Pitfall Harry travels through the jungle and caverns to find all kinds of treasures including gold bars, silver bars, money bags and diamond rings.

Pitfall Harry must avoid or jump over dangers such as logs, snakes, scorpions, fires, etc. He must also swing on vines to get across mud bogs, tar pits, crocodile-infested ponds, etc. As for some crocodile-infested ponds which have no vines at all, Pitfall Harry must carefully jump on their heads but not their mouths with careful timing to get across. He can also climb up and down ladders and jump over open holes. He can also even swim across underground streams while avoiding electric eels. Pitfall Harry must also sometimes avoid falling rocks and other plummeting projectiles.

The caverns have different floors connected by ladders and are like a maze. Points are scored by collecting treasures.