Micro Machines V4 is an arcade racing action game. The player controls a toy car and drives it along the track. As with most games, the goal is to beat other racers to the finish line. However, like other games in the video game series, there is an alternative path to victory; in racing, the "screen" is shared by all racers (as opposed to split screen), and if the player can drive far enough ahead of the other racers so that they fall out of view, they score a point. If enough points are scored or lost, the player will win or lose. After winning races, new cars are earned to race, with a total of 750 to be collected. Since the game involves driving toy cars, the race track settings usually reflect this, with tracks installed on pool tables, around the edge of a bathtub, on furniture or in other home settings.