Image Courtesy of TVisAll of my 'Light Reviews' aim to offer a brief overview that allows people to get a good feel for what the game may offer them, the options involved and general flow of play.
Summary
Game Type - Card Game
Play Time : 10-40 minutes
Number of Players: 3-6
Mechanics - NA
Difficulty - Pick-up & Play (Learn in 10 minutes)
Components - Good to Very Good
Theme & Overview
The first thing you notice about this game is that it has an auto theme and it is from...Reiner Knizia?! But like any good Knizia game, the theme used here could really be anything...say adventurers clambering to be the first to dig their hands into the treasure chest and scoop out as many goodies as they can carry.
Taking my tongue out of my cheek for a moment, the theme does fit pretty well with the nature of motor sport as Formula Motor Racing is all about jockeying for position during a race.
So I guess I should concede and admit that the fit is pretty good.
The Components
The components in Formula Motor Racing are not mind blowing but they are above the average quality expected from a small box, filler game such as this.
The Cars - These are the centerpiece of the game. Each player receives 2 cars in a single colour, which represents their team. They are made from a hard plastic and include all of the key features that you would expect - wheels, driver in cockpit and rear wing. As much as my Aussie male heritage frowns on this sort of thing, I am given no option but to declare that they are.....cute.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
The Cards - The most important components though are the cards as they drive (he he ) the play. Whilst I prefer matte finish cards, the glossy cards provided are pretty good. They are identical in quality to those used in Battleline. The artwork is not mind blowing but it is certainly functional.
Icons are used in the top corners (which are helpful to identify them quickly in a fanned hand) and some cards also use text to outline their effect on the game.
Six Pit Crew cards are also provided to outline which player is which colour.
Image Courtesy of ZiggyZambo
Track Board - The new release of the game comes with a thin 1-flip cardboard board. This depicts the track and has room for all 12 cars in the race. It is used to help keep track of each car's position as the race develops. Parallel to the race track is a Crash Lane. This is likewise used to keep track of the order in which cars crash out of the race.
This board was not included with the game when it was originally released, with players simply placing their cars on the playing surface in order. 299
So this inclusion is not necessary to the enjoyment of the game but it is a nice inclusion.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Dice - A single D12 (12-sided dice) is provided and used to resolve various card effects (but not all).
Scoresheets - A set of double sided scoresheets are also provided to help keep track of each team's results between races. These are handy I guess but not really necessary. I haven't used mine and find a pad and pen just as easy to use. If I was down to 1 left, I wouldn't even go to the trouble of photocopying it.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Rules - The rules are well written and help clarify a couple of the cards that are more involved (feature text). They also include a summary regarding how many of each card exists. This can be important in a game of this nature.
A copy of the scoresheet is also provided on the back page of the rulebook.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
The Set-up
Each player must choose which coloured team they will play and take their 2 cars. All Pit Crew cards are then randomly shuffled and drawn one at a time. This helps determine each player's starting positions for the first race.
The first card drawn will see the player holding the cars of that colour, place their cars in position 1 and position 12. In this way each player will have a relative front runner and a car that has some work to do.
It's also important to note that all 12 cars are used in every game. So if less than 6 players are playing, the other team cars (colours) not chosen will serve as neutral racers that still compete with the human players. These cars can still earn points in each race (see below) and they can add a nice dynamic to the game as player's try to use them to their advantage or their opponents disadvantage (taking up valuable places in the point positions). 872