Formula D using Formula De

After having played quite a few games of Formula Motor Racing from GMT Games, I decided to break out Formula De (I have the Euro Games edition) to teach a few of my co-workers a game with a little more teeth.  One of the things that I really like about this game is it allows 10 players.  While that makes the game longer, there are not a lot of games that you can fit 10 players into.

After re-reading the rules, as I had not played this one in quite a while, I wasn't sure how well this would work to play over our lunch break.  I just didn't know if it would play all that quick.  I had heard that the new edition, Formula D (published by Asmodee Games), had a more simplified basic rules so did a quick Google search and found the rules on their website.  I used the components of Formula De and played with the rules from Formula D.  We just kept track of our 18 WP instead of the individual pieces.

Positions after day 1 of racing

The basic game gives each car 18 wear points.  They are used to track all the damage taken during the game.  Instead of separate tires, breaks, fuel, etc. everything is just wear points.  I know some die hard fan boys will say this ruins the game and takes away much of the strategy, but that is still there if you play with the advanced rules.  IMHO, this change really makes the game more playable for new players and/or non-gamers.  After about 5 minutes of explaining the rules, we were off.  Questions came up during the race and those were answered.  The next race should go off without any issues.

We played a single lap race on Grand Prix de Monaco.  The game played faster than I remember (because of the WPs), as drivers were more aggressive going through corners since they didn't have to manage breaks and tires as closely.  We were not able to finish the race in one day.  I just took a picture of our positions on my phone, had everyone write down their gear, and re-set the track the next day so we could finish the race.  Next time I will also have people write down how many times they had stopped in the corner if it applies.  Since we played two days in a row, memory wasn't a problem, but if it were a week or two before we got back to the game, knowing how many stops you had made could be a problem.

Our group had a good time with this game.  I think everyone is excited to give it another go.  Now that everyone understands the basic mechanics, I think the next race will go much quicker and we will see even more aggressiveness.

Finish order of our single lap race at Monaco.

The standings at the end of the race were:

     1st:     Ben
     2nd:    Mark
     3rd:    Bryan
     4th:     Sean (yours truly)
     5th:     Topher

You would think that I would finish better since I'm the one that is hosting all of these games.  Oh well.  I'm still having fun.

Have you played either of these?  What was your experience?  Which did you prefer?