You are a private detective and you have been asked to rescue the daughter of a millionaire and your investigation has brought you to a complex of ten tower blocks. Gumshoe is a platform game where a small part of the block is shown and the screen scrolls when you move in all directions. You have to navigate the various floors of the block to find the girl using ladders, escalators which change direction every few seconds and elevators that move up and down various levels but can't be shot from. There are also rubbish chutes and when entered they transport you to another part of the block. All over each block are doors in which bad guys appear from and try to shoot you. You must avoid them or shoot them back and if a bad guy touches you then you fight him with a 50-50 chance of winning. When you lose one of your five lives an expenditure sheet appears. You start with $500 and you lose money for every bullet used ($2) or losing a fight ($150) but you do make money for killing a bad guy ($10) and also a bonus for finding the girl in each block. You are unable to jump but you can duck any bullets and there are trapdoors which allows you to drop down to the level below but you can't fall more than one level as you will lose a life.