Batty is a bat-and-ball game, a clone of the game Breakout by Atari. The idea of the game is to clear each round (grid of blocks) by bouncing the ball into the blocks above. The game continues for as long as you are able to keep the ball in play, by blocking its escape from the bottom of the screen.

Some blocks need more than one hit, other speed up the ball. Enemies appear and try to destroy your pad by shooting. Enemies can kill with the ball, by shooting or collecting the right power-up. In some levels a magnet field change the way of the ball.

In the C64 version of the game, the game consists of 64 rounds, with every 8th round being a Bonus Round. On completion of the 64th round, a bonus is awarded and a subsequent bonus for every life the player gained. In the ZX Spectrum version of the game, the game consisted of only 16 rounds which repeated on completion of the 16th round.