I wouldn’t have guessed the next game from Bit Loom Games—the developer of PHOGS!—would be a free-to-play multiplayer racer where you speed down hills on a tray. Then again, I couldn’t have predicted a puzzle-platformer about a two-headed dog either, and they nailed that with PHOGS!

In Tray Racers, you and up to 15 others race down procedurally generated hills, dodging geysers, trees, the dreaded cactus and more in the hope of winning. Because the track is different every time, you can’t memorize fixed shortcuts like in a traditional racer; skill still separates the basic silver trays from the golden tray racers.

Between races, everyone hangs out around a campfire in the lobby. Bit Loom Games told us the idea began as a joke and from playing lots of multiplayer games during lockdown—they wanted something more casual, where familiarity didn’t let one person dominate every time. Tray Racers fits the bill: chaotic races stuffed with obstacles, and even a system that lets you win without placing first in the final heat.

The most interesting twist is the structure of each event: there’s a five-minute practice run before the “real” race. Your best practice time is added to your final-heat time to determine the overall winner. In our session that often meant the player who finished first in the last race didn’t top the leaderboard because someone’s blistering practice time carried them. Folks in our lobby seemed baffled—the practice is long, the final is brief—and there’s currently no way to disable practice runs. With friends, I didn’t mind; we’d spend that time chatting. In random lobbies, I’d prefer to jump straight into decisive races.

Skills still matter. A few key techniques separate winners: lean back on descents to accelerate; lean forward on slight inclines to keep momentum; skim past objects for near-miss boosts; and land tricks cleanly for a burst of speed. You can ignore all that and still have fun, but you probably won’t win. And boost hunting is risky—miss a near-miss and you’ll eat a tree; botch a trick and you’ll lose precious speed—but nailing them feels great.

Tray Racers has a charming, clay-like art style with a mix of human and robotic characters. The overall vibe is wholesome, and with a campfire lobby where you can literally sit around and sing, it’s hard not to appreciate the chill atmosphere—even if my off-beat drumming might test patience. I’d love to see more to do around camp for players who want to socialise between races.

Tray Racers is in a good place and primed to be built into something special. As it stands, it’ll likely find an audience—but there’s potential for more. With PC and Nintendo Switch cross-play, you’ll even be able to race with friends while sitting around a real-life campfire if you like.

Tray Racers is releasing on Nintendo Switch and PC in 2023.

(The publisher invited Dylan to a preview event with the developers and other media.)