The player controls a spaceship-like "Zapper" which can move about the screen and shoot up, left, and right. The objective is to shoot the letters that spell the current word, in order, while shooting or avoiding asteroidsin the lower portion of the screen.[4] There are four types of asteroids, and each has a different effect if it comes into contact with the Zapper. The "Doomsday" asteroid ends the game. The "Scroller" asteroid mixes up the scrolling letters for five seconds. The "Zonker" and "Bonker" asteroids knock the Zapper to the side.
The game ends after being hit by a doomsday asteroid, after the 99 second timer runs down, or the ultimate goal of completing three words.[4]