Round About is a fixed screen shoot 'em up. What sets it apart from other shooters of its time is that the player isn't restricted to the lower parts of the screen. Here he can move along every side of the screen, around the enemies that move around in the middle. The enemies are abstract shapes that move in packs swarming around the screen in specific patterns while the player tries hitting them. Once one swarm has been killed there's another one taking its place. The player has three lives at the start and earn new ones after completing every few levels. The game has 24 levels in total and after that it starts over.