Mr. Driller is a real-time puzzle game that relies solely on quick-thinking and a bit of planning. The gameplay is a combination of Tetris and Boulder Dash: You have to drill down through multi-colored blocks to reach the bottom while avoiding the consequences of reckless drilling; blocks left without a foundation will drop down after a while, potentially crushing Mr. Driller. As the hero's air supply is depleted with time, the player must regularly grab oxygen pick-ups.
The game features Mr. Driller in a world covered with mysterious blocks. The player must dig their way down to safety before his air supply runs out! Some of the blocks are "X-Blocks", which take a few tries to drill through and take away a large chunk of the player's air if destroyed. If four or more X-Blocks come in contact with each other, they vanish and leave behind a small blue creature that grants points when picked up.
Mr. Driller has two scenarios: the "2500ft" challenge (called "500m" in the Japanese version) with five levels, and the "5000ft" challenge (called "1000m" in the Japanese version) with ten levels.