Joyride: Survival of the Fastest

I really enjoyed Car Wars as a child, and this provides the same vibe with less rules overhead and table space. Regarding the controversy you can't copyright game mechanics, and I would never play Powerboats due to the poor production values and bland theme. Modern board gaming is apparently all about respinning and combining things so why is this any different? Joyride looks great on the table and the art and theme definitely seems like something the 2000AD crew would come up with.

Everything I wanted from a bash em crash em car mad max punk style race game. Had great fun playing with my two sons. They loved it when I rolled too high and crashed straight into a wall. The side swipe mechanism, turning an opponent's car around can make or break their next turn. Easy to follow rules with maximum fun set to overdrive. Shane trolls have knocked ratings down from its well deserved 8.2

Played 3 games back to back. It's so much fun, so chaotic in a good way. I love that each driver can decide to take a completely different route if they wish so. I was also quite impressed that even with a difference in player experience the races were always quite close, for the newer player it never felt like they were out of the race no matter how hard they tried. The production quality is quite simply beautiful!

Exactly what I want a "Mario Kart-in-a-box" style game to be. Turns are quick, decisions are rarely super obvious, and route picking ultimately comes down to tactical choice (e.g. you accidentally blew through your turn after getting rear ended, so now just make the next one instead, as backtracking would take to long). Almost as much fun to watch as to play too, which makes it great for brewery evenings. (Actual rating would be a 9/10 but bumped to offset the insanity below from people who have never played the game OR the game that it draws inspiration from - which I have.)

Scored it a 10 because of all the review bombing. Joyride IS NOT Powerboats 2.0 (I have played both games); it's a game on its own (a solid 7-8). The publisher could've done a better job of acknowledging where they drew inspiration from, no mistake there. However, the Powerboats designer has some egregious demands and claims: stolen mechanics, wants to be named co-author, wants royalties, etc. … + he’s waging a crusade on social media (hence the review-bombing).