Formula Yard is a large scale adaptation of the racing board game Formula De. Several of the concepts for Formula Yard are borrowed from Formula De, and you will need a set of Formula De's special dice to play Formula Yard. However, Formula Yard does not use a game board with marked spaces like Formula De. Instead, you mark out a track in your yard and race model cars around the track using a free-form movement system. Car wear is simulated using a token system similar to Formula De Mini.
These rules were designed for toy cars measuring approximately 8" by 4". If you use a different size of car, you may need to modify the rules slightly. Any model car of this size will do, from cheap toys to hand built replicas. Durable, inexpensive toy cars are probably better for most games, but custom built models would certainly look nice for special occasions.
The cars should be basically rectangular. You may have to mount oddly shaped cars on a rectangular cardboard base so that the turning template will work properly. The turning template is also easier to use if the midpoint is marked on the right and left sides of the car.
The turning template is used whenever you want to turn your car. It should be constructed of stiff material such as cardboard, thin plastic, or sheet metal. A panel from a cereal box is sufficient, but will wear out quickly.
The turning template is a flat polygon, of which only two adjacent faces are important for turning. These two faces must each be at least 6" long, and have an internal angle of 150 degrees. The easiest way to construct the turning template is to make a triangle with one 150 degree vertex, and the adjacent sides 8" long. Mark the sides 6" from the vertex (on both sides) and cut off the tips of the triangle to make a pentagon. This will make the corners thicker and stronger. It might also be helpful to mark 12" and 3" on the long side of the template, since these measurements are often used in the game.
Formula Yard was designed to be played on grass, but can be played on a variety of surfaces as long as the cars will not move unintentionally during the game. The game is more interesting if the track edges are marked, but in a pinch you can race around or between obstacles instead.
One of the best ways to mark the track is with garden hose. If you fill the hose with water and connect the ends it will stay put and make smoother bends. However, this usually requires more hose than most people own. An inexpensive but nice looking solution is to mark out the track using brightly colored surveying string stretched between 6" nails which have been driven into the ground. Your track might also be partially or wholly on pavement, so sidewalk chalk might also come in handy.
The track should be long enough to have a variety of corners, but short enough that you can race more than one lap. A good length is somewhere between 50 and 75 feet.
The track should be at least 3 feet wide at most points to allow passing and variations in cornering. Narrower sections should be limited to straights, and sharp corners should be made wider to allow drivers who make errors to recover more easily.
If your track has a lot of tight corners, the cars will have to slow down a lot and the game will take longer. If you have a lot of straights, the game will go more quickly. You will have to practice to get a feel for the mix you like best. As a rule of thumb, a car's turning radius in feet is double its current gear. For example, a car in second gear can turn in a 4 foot radius, while a car in fifth gear needs a 10 foot radius turn. If all of the corners are the same, the race can become boring, so try to include a variety of corners in your track.
The distance each car moves during its turn is determined by rolling a special die representing the car's current gear. These special dice come in the game Formula De, though you may be able to obtain a set separately. Formula Yard also uses Formula De's collision die, which is a standard d20.
Starting order should be determined in some fair way, such as dicing. Each player's car is then placed in its starting position on the track. Cars should start at least 8" away from adjacent cars, and 16" away from cars to the front or rear.
The ideal starting arrangement is to place all of the cars side by side on the start/finish line. This usually requires the start/finish line to be placed in a wide spot in a long straight. If this is not possible, stagger the cars behind the start/finish line.
Normally, all cars begin by shifting into first gear, but you may also use a rolling start. If the cars are staggered, starting the race in second or third gear reduces the advantage of starting at the front of the pack.
Each turn, the order of play is determined by track position. The car that is in the lead moves first, followed by the second place car, and so on. If two cars are tied, the car which is positioned to the inside of a turn is usually considered to be in the lead. If the cars are on a straight, the car to the inside of the next turn should be considered to be in the lead.
Race tokens are used to represent your car's performance and wear. During the race you "use up" your race tokens as a driver would use up his car. They are used to indicate your car's current gear as well as wear and damage suffered by your car during the race.
Each player starts the race with a number of race tokens determined by the length and difficulty of the race. A good number for most tracks is 5 race tokens, plus 10 race tokens per lap, though you should allow more for narrow or especially winding tracks.
During the race, you will keep your race tokens in one of two piles: one to indicate your car's current gear, and one to hold your unused tokens. Used tokens are removed from the game.
If at any time you are required to use a race token when you have none remaining, your car is eliminated from the race, and is removed from the track.
At the beginning of each turn you may change gears. To shift up, move one race token from your unused pile to your car's current gear pile. You may not shift up more than one gear each turn. To downshift, remove any number of race tokens from your car's current gear pile, return one of these tokens to your unused pile, and discard the rest. Thus you may downshift more than one gear each turn, but you will lose race tokens as a result. You may not remove tokens from your car's current gear pile except when downshifting.
After shifting, each car moves in turn. The distance each car travels in feet is determined by rolling the corresponding gear die. For example, if your car is in fifth gear, roll the fifth gear die. If you roll a 17, your car will move 17 feet this turn.
You may reduce your movement roll by using your brakes. Braking costs 1 race token for each foot of reduced movement. You may spend up to your car's current gear in braking each turn. For example, a car in fourth gear may spend up to 4 race tokens to reduce its movement by up to 4 feet.
You may push your engine to get a little extra power. You may add a maximum of 1 to your movement roll for a cost in race tokens equal to your current gear. For example, a car in second gear may spend 2 race tokens to increase its movement roll by 1.
The easiest way to measure straight-line movement is to place a yardstick or measuring tape beside the car, lined up with the car's midpoint. Then, place the car so that the same midpoint is at the desired distance marking. If you measure from the front of the car it is usually more difficult to properly align the measuring device.
Your car may turn up to 30 degrees during 1 foot of its movement, using the turning template. You may turn at any point during your movement, but all movement takes place in 1 foot increments, so you may not move 2.5 feet and then turn. You may, however, move either 2 or 3 feet and then turn.
After turning, your car must move straight before turning again during the same movement. The minimum distance it must move straight between turns is the car's current gear minus 1. For example, a car in fourth gear must move 3 feet between turns in a single movement, while a car in first gear does not have to move straight at all between turns. This rule does not apply to turns performed during different movements. You may turn during the first foot of your movement regardless of any turns you performed during your last movement.
You may reduce the distance your car must move straight between turns, resulting in extra tire wear. At a cost of 2 race tokens, this distance is reduced by 1 foot, for one pair of turns. This does not affect your total movement. You may not reduce this distance by more than 1 foot, but you may power slide any number of times during your movement.
Place the turning template on the ground beside the car, so that one of its 6" marks is at the car's midpoint, with the vertex forward. For a right turn, align the template with the right side of the car. For a left turn, place the template on the car's left side.
Next, move the car forward so that its midpoint is at the turning template's vertex.
To make a 30 degree turn, pivot the car around the vertex until the car is flush with the front of the turning template. To turn the car less than 30 degrees, first pivot the car around the vertex until it is pointing in the desired direction, then pivot the turning template around the vertex until it is flush with the front of the car.
Finally, move the car 6" forward, completing the turn and 1 foot of its movement.
Any time your car moves within 3" of another car, you might bump it. Both cars make a bump check, as described below. If the stationary car suffers any damage as a result, the moving car must make a second bump check.
To make a bump check, roll the collision die. If your roll is equal to or lower than your current gear, your car is damaged and you lose that many race tokens.
If at any time your car touches another car or the edge of the track, it has crashed. Your car is eliminated from the race and removed from the track. If you collide with another car, it is not affected beyond a bump check, which is required when your car moves within 3".
The first car to touch the start/finish line after the required number of laps is the winner.
Formula Yard plays quite differently when players are more relaxed about the precision of their measurements, particularly when measuring angles. Small 5 to 10 degree measurement errors add up quickly. The flexibility of a tape measure can also lead to changes in facing if you are not careful. You don't need to be overly attentive to detail (this is a yard game after all) but some arguments can be avoided if all of the players make their measurements with a similar degree of precision.
On a rainy day you can bring the race indoors. Divide all measurements by 4, and use 2.5" - 3" toy cars. Most of these cars will not sit still on a hard floor, but any good open stretch of carpet will work. Marking the track is a little tougher. Thin masking tape works well, but can't be re-used. You can tape down string for straighter sections, but string doesn't work well for corners. Racing between gates or around obstacles may be a better choice for indoor races.
Chris Wilkes, Eugene D. Seibert, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Jose Cateriano, Karen Sidwell, Quinn J. Roundy, and Stephanie Smith.