Zappy Zooks is a Pac-Man clone where you control Whirly, who has to collect all the Alpha Particles on various top view mazes shown on the whole screen. While you collect the particles you must avoid Zooks because if you touch them then you lose one of three lives. On each maze are Power Drain Plugs and if collected then any Zook in the maze can be touched for bonus points for a limited time. Once all the particles are collected then it is onto the next maze. Before you start a game there are a number of options that can be selected and they are how many Zooks in each maze (1-6), speed of the game, if Whirly moves continuously or you move him, and finally if you want to play or practice which allows you to select any level (00-14). A joystick is used to control Whirly.