to be made to the track(mostly corner speed areas - for the dice roll). I've done a few myself.
Pittsburgh, NY(Long Beach) and Australia.

As far as cars for both games. The metal ones made by/for Formula De are outstanding metal replicas of real cars. Sleepy Hollow makes a whole line of ALM cars(including Porche, Viper, Mercedes, etc). Khalsa Brain makes a set of metal Formula Racers, Stock Cars, old style Formula, and a fantasy set.
Vintage Formula Cars(60's) & Classic Formula Cares from the 70's(ie. Tyrell 6 wheeler, etc) which are supposed to be available soon.These will be available at CafePressGames & FunAgainGames lists them with some photos also.

I think the scale is 1/400 BTW.

-Floyd

Sleepy Hollow models - http://www.sleepyhollowmodels.com/

Khalsa Brain - http://www.kbgames.com/

Vintage Formula Cars & Classic Formula Cares from the 70's.

http://69.20.104.232/control/keywordsearch/~PARTY_ID=016893:MANUFACTURER/~SHOW_UNAVAIL=N/

Thread: formula one or formula de?

wheelnut — 2004-11-07T15:15:21+00:00

Which is best Formula de or waddington's formual 1?

I have recently got hold of formula 1 which I find a simple but effective game. Having no dice, really does feel right. At first the tactic cards annoyed me but now I see they are essential part of the game; without them there is not enough variablitiy. Now I come on to formula de - Formula de gets its varaiblity from the dice. The dice do not vary things as much as I first thought. I am still awaitng my copy via e-bay but I did download a circuit and the basic rules from this site to try it out (I cant wait...). Formula de took longer to play than F1 and I am not sure about the collision rules? They seem too harsh. The pit rules are really confusing to me also (only raced a one lap race so far).

I cannot believe F1 has not got a bigger following? I think because the game graphics, style and rules are simplistic it puts people off; however the rules are expandable and I am just drafting some "advanced rules" for tyres, fuel, car design, etc. I also cannot believe there are not any other circuits available. I am putting a few together myself. This is where formula de and it's ardent following win over. The array of circuits and material available are a real plus...however I actually think F1 is a better game!

Regards Andy.W
andrew@wheeler1705.fsnet.co.uk

PS What are the best cars to use for fromula de (and F1 for that matter). Micromachines seem too big. I know formula de do there own? What size or scale of cars work best?

Thread: Re:Rule changes

wheelnut — 2004-11-06T20:33:47+00:00

bhwsyd (#25303),
I have the game alos...I think it as an easy game to play (aimed at kids as well as adults) therefore it does lend itself to development. For a start more circuits...after a while you get to know the silverstone (I assume it is silverstone) too well. Next we thought of a random weather roll and tyre options. Just two types wet and dry. There would be penalties for driving on the wrong tyres. We thought a +20 risk would turn into a +40 risk! And maybe we thought knock off +20 on the speed. Inicdently I dony know if my rules I different due to the fact I have a 1970's version! Next we thought of fuel (included I think in the newer versions) with either a one, two or three stop strategy for 10 lap races. Cars with more fuel would lose 20 or even 40 mph from their top speed.

Thoughts...

andy

Thread: Rule changes

bhwsyd — 2004-01-08T20:35:14+00:00

I am curious as to specifically what rule changes are in use by seasoned players.

I bought a copy about a year ago, and certain trends in the way we play it have emerged. One in particular is to deliberately spin off on the turn just after the 'Energol' sign. Hence this is hit at 160mph, spin off without loss of brake or tyre points and you have to slow down to 80mph (or so) a few squares later anyway. Does anyone play a rule where a spin of at 60mph plus also requires a +40 dice throw?

As mentioned, I'm also after other tips to improve game play.

Thanking you in advance

bhw

Thread: Session Report

elevenbutnine — 2003-12-14T22:38:47+00:00

Ahh the memories. As I unpacked my ebay purchase of this fine game my mind wandered back to the late 1970's when men had proper haircuts and flares were flares.

This game, I think, was the first game I played (apart from chess) that didn't depend on dice to move your men. Many a happy hour was spent playing this with my older brother. I once came in a whole lap ahead of him as I recall.

Today I had 3 lapper against my girlfriend Lou. I started out by using all my tactic cards in the first lap to push ahead, together with driving aggressively to gain what i thought would be an unstoppable lead. Lou in fact spun off a couple of times as well but I still lost.

I had some heavy wear and tear on my Brakes and Tires. I was going to get into the pits at the end of lap two but misjudged and to my horror, overshot . This meant I was very cautious on last lap. Lou caught up on last bend after going round on the inside and breathtaking speed. She won by one space - and was very smug about it too.

I think this one will see some action in future. Possibly beer might be involved.

Thread: General Comment