Reminiscence - Formula 1

Following a very enjoyable walk with friends yesterday in the Northumberland country side, we convened in a Newcastle pub for a natter and a few pints of good ale. Among the many subjects that came up for discussion was a recent TV programme about the thrills, spills and dangers of motor racing in years gone by. This led me to raise the topic of a board game that I had owned as a child. It was called Formula 1 and was manufactured by Waddingtons.


The game differed from others at the time because the dice did not determine how far or fast the plastic racing cars moved around the track. Instead the player determined their own speed but made decisions whether to take the bends and corners at the suggested speeds or to take a risk and exceed these. If the speeds were exceeded the dice were then rolled to establish the penalty in brake or tyre wear. The speeds and wear and tear were controlled on a cardboard dashboard for each vehicle. Excessive wear meant a visit to the pits where the dials were reset to zero.

As a kid I loved the game but until yesterday I had never met anyone else who had owned one. To my surprise I found that three of my friends had owned a set and loved it. It seems that the game is no longer manufactured and board games generally have given way to computer games. My own two sons used to claim that board games were so called because you got bored playing them! A quick internet search revealed that there are collectors out there prepared to bid for such games on ebay and similar sites. I am almost tempted to make a bid myself and get the lads round for a chance to recapture our childhood.