BoLS Boardgame Bonanza: Lazer Ryderz
Join us as we ride through space on lasers, collecting prisms and facing down an actual space shark.
Every Tuesday is the BoLS Board Game Bonanza where our gang of gamers takes on a different selection of board games chosen by you, the viewer. What will they play? Will friendships be ruined around a game of Settlers of Catan, or is it a more innocuous game like Munchkin or Hero Quest that will sunder their bonds? Find out on Boardgame Bonanza.
This week, we tackled Lazer Ryderz from Greater Than Games. Lazer Ryderz is a game of 80’s action and lasers in space. The whole game comes packaged together like a collection of VHS tapes featuring four characters, each with a unique backstory, ability, and playset.
And this week, we had the creators of the game join us in chat, so you can get the literal inside scoop on how the game is played.
Lazer Ryderz
Okay, first up, this game is a ton of fun. It plays fast but there’s a lot of depth to it. It has enough strategy that you’ll need to plot your move–but there’s enough random interactions that keep the game from being incredibly predictable. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re riding a lightcycle and fighting for the users, this is the game to help you feel that way.
Each of the four characters included in the core set (Lazer Shark, Phantom Cosmonaut, Galactic Waveryder, and Super Sheriff) has their own ability that they can use to mess with other players or gain themselves an advantage. Players race across a starry void, trying to claim prisms of power while leaving a massive laser trail in their wake. And much like the lightcycles of Tron, players that collide with it are dead, and must even respawn at the edge of the map.
The game feels very much like a video game, but in the best way–it feels like a perfect fit on the tabletop–and it comes with its own soundtrack that is everything you’d hope for.
Lazer Ryderz – $39.99
In the deepest pockets of space, there exist Power Prizms, leftover artifacts from intergalactic beings of a bygone era. Activating three prizms allows Ryderz to charge up and pass through to new destinations in the galaxy. The portal only allows one Ryder to pass through before moving on to a new location, so speed is essential to meet your goal lest you be left in the space dust. But the faster you go, the harder it is to turn, and if you run into another player’s lazer, you’ll crash! Who will continue their quest, and who will be left behind?
In Lazer Ryderz, take on the role of one of four Ryderz (the Galactic Waveryder, Lazer Shark, Super Sheriff, or Phantom Cosmonaut) as you race to capture three prizms. Unlike most games, Lazer Ryderz does not use a set board; instead, your table is the board! The size and shape of the table you play on can change the game dramatically as you use individual straight and curved lazer pieces to create your path to victory. Lazer Ryderz features simple and intuitive yet fast-paced gameplay that is easy to grasp. It’s all the best parts of press-your-luck, racing, and tabletop strategy mechanics without a set track or high learning curve.
Anybody who’s got a CLU Fights for the Users
