In the game the player must build lakes into an isometric landscape and must then fill them with water and then use nuclear bombs to evaporate the water. This is done by using shapes called "uppers" to build up the land and then filling in areas inside of the raised areas with falling water. The player can also use "downers" to lower areas of land. The player can be hampered by mines that blast holes into portions of the ground as well as ice cubes that freeze water so it cannot evaporate. Any water not held in a lake will eventually flow off of the field and into a drain meter which ends the game if it fills up. In addition, the game also has an earthquake meter which is filled after extra-long periods of time go by without dropping any water. If the meter fills up, an earthquake destroys the level ending the game.
Tropes:
- Awesomeness Meter: Racking up combos causes a rainbow bonus to appear over the play field which adds extra points for the player.
- Bizarre Puzzle Game: Use special tools to build up land, fill low-lying areas with water, and then nuke the water to make it evaporate for points.
- Disc-One Nuke: Moving up in level causes Smart Bombs to occasionally appear in game. Blasting one evaporates all of the water but also flattens the land and undoes that player's progress.
- Endless Game: In Classic Mode the game only ends if the player maxes out the drain or earthquake meters.
- Nuke 'em: A central mechanic is the use of nuclear bombs which occasionally fall to create large fireballs that are used to evaporate the water which falls.
- Songs in the Key of Panic: The game switches to a "danger" theme if the drain or earthquake meters get too full.
