Step inside a classic video arcade side-scrolling space shooter. Earth is once again at the mercy of on-coming waves of alien attack ships. Luckily, you have the one vessel that can defend the earth from the onslaught. Equipped with your all-important blaster, destroy wave after wave of alien ships and defeat the "Boss" at the end of each level, until the earth is once again safe.
Each Level of Blaster Waves is made up of a "Waves Round" and a "Boss Round". In a Waves Round, the dual-use cards in the main deck are used to setup waves of aliens attacking the player's ship, and also give the player a hand of cards for blasting away at those aliens. The blaster value on the card played from the player's hand is used to remove aliens in the attacking waves. Once the waves have been dispatched, the Boss Round starts where the player has a back-and-forth match with the Boss alien – with the Boss taking an action based on a reveal "Boss Action" card, and the player responding. If the player is able to defeat the Boss, the next Level begins. The player wins the game after defeating the Boss on Level 5.
The game includes Health indicators and PowerUps, such as shields, missiles, bombs, Health improvements, and even a "Wingman".