Optional

Rules
Introduction
This is the version of the Formula De rules is used by our gaming group. After years of playing the
game, we have found what changes fit our group the best for our playing style. The basic changes
include:

1. Players are never removed from the game. Instead, the player simply “spins out” and has to start
again in first gear. This way we don’t have bored players with nothing to do. Because of this we
have had to change a few other rules to make this option work.

2. A certain number of points is set for each track and players will place these points on their car
where ever they want. In essence, each player builds their own car.

3. We have added “turbos” to the race sheets. These items allow a car to skip more than one gear
higher (just like a fuel point - or transmission point as we now call it now - allows you to go down
more than one gear).

4. We have added “jumps” to a few of the tracks. If you don’t make the jump and land in an empty
ground square, then you spin out and have to start from 1st gear.

In this rules set, we have organized it almost exactly like the original rules sheet (along with photos
from the original rules sheet). This should be a complete set of rules, but you will still need to pur-
chase a copy of the game to get the dice you need.

Contents for playing the game

You will need the following items to play the game:

1. A Race track - We have included scans of all the

Formula De tracks, which can be reprinted larger.
If you take them to a sign shop (one that has a
large format printer), they can make a large print
for you. The “actual size” of each print is approxi-
mately 58” x 37.5”, much larger than the original
game boards.

2. Race sheets - These show the different parts of your car and how much wear
each part has. These include tires, brakes, engine, etc. If you want to play
using our rules then you will want to print out the race sheets found on the
last page of these rules.

After you take a photo of your car and glue it into the empty area at the top,
we suggest you laminate these sheets. This way you can easily add and
wipe off “wear points” using a dry-erase marker. Instructions for making a
magnetic gear shifter are on the “Track Information” page printed separately.
3. Seven colored dice - You’ll have to purchase the game to get these. It
never hurts to support the game company who originally created the
thing. The colors are yellow, orange, red, green purple, blue and black.

4. Ten car models - The model car size that fits this best are “micro
machines” from a toy company called Galoob, which measure about 1
1/4” long x 5/8” wide. Some cars are longer than others, so be sure to get the shortest ones you
can find. Even these cars are just slightly too large but it doesn’t create much of a problem
unless you have 3 or more cars directly behind each other in the same
row.

Of course if you want to use larger cars, you’ll need to get the maps
blown up much larger, which is more expensive and you’ll need a much
larger table to play the game on.

Creating your car

Start by choosing the track to use. Next, a race sheet will need to be
filled out for each car racing. A sample of the race sheet is shown on the
right. The boxes next to the parts on your car are called “wear points”.
At the beginning of the game, each player will build his own car by
adding wear points into the places he wants by putting an “X” in the
boxes.

As your car takes damage, these points will be erased from your race
sheet making it more difficult to drive. In some cases, losing all of your
points in a certain area will cause your car to spin out which means you
will have to start back in first gear your next turn.

To calculate the number of wear points for a track, simply add up the
corner stops as you go around the track. The corner stops are the yel-
low flags that you see beside each corner.

If you plan to only race 1 lap of the track, start at the beginning and add
up the number of flag points as you go around the track. The very first
track ”Monaco” has 14 points of flags as you go around the track (1
flag, 1 flag, 1 flag, 1 flag, 3 flag, 1 flag, 1 flag, 2 flag, 2 flag, 1 flag).
This means that you have 14 points that you can put on your car for
that race.

If you were doing this for 2 laps, you would have to reduce the number a little. Two times around
would give you 28 points to put on your car. I would suggest taking the number x .75, which would
give you about 21 points to put on your car for a 2 lap race. The main reason for this is because
you can get your tires back if you do a pit stop. If you want a more challenging race, use fewer
points.

If you were doing 3 laps, then you would end up with 31 points to put on your car (42 points x .75 =
31.5). Feel free to reduce the number of points on a race to make a more challenging game! It’s
usually best to write down the number of points you used for future reference on the “track informa-
tion” page which lists the names of each track.
When marking the number of tires you have on your car, be
sure to put a line through the tires you are not using. You
can’t get back tires that you never had in the first place, so
you can only refill your tires back to the original number you
started with when you pit.

Setting up the race

After everyone has their cards filled out, it’s time to start the race. Have everyone roll the black die.
The lowest number goes first (pole position), the next lowest goes in second place until all the cars
are placed. Place every players car on the track in the order given.

Basic rules
Gearbox: A car has six gears. Each gear uses a different die. The num-
bering of the faces on each die shows the movement of the car in
spaces. The higher the gear, the faster the corresponding die will move
the car (see the movement table adjacent).

When accelerating, skipping gears is not allowed unless you use “turbos”
(explained later on). It is also possible when decelerating to skip up to
three gears but there are penalties as will be seen later.

Wear points: During a race a car suffers

Part What it does
wear on several parts, to which are attrib-
uted a certain number of wear points (WP). Tires Used to go past the confines of a corner.
These WP allow some control over the
events which can take place in the course Brakes Used to shorten distance by 1 square.
of a race.
Transmission Used to downshift more than one gear.
Each driver uses his points according to Turbos Used to upshift more than one gear.
his own race strategy as part of his risk
taking and, sometimes, to rescue him from Body Used to withstand body damange.
doom. Each wear point used must be
Engine Used to advance 1 square.
erased from the race sheet. An example of
what these wear points represent are Repairs Used to repair a part or reroll distance.
shown on the right.

Movement: As in life a car pulls away in first gear, changes into second and so on, up to sixth, in
order to increase speed. The driver, on his turn, must proceed in the following order : he announces
the gear that he is using, positions his gearstick on the race sheet and throws the die for that gear.
He moves his car the number of spaces shown by the die. At the end of his movement the car is
said to have stopped. The concept of “stops” is important in corners.

On each new round of play the drivers play according to the order of the cars on the board, starting
with the leader. Example - during a turn car B overtakes car A which is in first place. On the next
turn car B is now in the lead and so moves before car A.

When two cars are equally far forward on the track, it is the car in the highest gear that moves first.
If the two cars are in the same gear it is the one that arrived first that moves first.
Corners:
a) In order to negotiate a corner (or series of corners) a car must
make, within the limits of the corner, at least as many stops as are
shown on the yellow flag beside it. Once the number of compulso-
ry stops has been taken the car can leave the corner normally on
its next turn. To help players better negotiate corners the lengths of
the shortest and longest routes through the corners are shown
under the flag:
L = the longest route ; C = the shortest route.

b) The red and white milestones mark the corner spaces.

c) The red lines mark the start and end of each straight.

d) In corners and in the approach to corners, cars must follow a route marked by arrows. A car can-
not change lanes unless there is a choice of arrows to follow when leaving a space.

Straights: Straights are part of the track between

two corners. When moving along a straight, a car
can change a maximum of two lanes (eg. route 1 in
the diagram) in a single turn. The driver must take
the shortest route from his starting point to the lane
he wants to end up in on the straight way. Once he
enters a red bordered corner area, these rules no
longer apply.

Zigzagging in a straight (route 2) is stricly forbidden. You cannot move out of a lane and return to it
in the same move unless it is justified by the overtaking of another car (route 3). Cars cannot
change lanes in order to force themselves to pass cars. In other words, cars cannot move into a
lane that they will immediately need to pull out of again to go around other cars that turn.

Changing lanes on straight road begins after the car has moved
off of the red bordered corner secion. So if a driver goes right or
left when leaving the red corner, it does not count as a lane
change yet. The first square of the straight section he moves into
counts as the lane he is starting in (route 4).

Starting the race

Rolling at the start: During the very first turn, every person must roll the black die before they
move their car. On the result of a 2-19, nothing happens.

Result of a 1: Bad start - The engine has stalled and the driver has missed his start. He cannot
engage 1st gear, so he stays in his place on the grid. He must wait until the next turn and then
move off normally in 1st gear (or use turbos to go to higher gears) without throwing the black die
again.

Result of a 20: Flying start - The driver shifts into 1st gear and has pulled away like a rocket and
moves his car 4 spaces. He can shift one or two lanes to avoid other cars. His next turn he can shift
into 2nd gear. However, he may disregard this fortunate roll if he wishes to use one (or more) of his
“turbos” to shift into higher gears and roll normally.

Overshooting a corner: Every time a car moves through a corner without making the required
number of stops, it will use up tire points for every square past the corner that it moves.

On the example (shown on the right), the car

failed to stop in the corner and ended up going 3
squares past. As a result, the player must erase
3 tire points from his card.

This player also had the option to use 1 or more

brake points in order to not move so far past the
boundary of the corner.

Spinning out: If a car overshoots a corner and does not have the needed amount of tires, the car
will spin out one square past where the tires held out. In other words, if the driver only has 2 tires,
he will end his turn 3 squares past the corner and erase the last 2 tire points from his car. The play-
er is not required to use any of his brake points if he does not want to. The player will then turn his
car around to face the opposite direction. On his next turn, the player will turn his car the correct
direction and take his turn in 1st gear (or use turbos to move his gear up).

If a corner requires more than one stop and the car overshoots the corner with more than one stop
remaining to be made, the car is not allowed to leave the confines of the corner. Instead the car will
crash on the very last space on the outside lane of the corner.

The act of overshooting the corner is this manner is considered so wreckless and the crash so
devestating that the car will lose all of it’s body and tires immediately. Tires will be lost, not
because the rubber is burn off of them, but because the mechanical parts were damanged in the
crash.

The car will be placed facing the wrong way outside the track next to the last available square until
all the required stops have been made.

This player has rolled the

green die and ended up
with a “12”.

That means that if he

does not use a brake
point to slow down at
least one square, he
would have completely
gone past this 2-stop cor-
ner without stopping
once.

Since he overshoots the

corner with more than one stop to make, his car crashes and he loses all of his tire and body points.
The player will place his car off the track next
to the last available space on the corner.
There he must spend the next 2 turns in this
position (because he had 2 stops he couldn’t
make).
On the player’s 3rd turn, he will place his car in
the last square on the corner and roll in 1st gear
(unless he has turbos he wants to use). If the
square is occupied, place his car directly behind
the occupied space.

If the player completely slid through a 3-stop corner, then he would spend 3 turns off the track. If
the player made the 1st stop (in a 3-stop corner) but went past the corner without making the last 2
stops, he would spend 2 turns outside the track.

Braking: A driver can use his brake points at any time to avoid advancing the entire number of
spaces shown on the die. When overshooting a corner he can use a brake point to not move
as far (thus saving him using a tire point instead). For each brake point used the driver moves his
car one space less than the result on the movement die. When a car loses its last brake point, it
continues in the race but is unable to brake.

Brakes may also be used to keep you from hitting the car in front of you in a corner or to help posi-
tion you when drafting, or used in combination with a transmission point in order to downshift 3
gears.

Blocking and hitting other cars: A driver can find himself blocked by one or more other cars,
unable to overtake them and so be unable to use up all of his own movement. In this case, the driv-
er only has a few choices. These are:

1. Use brake points to stop from hitting a car in front.

2. Use a “wrench” to reroll distance.
3. Smash into the back of a car in front of you.

Drivers are not allowed to hit the back of a car if there is any open route available to them. However,
a driver is never forced to use his “wrench” to reroll distance or to use his brakes. If a driver has no
choice but to hit another car because he is blocked in, the other drivers involved will roll the black
die to see who takes the hit (lowest roll on the black die loses). The car that is hit will receive one
body point of damage. The hitting car will lose all of it’s body points and spin out.

Adjacent cars: When a car finishes its movement on a space beside or behind one or more
other cars then there is a risk of a collision. To find out if a car collides with another and is
damaged the drivers concerned each throw the black die. Those throwing a 1 have damaged their
car and lose a point of bodywork. If you lose a body point but don’t have any left to wipe off, you
spin out.
The driver who causes the collision chance throws the black die last. If
he causes another car to spin out from body damage, then he will
automatically lose a point of bodywork for each car that spins out.

The drivers of cars B, C and D each throw the black die once to deter-
mine if they have collided with and have been damaged by car A.

The driver of car A throws the black die three times to check whether
he has been damaged by B, C and D respectively.

Over-revving: When a driver changes down gears but skips one, two or three he is over-
revving. The number of gears skipped determines the number of points of transmission, brakes
and engine that are lost by the car (see table). When a car loses its last transmission point it contin-
ues the race but is no longer able to skip down gears. Skipping down 4 gears is not allowed.

Number of gears skipped Transmission Brakes Engine

1 gear (eg. : 6th to 4th) 1 0 0
2 gears (eg. : 5th to 2nd) 1 1 0
3 Gears (eg. : 6th to 2nd) 1 1 1

Engine damage: When a driver throws a 20 when moving in 5th gear, or a 30 in 6th gear, his
engine is pushed to its limit. After moving his car he must throw the black die to test its robust-
ness. All other drivers who are in 5th or 6th gear at that instant must also do the same.

Drivers who throw a 1 to 4 must lose one engine point from their car. If a car has no engine points
left to erase and loses another engine point, they immediately spin out.

Pit stops: It is possible to stop in the pits and chage tires, recovering lost tire points. To
get to the pits cars must take the single lane leading into them. The pits can only be
entered and exited through the two spaces on the track next to the pit lane.

Cars can enter the pit lane at any speed. It does not matter if their movement result exceeds the
throw needed to arrive exactly at their pit-stop. Once in the pits the driver immediately regains his
previously used tire points. Drivers may not receive more tires than they originally started with.

The pit lane is considered as wide as it needs to be, so cars can pass each other without being
blocked in. Two cars may occupy the same space in the pit lane (but not in the pit).

Immediately after the car pulls into the pit, the driver will choose to do a “quick stop” or a “full stop”

1. Quick stop: During the same turn the driver pulls into the pit, he will roll the black die. If he rolls
a 1-10, the driver divides the throw by two (rounding up). The result is the number of spaces
which he moves (out of the pit) immediately. The next turn the driver will exit the pit lane in 4th
gear but may use turbos to shift up higher. If the driver rolls 11-20, the car is stuck in the pit until
the next turn. The driver will get all of his original tire points back but wrenches cannot be used
to make repairs on the car.

2. Full stop: If the driver wants to use this “wrench points” to repair his car, he will pull into the pit
and end his turn there. No black die throw is needed. He will get all of his original tire points
back and also be able to use up his wrench points to replace any points on the car he wants,
 even if the points were not placed on the card originally. The next turn the driver will exit the pit
lane in 4th gear but may use turbos to shift up higher.

The order of cars moving around the pit area are as follows:

A Any car that is past the point of

entering the pit will move first.

B Any cars in the pit lane will move

next.

C Any cars stopped in the pits will

move next.

D Any cars that still have a chance to

enter the pit lane will move last.

Redlining: Cars are allowed to move one or more spaces at the cost of one engine point
each. Cars can use as many engine points as they want during their turn. A driver can even
choose to use an engine point beyond what he has erased (hence the “star” shaped symbol on the
race sheet) which will blow out his engine and cause him to spin out after he has moved that addi-
tional square.

This is an effective way to cross the finish line or get into the pit if you need just one more square. If
a driver blows his engine to reach the final square to make it into his pit, he may leave the pits with-
out penalty.

A driver may not redline the engine if he has already blown his engine that turn.

Drafting: If a car travelling in 4th, 5th or 6th gear ends its turn directly behind another car, it may
move 3 additional spaces. It does not matter what gear the car in front of him is in. A driver may use
his brakes in order to gain his position directly behind another driver to draft them. He is considered
to have used his brakes at the beginnin of his turn.

It is possible for a driver to draft a car, move 3 spaces and end up directly behind another car and
draft them as well. While drafting, a car may change as many lanes as it wants to the left and/or
right. A driver may also redline between drafts to gain an additional square in order to draft again. A
driver can draft as many cars as is possible to reach.

A driver is allowed to use his brakes before the first draft, but is not allowed to use them for the suc-
cessive following drafts during the same turn.

Turbos: Using a turbo allows a driver to shift up one additional gear. A driver may use as
many turbos as he likes during his turn. A driver will need to make an engine test for each
turbo used. The roll of a 1-4 on the black die will cause the car to lose one engine point.

If you lose an engine point (but don’t have any to wipe off), this will cause the driver to spin out from
lack of engine points. However, the driver will spin out after he has moved his car in the upper gear.
If the driver rolls a 20 or 30 after turboing and blowing his engine, he does not have to roll the black
die again that turn. Without any turbo points the car is unable to turbo again.
 Repair points: These are used in the pits to replace any points on the car you want, even if
the points were not placed on the card originally. One repair point will replace one point else-
where on the card.

Wrenches can also be used to reroll distance. If you roll the die and find that you don’t like the
number you rolled (before you actually move your car), you may wipe off a repair point to reroll that
die. You are not allowed to change gears, only reroll the die. These are only used for distance, so
you cannot reroll the black die if you receive damage.

Jumps: I’ve added jumps to a

few of the tracks. Across the
ground you will see a faintly
outlined part of the track. This
outlined area allows you to
count squares across the
ground until you reach the
actual track on the other side.

The trick is to not let your car

land in the outlined part of the
track (which represents bare
ground). This jump is 6 squares
long, so you do not want to roll
a number that will land your car
into any of these squares.

If you are unlucky enough to land your car in this area, you will immediately spin out and will need
to start in 1st gear your next turn (unless you use turbos).
 N N
Total Points Total Points

1 1
1-2 1-2

2 2
2-4 1 2-4 1

3 3
4-8 4-8

5 5
3 3
1 1
R R

6 6
4 4
2 2

4 4
7 - 12 7 - 12

5 1 5 1
11 - 20 11 - 20
1 1

6 6
21 - 30 21 - 30