Years ago, I figured out that I have an affinity to racing games. It happened slowly, but I’ve collected a nice selection of speedy games. Joyride: Survival of the Fastest is part racing game and part demolition derby. With so many racing games in my collection, does Joyride set itself apart from my current cardboard car collection?
Welcome to the Junkyard
Each player chooses a vehicle, player dashboard, matching dice set, and player aid. The central racing board is double-sided with the Junkyard on one side and the Overpass on the other. The board setup is based on the number of players and difficulty level that you’re looking for. Joyride comes with about a dozen track layouts that each have their own challenge. Even after playing each of these tracks, you can design your own or find more online.
Players are trying to race their car through the checkpoints on the track, in order, finishing the race after the specified number of laps. Joyride uses a hexagon system that makes up the track as you move through the checkpoints. You have to cross checkpoints in numerical order to complete the race. How you go through the checkpoint is totally up to you. Movement is controlled by the numbers on the dice that are used during the round.
On your turn, you’ll work your way through the five steps on the player aid. In the most general sense, the number of dice you have access to is tied to your gear. You have more control over your car in the lower gears, but you’ll speed past your opponents in the higher gears.
(Don’t) Stay in Your Own Lane
Joyride introduces car combat through weapon pickups as you cross through specific checkpoints. You’ll have access to land mines, rockets, oil slicks, air strikes, and more that can be used to damage your opponents. Each weapon has a specific way it can be used and players can store two weapons at a time on their vehicle.
Since there are no “lanes” in Joyride, players are able to move freely in front of other players or even slam into others, knocking them off their preferred trajectory. This interaction between players is a big draw for Joyride. Players can rear-end, side-swipe, and smash head first into their opponents. You’ll take damage for specific collision types and when hit with a weapon.
Your cars dashboard has eight spaces where damage tokens can be added. Players can decide if they want to take away a weapon slot, lock space, or gear on their dashboard when taking damage. Overall I’ve found Joyride to be very forgiving with taking damage. In most of my games, I take on three or four damage tokens without batting an eye. You’ll really start feeling the squeeze when you receive five or more damage.
Take the Wheel
Steering in Joyride is probably the toughest part of the game. Managing this takes some skill and speed is not your friend here. Players can steer, changing their direction, in the “lock” step and/or in the “roll” step. How many times you can steer depends on what gear you’re in. In second gear, you get the most control over your movement even though you’re not moving fast. Joyride is all about managing that balance of control and speed while watching for straight paths that allow you to hit the gas.
Joyride is a really nice mix of strategy and press-your-luck. Locking your dice give you a known quantity of movement on the dice while rolling forces you to take whatever the dice deal out. Colliding with a wall or stationary object can devastate your strategy. You’ll take a damage but also be forced to drop to the first gear.
Choose Your Racer
Let’s talk about special abilities. The game comes with four cars that all have three unique abilities that give them a slight edge against the competition. During the setup, you can choose to use the unique abilities or the standard three abilities of Handbrake Turn, Precision Driving, and Gear Master. These ability tiles are one time uses, but as a catchup mechanic, players in second, third and fourth place get to refresh their used ability based on position.
The publisher, Rebellion Unplugged, has done an excellent job with accessibility for those with color blindness. My son Josiah has struggled with specific games over the years because of his level of color blindness. Each vehicle has an alternative side of the player board with a different contrast level along with a unique symbol side for each car. Players can use the car on the graphic side or on the icon side to easily locate their vehicle. It’s so good to see a publisher give these options for players with vision impairment.
Going for a Joyride?
With almost a dozen racing games in our collection, do I need another? Joyride is a fantastic mix of strategy and combat. In 2023, Thunder Road Vendetta was my top game of the year. The game created so many amazing moments around the game table, even with its wild swings of chance. Joyride leans heavier into the strategy while still creating amazing moments.
Slamming into another player at a specific angle will spin the opponents car in a different direction. Each track configuration brings a new challenge and at three and four players, every corner feels tight.
We already own the press-your-luck heavy Rallyman GT, the betting focused Downforce, the deck-building of Heat, and plenty of others. Joyride still carves out a unique place in our collection. It’s the only one that scratches that demolition derby, dirt track feel.
The biggest learning curve with this game has to be steering using the hexagon-based track. I struggled with it a bit in my first game and it usually takes a lap before steering really clicks for players. I recently had another player say that they struggled with how open and free the movement felt. This is absolutely true of Joyride. Most racing games are constrained to a track and all cars go one way. Joyride is more like a sandbox where you have numbered checkpoints.
This freedom means that some players are going to take an odd route to cross a checkpoint and may suffer because of it. There’s usually an optimum path but it’s not a requirement for the racers. The fluidity of the tracks in Joyride is a bit unsettling for players who are looking for a very straight forward racing experience.
Final Thoughts
Joyride: Survival of the Fastest is technical without sacrificing the fun and “wow” moments of some of my favorite racing games. It dips its toe into the post apocalyptic Mad Max theme but still has it’s own style. Joyride gets better with each play as you try different vehicles with their special actions. Getting players comfortable with steering around tight turns takes a minute but it’s totally worth it.
This is a game that shines the more you play. It’s not my first choice to teach newer gamers and that’s OK. The different track layouts and the components to create your own lends itself to lots of replayability. Not to mention that at the moment, there are two additional vehicle expansions that you can pick up from Rebellion Unplugged. I’m a big fan of what Joyride brings to the table and it’s unique enough that it will stay in our collection.
You can purchase Joyride: Survival of the Fastest at your local game store, from the Rebellion Unplugged webstore, or online through Amazon today.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- Drivers special actions make each feel unique
- Bright and post apocalyptic style is top-notch
- Great mix of car combat and racing
- Publishers focus on accessibility is a great touch
Lows
- Steering and balancing speed takes practice
- Sandbox style track structure can be disorienting
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
