Ice Busters is an arcade adventure set in the Ice Age. The game is split into two levels. The first level varies between the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions. In the C64 version, Eddie must make his way toward Percy Penguin who has been captured by a polar bear named Growler. This can be done by navigating a series of platforms while jumping over snowballs Growler throws at him. Eddie only needs to rescue Percy once before he can move on to the next level. In the Spectrum version, the first level has Eddie collecting Percy, who is at the top of the screen, and bring him back to the bottom. He must deal with two Growlers who swim across the screen, and avoid jagged ice holes that slide all over the screen. Eddie must rescue Percy thrice before he moves on to the next level. In the second level, the entire screen is filled with ice blocks, which disappear one by one to form a maze. Percy appears in the middle of the maze. Four snowbugs also appear and start traveling around the maze, in an attempt to kill Percy. Percy needs to squash all snowbugs in the maze by pushing the ice blocks into them. The ice blocks can also be melted so that more space is created, allowing Percy to pass through. Any snowbug that touches the maze's electrified edges become dazed, allowing Percy to destroy them easily.