Racing by centimeters and other Formula 1 thoughts

 I recently tried out a PnP racing game called Formula 1cm. And it pretty much is just what it says on the tin. A game about Formula 1 racing and measures. 

Here’s the core concept: you are playing a race as a dot-to-dot game where you supply the dots. You have an inventory of line segments of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 centimeters. You need to use each measure at least once but no more than three times.

Here’s where the actual game part is: you have to draw the lines freehand, not with a helpful ruler. And each player has three free challenges to accuse the other player of getting the measure wrong. They can accuse people after that but if they’re false accusations, the accuser has a penalty, being forced to use the shortest measure they have available.

And you can wear out your car by cutting corners and getting caught getting measures wrong. And you have to change lanes every move. There is some race car crunch mixed in.

The game comes with a lot of content. Twelve F1 tracks. Three kid-friendly tracks. Two more special tracks. A bunch of variant rules, including solitaire. Having so many tracks and variations is crucial to any kind of replay value because if you only had one or two maps, muscle memory would make them too easy.

I have tried it solitaire, which was perfectly pleasant. However, I am positive that the game sings at two-player. Having someone to mess with and who will mess with you will really add a lot to the gameplay.

I think there’s a very distinct dividing line for potential responses to Formula 1cm. If players don’t mind a no-frills pencil and paper game, I think they’ll enjoy it. If you need even a little bit of chrome, Formula 1cm is a hard no. 

Which is absolutely fine. We play games for fun and escapism and mental stimulation and social interaction. You shouldn’t be asked to play games that don’t work for you.

Of course, any Formula 1-themed game is going to be in the shadow of the Formula De/Formula D family of games. The gear dice system is both single and utterly brilliant. For me, that remains the gold standard. 

Sadly, for many reasons, I haven’t played Formula D in many years. (For one thing, the guy I know who has a bunch of tracks lives in another state lol) Almost every version of the game takes up some decent table space (Formula De Mini being the exception) and is a serious evening’s play. Is it worth the time and the space? Yes. But you have to have that time and space.

I think it’s a crying shame that it’s out of

print.

And Formula 1cm also brought me back to Rallytaire, a PnP that clearly was inspired by Formula D and is an absolute example of a shoestring game. It does a really good job giving me a ten-minute Formula D fix and I’m glad Formula 1cm made me go back to it.

I think the need for budget gaming, which has always been out there, has only become more important. And I think Formula 1cm is a valuable potential addition to that library.

My July gaming

When I actually looked at how many games I tried out in July, I was surprised. It wasn’t a crazy amount but it was a crazy month. (To be fair, I have a lot of crazy months)

Aquaducts was the only Print and Play game I put together in July. It’s also the only game I learned that I couldn’t play on a clipboard.

I have been playing a lot of In Hand games and Roll and Write games. And I love both those genres. But playing a tile-laying game for the first time in ages was very refreshing. I downright binged the game.

I also tried out a lot of games from Chris Anderson’s Tempus system. I am pretty sure that Tempus Infinitum is still in the prototype phase (and might not go beyond that) and was interesting but had issues. You could have setups that just don’t work.

I also played the first eight Tempus Quest episodes. Almost entirely on airplanes. The Tempus system games work well in limited spaces. No dice or cards. Just a pencil and a watch. The Tempus Quest games were better balanced than Tempus Imperium and explored what you could do when the system.

I didn’t think I was going to actually learn a Roll and Write game that actually used dice during July. Than I tried out Wheat & Ale and Rallytaire.

Wheat & Ale is about building an Arcadian community in a river valley. Very simple but I like how it isn’t just drawing stuff on a grid. There is actually a bit of engine building going on. 

And I finally have tried Rallytaire. It is like someone decided to remake Formula De as a Roll and Write that uses regular six-sided dice. For one player. I think there’s limited replay value but I love that it exists.

(I also wonder if you could revise it for multiplayer if you lived in a place where you can’t get Formula Dr)

I have no idea what August holds.

Rallytaire is Formula De built in a cave with a box of scraps

Rallytaire is:

A game from the first Solitaire Design Contest

A Roll and Write game

A Roll and Move game

The closest thing I’ve seen to a one-page Formula De

Honestly, Rallytaire feels like a game that designed on a bet. Can you make a race car game that just uses a piece of paper, a pencil and some dice? Oh, can you make it for one person and make it interesting?

(While I have also seen people compare Rallytaire to Rallyman, I haven’t played that game. (But it is available on Board Game Arena so now I’m interested) So Formula De is really what Rallytaire reminds me of and what I’ll keep referencing) 

There are three different sets of race tracks, each with three to four individual tracks. The number of turns it takes, plus how fast you go through the finish line, determine your time and the only challenge is beating your old times. 

There are advanced rules where you manage brakes and tires and engine. Effectively ways of fine tuning your play. These are simple enough additions that you should really just play use them.

Okay, like Formula De, Rallytaire is all about managing gears and corners. In Formula De, each gear is a different speciality die and each corner has a set number of times you have to stop on it. 

In Rallytaire, each gear has an automatic distance you move and a number of standard six-sided dice you roll. You get an extra space of movement for each 4, 5 or 6 you roll. As for corners, each corner has a maximum gear you can be in. You can drift to be in one higher gear but corners are grouped together and you can only drift once per group.

It has been a long time since I’ve played Formula De or any of its descendants. I understand there are groups that would actually not just play it but run tournaments or seasons or whatever you would call a whole bunch of races in a row. I still keep a copy of Formula De Mini in the closet. The formula of Formula De is a solid one. You don’t push your luck or hope that you have luck. You manage your luck.

And while Rallytaire doesn’t perfectly capture that, it does a remarkably good job of it with a minimalist production. (In fact, I wonder if you could use its rules on a Formula De track. Fan made tracks are out there and this might work if you don’t have the speciality dice. Which I do so I don’t have any reason to try it)

Which actually highlights the biggest drawback of Rallytaire. A race with no competition lacks something. I’ve played a lot of solitaire games at this point and I’m no stranger to trying to beat your own score. But games about race cars cry out for competition and interaction.

Rallytaire is not a substitute or replacement for Formula De. It is methadone for Formula De.

I am going to note that, while I appreciate how little ink the minimalist line art uses, you could skip a copy of the game into a business report and no one would notice. Published racing games tend to be flashy and Rallytaire is anything but. I’m fine with that but I can see that being an issue.

Rallytaire isn’t a game I’m gojng to play dozens of times. The lack of competition and interaction takes the edge off the genre. But I think the game does an amazing job mechanically and I’m sure it will get at least  _a_ dozen plays out of me. If you have any interest in racing games, you shoud make the tiny ink investment and try it out.