Downforce Game Review

I’m not sure if it’s the decades of playing Mario Kart or a penchant for occasionally throwing my money away on the ponies (RIP Arlington Park racecourse) there’s just something exhilarating about having stakes in a tight race that nothing else can satisfy. Luckily, Downforce is here to fulfill that craving—without the constant trips to the cash machine.

A reimplemented version of the 1996 game from renowned designer Wolfgang Kramer, Top Race—which itself borrowed elements from his very first published game, Tempo, all the way back in 1974—Downforce keeps the pristine engine in place, but covers its sun-faded exterior with a new coat of paint and some fancy racing stripes. I absolutely love the minimalist art and modern graphic design in this update. The maps and cards are super clean and slick. It all just looks terrific on the table.

Start your engines

The game begins by dealing out an equal amount of Speed Cards to every player, placing each car randomly into the starting spaces, and then auctioning off all six, each paired with a Speed-8 Card (which lets you move 8 spaces for that car only) and a Power Card (which gives its owner a special ability throughout the race). The amount you pay for the cars will be deducted from your final winnings, so you don’t want to bid so much that you put yourself in a big hole, while also bidding enough to get a favorable power and pole position.

Gameplay is simple, and turns are quick. You play a Speed Card from your hand and move each colored car the number of spaces listed next to it, in the exact order on the card. 3 times during the race, every player secretly bets on who they think will win. After all cars have passed the finish line (or stalled out) the race ends and players are paid out: the owners of each car get an amount based on where they placed and correct bets for the top 3 will pay out to everyone.

Reckless and Wild, They Pour Through the Turns

Unlike many similar card-based racing games, every card dealt to you is available to play on your turn right from the start. This kind of freedom is glorious at first. Having so many options will give you the impression that you can devise a grand strategy to hoist the trophy, but early planning is usually a fool’s errand. More often than not, you are simply reacting to the current state of the board, which changes with every card played.

You can be ready with a solid card to advance your car, only to find yourself frantically searching for another that might free you from the chokepoint that the preceding player just put you in. Similarly, you may find the best option on your turn moment isn’t to move yourself forward, but to play a high-value movement card for your opponents’ cars, while they are similarly stuck in a corner with nowhere to go. Which card can I play that will both maximize my car’s movement and also stick it to my competitors? It’s these decisions that make the game so tense and cutthroat.

The betting system is, I believe, what separates Downforce from others in the genre, since it allows you to have a chance to win in a game where you know your car probably won’t take first place. The staggered fashion in which you bet means that the earlier in the race you can predict the winner, the more money you’ll make in the end, so taking a gamble on a car, even if it isn’t your own, can really pay off.

Stuck in Neutral

Playing at 3 or 6 is the best in Downforce, with everyone owning an equal number of cars. Since you always play with 6 cars, there are some balance issues at 4 and 5 players, as this means some players will own one car and others will own two. While you might assume doubling your cars will increase your chances to earn money back on the podium, every player still has the same total number of cards to play over the full race, and it can be difficult to play a card that benefits both cars on a single turn. While other players only have a single car to worry about advancing, you’ve got a tougher decision to make every turn. That extra car usually just winds up weighing you down.

The Power Cards can be both a blessing and a curse. They break the normal game rules just enough to inject some variability in each race, but some of the powers may only be helpful to you on a very limited basis. For instance, if you have ‘Strategic’, which allows you to ignore a single car color if you play a card with all six cars on it, but you only have one of those cards in your entire hand, it can feel underwhelming, especially compared to other powers.

Another frustration is that with only six total Power Cards in the game (one for each car) you’ll see the same six powers in every race and, after several plays, it becomes clear that a few are much better than the rest, so they usually get snatched up quickly. Though one of the expansions adds another six to choose from, I think having more available in the base game would really improve its replayability.

There’s Something Good Waiting Down This Road

It’s hard, though, to fault a game for not having even more of what already makes it so fun. Downforce is still a blast, and it’s one I can easily break out with groups of almost any age and skill level, especially if there’s six people. Each game takes only about a half-hour, so you can play it several times or as a filler between longer games. The board is double-sided, with a slightly trickier course on one side, so you can flip it over and start a different race quickly, since setup is basically just shuffling a couple decks of cards.

While I had some issues with the races playing out a little too similarly after numerous plays, there are two excellent expansions, Danger Circuit and Wild Ride, that add new maps, along with things like obstacles and ramps (and the aforementioned additional Power Cards) if you find your games getting a little stale.

Even without the extra content, Downforce scores big points in aesthetics, ease of play, and some downright nasty racing encounters. There’s nothing like laying down that perfect card to maneuver through an opening and speed past the rest of the field, especially when you’ve got big money riding on a long shot. This game is hectic in all the right ways.