You are an inmate in the notorious former prison, Alcatraz and you have planned your escape from the island prison off the coast of San Francisco. You have managed to dig yourself a tunnel and now a boat you arranged is waiting for you to take you to the mainland. Problem is, the guards have caught wind of your plan and will now attempt to stop you. Starting in the courtyard in this side view flick-screen game, you must move from left of the screen to the right to get yourself to your tunnel, then make your way through the tunnel, get out of the tunnel and go cross-country to the shoreline, get on your boat and finally disembark on to the mainland to freedom.
As you move across each screen there are various dangers to avoid like guards who shoot at you and bullets appearing and flying across the screen. There are also mines and if you touch a mine, bullets, or fall into your tunnel, gaps or the sea then you lose one of five lives and have to start the screen you are on again. There is a bonus that counts down on each screen and the quicker you complete the screen then the bigger bonus you receive.