The Action Max system requires the player to also have a VCR,[4] as the console has no way to play the requisite VHS tapes itself.

Using light guns, players shoot at the screen.

[2] The gaming is strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy, and as a result, players can't truly win or lose a game.

The system's post-launch appeal was limited by this and by the fact that the only real genre on the system were light gun games that played exactly the same way every time,[2] leading to its quick market decline.

[5] Five VHS cassettes were released for the system: