Moto Grand Prix

#1: Is it just me or Fantasy Flight coming out with a bazillion new games right now?

#2: Anybody know anything about Moto Grand Prix? The production looks to be the usual FFG high standards, but I'd be interested in hearing from someone who's played it before plonking down the cash for it.

Yeah, no kidding...I want to know about this one too, from somebody isn't the "quite concerned" type. I love race games, but 99% of them actually suck. Most of them just don't have a very race-like pace.

I would be very interested in a recommendation for a racing game. What is considered the best out there? Most race like (i.e., exciting and fast).

If you see a copy of Waddington's Formula 1 on eBay UK then get that - usually go for £5-£10 and it weighs bugger all so will ship cheaply. I reckon it's great as you can take corners at higher than recommended speed but need to then take brake or tyre wear off your car, and when they get low you roll for consequences. A 1960s game but still the best I've played (admittedly only played Formula De once and that was fun too).

I demoed this at GenCon and picked up a copy of it afterwards, so I've had it since August and have played it a few times. I'm trying to remember this off the top of my head from work, so I might miss a few details. I compare it to Formula D and De a lot since they're the only 2 other racing games I own.

One overly simple way I use to describe it is Formula D(e) with a)2d6 and b)build-it-yourself tracks.

a) All movement is 2d6, but the mechanics of the game are the dice-flipping. On most track segments, you can flip either or both of your dice to the opposite face (e.g. a 2 becomes a 5 or a 4 becomes a 3). This allows for overcoming bad rolls but also gives you control in corners or crowded lanes so you can slow down if necessary without spending brake points. You still have brake, tire, and engine points that you can use in similar ways to Formula D(e), but this gives you added flexibility most of the time.

b) The track pieces are the usual high-quality FFG cardstock that are easily assembled to make the tracks. They give you 13 or 15 track designs in the manual, but it looks pretty easy to make your own. The tracks are bordered on the long edges by a number of holes that you use to insert peg markers to note the difficulty of the track section. This allows you to simulate going uphill or a tighter-than-obvious curve since you're limited in the track sections. There are no mandatory corner stops, but the difficulty of the track changes the way you can flip the dice. A medium difficulty track section, for example, stops you from being able to flip your highest die. The track sections are also marked with the most advantageous line (of the 3), and you can weave in and out of the lines to pass or to switch to the preferred line.

A usual race is 6 laps, which goes a lot faster than you might think. A few turns of the flipping and you learn to instinctively know what you can flip the dice to. I've played this with a few friends and after the first game can easily get 6 laps finished in an hour.

There are also advanced rules for leaning and wheelies, and since the bikes are on ball-and-pivot joints with the base, you can actually simulate that on the track. I think it's a fun game and have gotten a few people to play it who hate Formula De.