In the arcade game Tempest, players controlled a blaster that could move around the outermost lanes of a group of geometric shapes and fire on ships that emerged from the middle or innermost areas of those levels.
Bedlam, however, was a "Storm in Reverse" where player ships (reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon from several Star Wars films) sat in the middle of sectors while ships exited from those sector points and went in towards the player. Players turn their ships left and right and can turn them faster with the quick turn button. Also, Zap, like Superzapper on Tempest, will destroy everything on the screen and can only be used once per sector.
There are several different types and manners of enemies, as well as sectors. If rammed by an enemy, the player will lose a ship in reserve, and the game will end when the player has no more ships left.