Grand Fix

Although Grand Fix is not a simulation of Formula One racing, it does attempt to capture the essence of F1 racing. Naturally, the goal is to get your two race cars to the finish line first.

Players will move a variety of neutral race cars as well as their own cars using Race Cards from their hand to accomplish this. If players want to win, they will need to manage a grid with 22 races, their cars' wear and tear, and even accidents that can happen along the way.

This is the first game from GMT Games that I've reviewed, and I think they put together a good package overall. Although the components won't impress anyone, GMT more than makes up for the lack of heavy plastic with its thoroughness.

Four race tracks make up the majority of the game's components. If you already own GMT's Thunder Alley, these are also compatible with it.

The race cars themselves are cardboard tokens with two sides. Although the artwork is lovely, I must admit that the colors could have been improved. When activated, race cars flip over, and the two shades of grey are hard to tell apart at first glance. It can be difficult to distinguish an activated car from an unused one, so I really wish they had used more contrasting colors.

Grand Fix comes with two decks of cards: one with 80 race cards and one with 32 event cards. There is a movement type and possibly wear conditions for each race card (more on that in a moment).

The Grand Fix rule book was very well done. Despite only having 20 pages, the rules are explained in great detail. After just one read, I felt like I had a really good understanding of how to play the game, despite the fact that its sheer scope initially made me feel a little intimidated.