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F1 Trading Card Game review - Does exactly what you think it will

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F1 Trading Card Game review - Does exactly what you think it will

You never know what you're going to get with a trading card game on mobile. It could be a deep and engaging experience that sucks you in and refuses to let you go. But at the same time it could be a simple game that you barely have any control over.

F1 Trading Card Game fits somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. It's not super deep, but there's definitely stuff for you to do here. And it takes ideas from less card-based mobile games and weaves them into the experience to pretty decent effect.

Floor it

The game is all about building a deck of cards. These represent different drivers and events from the 2018 championship. Collecting them all is just a small part of the game though, because you need to use the cards in races too.

Each of the cards has a rarity value and a direction on them, and it's these you use during the driving sections. Every track you race on is split into a number of action points, and it's here you get to play your cards.

The action points are corners, and you need to choose a card that best represents the direction of the corner. If you don't have the right angle, you can play the card that's closest to it, but you'll take a penalty in your speed.

F1 Tradinng Card Game iOS screenshot - Driving down a straight

There's overtaking too. If you're behind and get up enough speed to get past the leader, you pick a direction for your line to get round them. The other player picks a direction too, and if they match they block you.

If you get it right, you'll sweep past. It works in reverse too, when the opposition tries to get past you. It means you're always on your toes, and building your deck with more powerful cards can give you an unbeatable edge.

But that's about where the tactics stop. F1 Trading Card Game might have a little depth, but if you're looking for something to really pore over, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Flawed it

I think the best word to describe F1 Trading Card Game would be solid. From its workmanlike name to its easy-on-the-eye presentation and its far-from taxing gameplay, everything works in the way it should.

But you're never going to be wowed by it, and unless you're a huge fan of F1 you're going to get tired of it well before you've nabbed all of the cards on offer.

F1 Trading Card Game review - Does exactly what you think it will

It's not as shallow as some, it's not as deep as others. F1 Trading Card Game is about as midcore as they come
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.