Race Pace: The New Formula

From BoardGameGeek:

Welcome to the gridIn Formula 1 racing, the driver may sit in the cockpit ... ...But the race is won from the pitwall. By the strategist, the engineers, the one calling the shots ... ...That's you! Step into the role of Team Manager, leading a modern Formula team through the relentless strategy battle behind every Grand Prix. Race Pace is about timing and strategy... ...Making decisions under pressure. ...Balance speed against strategy. ...Push your tyres too hard and they'll fall away. ...Harvest energy too long and rivals strike. ...Deploy too early and you're defenseless later. Yet, even with the best plan... ...The weather can turn. ...Race incidents can rewrite the race. ...Penalties can arrive without warning. A single decision can define your weekend. Because victory doesn't always go to the fastest car... ...victory goes to the team that controls the Race Pace! What Kind of Game Is This?Race Pace is a racing game that draws you into the constantly evolving strategic battle behind every grand prix. It started with a simple question: ...What if a racing board game wasn't really about driving the car? What if the real game happened behind the scenes? Where players have to make the calls that decide the race? Manage the race, the weather, tyres, car, react to opponents... What if choices, instead of dice / cards, shape your shot at victory? Race Pace is built around three central ideas: A REAL F1 RACE, NOT A BOARDGAME ABSTRACTION Race Pace was created with this in mind: You don't just play a race. You experience one. You race the full distance, lap after lap. The game should take as long as a Formula 1 race. Different circuits bring different challenges. Weather, incidents, track conditions and rival strategies constantly change the race... and you never know what the next lap will bring. YOU RUN THE PIT WALL You are not the driver. You are the team behind the driver. You are the voice on the radio. You make the calls. From the pit wall, you read the race, interpret the data and make the calls that can win or lose it. Push for more pace, manage your tyres, charge the battery, change strategy or react to a rival. YOUR CAR GETS FASTER, BUT YOUR TYRES SET THE LIMIT Speed isn't decided by random cards or dice. Just like a real racing car, your pace gets faster as it gets lighter and settles into the conditions. But your tyres set the limit. Push too hard and they fade. Manage them well and you can stay fast for longer. What makes Race Pace such a great game?Race Pace is an accessible, Formula 1-inspired, strategic racing game with meaningful decisions, clever timing, and tense player interaction. It is easy to learn, but packed with Formula 1 elements: Experience the pressure from the pit wall Think out of the box box, because a single decision may define your race. The weather is never truly predictable Can you adapt in time, when conditions shift? Tyre management is key What compounds will you use? How quickly do your tyres degrade? When to time your pit stop? Develop your car Adjust your power unit mode and aerodynamics to unlock more race pace throughout the race. Driver experience matters Your driver isn't just a pawn. Their experience, and a special ability, will come in handy. Race Control intervenes They just keep throwing penalties at you. And the occasional safety car and red flags. Intelligent battery management Important for overtakes, defensive battles, and the final push to the finish line. Develop strategies Like undercuts, weather intelligence, lift & coast, or just plead at Race Control to get your penalties waived. Real F1 broadcast quotes These may make you remember, argue, google and discover some great F1 stories. Flexible gameplay modes: - Play a regular game - Play as a team - Add bots to the game - Or a mix of the above How to play Race PaceTo win, you must manage your team more effectively than your rivals and deliver the strongest overall race performance. Balance upgrades, driver development, tyre and battery strategy, and perfectly timed boosts to achieve the fastest race pace. In Race Pace - The New Formula, only the team that best adapts to the modern rules of racing will take the chequered flag. Set up: Choose a circuit During the set up of the game, players first choose a circuit. The double-sided gameboard features a Race Circuit and a more restrictive Street Circuit, both demanding a unique approach. Each side has a multitude of circuit cards from real F1 circuits, requiring different strategies due to variation in race length, tyre degradation and weather conditions. Set up: Prepare your team and driver Eight teams, eight different ways to race. Every team brings its own strengths, upgrades and strategic possibilities. But also choose your driver carefully. Because when the race gets chaotic...their abilities can make all the difference. No two drivers are the same. Game round phase 1: Race Control Update Every game round, new information arrives from Race Control, the engineers and the drivers. These comprise of weather updates, Race Engineers calling with notifications about the car, and Race Control calling in with notifications about the race. And yes, Race Control can be generous in handing out penalties to especially the more inexperienced drivers of the grid. Game round phase 2: Pit Wall Phase Now it's time to make your call. Choose your action by placing your Race Engineer on the corresponding radio control button, such as: • Adjust engine or aero. • Coach your driver. • Develop, or call, your special strategy. • Charge your battery. • Call track limits on an opponent. • React to an opponent. • or BOX BOX. However, the availability of the actions you can choose depend on various factors: - Race situation cards: Race Control can prohibit certain actions in a game round. - Your tyres: some action fields are not available for some tyre compounds. - Safety car situations: certain actions will be disabled during a SC situation. - Depending on your gameplay mode: Team Play has special, obvious, rules regarding the use of actions. Game round phase 3: On-Track Racing Once the decisions have been made, you'll notice your call shaping the race. Your Race Pace is improving, or you're tactically working your way past your opponents. You are moving your car across the race circuit with your Race Pace, taking battery boosts and penalties into consideration.Your Race Pace determines how many laps you race this game round. The average pace during a game is about 5 laps. So, on a circuit with 50 laps, a game of Race Pace will take about 10 game rounds. In addition to your car, you also move your tyre degradation marker across the tyre degradation field. You can have the maximum race pace, but it doesn't do you much if your tyre life is limited. So managing your tyres and adopting a smart tyre strategy is crucial in Race Pace. With every overtake, the leaderboard changes. And then the race moves into the next game round. Changes compared to the previous Race Pace editionsThis is the 3rd edition of Race Pace, but calling it an "edition" doesn't do it justice. New artwork, a street/night track requiring a different approach, new strategic options, more intuitive mechanics, and the racing experience is more immersive. This is not an add-on. Not a few tweaks. This is Race Pace, reworked. - Tyre management remains crucial, but now battery management and energy usage are just as important in determining performance over the race. - Race Control has a bigger role, handing out undeserved penalties at will. - The introduction of the Red Flag can throw a race upside down, just as in the real F1. - The weather has become more variable and now includes stable conditions or the turning of the winds. - Strategies can be developed solely for your team. Apply a Lift&coast strategy to charge your battery to the max. The Outlap strategy reduces your pitstop time loss. The Weather Intel gives you insight in the future 3 weather cards. Or go for the Protest Upheld to lobby at Race Control to waive your penalties. - A double-sided board introduces two distinct race environments: traditional daytime circuits and intense night races on tight street tracks. Each setting changes how tyres behave and how valuable a driver's racecraft becomes. - A newly designed, intuitive pace-tracking system keeps the race flowing smoothly, reducing bookkeeping and letting players focus on strategy, timing, and high-stakes decisions. Together, these elements create a deeper and more contemporary racing experience that rewards both planning and adaptability, but also keeps the unpredictability of real F1 racing. Even if you are far behind, you can always hope for a red flag. 'Race Pace is coming to Gamefound in Q1 2027, timed with the start of the new F1 season. Click here to stay informed! -description from the publisher