The Gauntlet is a clone of the arcade game Scramble which is viewed from the side with the screen scrolling horizontally constantly from left to right for one to two players. You control a spacecraft and you must fly over a mountainous planet's surface bombing various installations while avoiding missiles that fly upwards. As well as your bombs you are also armed with a laser that fires forward. As you fly, a fuel gauge decreases and you need to bomb fuel dumps to keep your fuel levels up. If you are hit by a missile, crash into the surface or run out of fuel then you lose one of three lives and it's the 2nd players turn if two player is selected.