"When I was a kid, I was fascinated by racing games and by creating a board game around the 24 Hours of LeMans (one of my favorite races). But recreating a famous race can be very time-consuming and, frankly, boring. This game came about by boiling racing down to its core. Cars battling for position." - Mark Haskins, LACORSA Designer

LACORSA began as a passion project by designer Mark Haskins, who designed everything in the box out of his love for cars, racing, and competition. Mark holds a degree in Transportation Design from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, and Lacorsa has served as his creative outlet for the past 10 years. Lacorsa was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2016 and continues to develop games built around its core mechanics.

LACORSA was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2016.

DESIGN

Here is the design background for LACORSA, provided by designer Mark Haskins:

What was the inspiration for the art in the LACORSA game?

I love old racing posters, especially Max Huber’s work on Italian Grand Prix posters from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. They have a certain timelessness. I intentionally mixed different eras of racing history. The cars come from a later period, but I wanted graphic art rather than photographs. For print, Swiss graphic design simply looks cool, and it was fun to brush up on grid systems while designing the Sporting Regulations booklet. The type is period-correct, using Univers, which Adrian Frutiger designed according to Swiss principles.

Where did the LACORSA name and logo originate?

LACORSA merges “la corsa,” which means “the race” in Italian. Italians have a passion for auto racing and design that LACORSA shares. The typeface is Press Gothic, a lesser-known Italian modern font from the period. Originally called Metropol, it was designed by Aldo Novarese. It resembles some of the Agip advertising at the Italian GP from the same era. 

The arrow logo is a ubiquitous symbol in racing and doubles as a futurist symbol. Always looking forward. Always GOING forward. It also symbolizes the linear nature of the game and thus becomes a representation of the game board.  

How did the board come about?

I always felt that the strategy in LACORSA made race cars feel like pawns on a chessboard. So I wanted to embrace a wooden checkered board aesthetic. Then I had to figure out how to fit it into a compact box you can take anywhere. The elastic mechanism is a simple solution that works quite well.

What is great about the racing action?

You really do get that exhilarating racing feeling from trying a particular strategy and adapting it during a race. As you get closer to the front, there is so much uncertainty, and you are constantly asking yourself, “Will this strategy work out? Can I hold position? Am I cutting it too close?”

Another aspect is the social interaction among the drivers. You are constantly going head-to-head with the other players, which creates a great dynamic. You are rarely out of the action, and there is usually something left to fight for.

What was the inspiration for this game?

As a kid, I was fascinated by racing and wanted to recreate the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a board game. Later, I loved racing video games. But recreating a famous race can be very time-consuming and, frankly, boring. This game came about by boiling racing down to its core. Cars battling for position. All you are thinking about is: “How do I get my car to the front?

What was the design reference for the cars?

I loved the classic forms of 60s Grand Prix cars, and I wanted to take these elements and exaggerate them as if someone from that era imagined how they would look in the future. The proportions are actually from a 70s Ferrari Formula 1 car. This gives them a weight and width that communicate how difficult it is to pass another race car. The design’s solidity turns the cars into racing chess pieces.

The colors are right from the Grand Prix grid. Red for the Italian cars (Ferrari, Maserati and/or Alfa Romeo) and British Racing Green for the Lotus, Cooper and Brabham. Mercedes used to participate in Racing White before World War I, but by the sixties Honda represented Japan in the white cars.

Linea Rossa Games LLC has been set up to create and publish the LACORSA Grand Prix Game.