Lightsaber Duels makes use of the Wii Remote to simulate lightsaber combat. Players also use the Nunchuk to utilize Force powers to enhance their strength and manipulate objects in the duel arena while playing as a Jedi or Sith. Duels are fought one-on-one, with four levels of difficulty themed after the ranks of the Jedi Order for single-player battles against an opponent controlled by artificial intelligence. Each character has different attack combos, triggered by inputting a series of several Wii Remote gestures without interruption. Quick time events can also occur during a duel that a player can win by performing the correct gestures to deliver extra damage to the opponent. Duels are fought as a best-of-three series, implemented with dual health bars that deplete one after the other, similar to Killer Instinct, although the winner fully replenishes their current health bar when a round ends with one of the loser's health bars being fully depleted.
In "Campaign Mode", the player can only fight as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano, each in their costumes from the series. They battle against Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, and General Grievous, plus a Jedi Hunter, named EG-5, a droid that is programmed to use a lightsaber.
In "Challenge Mode", the player is given the choice to play as any character in the game currently unlocked, and enter a series of duels in which specific goals are set. If they are met, a blue Republic symbol will appear at the end of the duel. Each character has four challenges. Some challenges are more difficult than others, but they unlock characters and some battlefields as well.