Treasure Cove is an action game that takes place off a small island in the Caribbean where the player has to dive into the ocean and search for the treasure of a lost Spanish galleon. The action takes place on a single screen and the player starts out in a small boat at the top of the screen. At the bottom there are several pieces of treasure that has to be retrieved (one at a time) but the ocean is also full of fishes and other sea creatures that have to be avoided. Any contact with these (including the smallest of fishes) will lead to an immediate loss of life. A life is also lost if the player runs out of oxygen which means it's necessary to plan ahead since it's not possible to go back to the boat (and recharge the oxygen) empty handed. With the press of a button the player can move quicker but at a higher cost of oxygen. After clearing all treasure from the cove the game will move on to a new location with more valuable treasure but also with more fishes. The game can be played by one to four players in hot seat. Before starting out the number of lives for each player can be chosen from one to nine. There is also a tournament level mode where each player has four divers. This mode was meant for players who wanted to mail their high score to the developer for high score verification.