Pitfall Harry searches for his niece Rhonda, her cat Quickclaw, and treasures in the Andes mountains. He needs to navigate through obstacles such as poisonous frogs, eels, scorpions, bats, and other hazards.
Pitfall II Lost Caverns is the sequel to Pitfall! , with gameplay remaining largely the same. Each screen presents a side view of obstacles for Harry to get past, with potentially treasures to collect. The landscape becomes more maze-like, featuring various paths and dead ends to explore.
The player encounters checkpoints in the form of red crosses, which serve as safe havens. When Harry dies, he is sent back to the most recently crossed checkpoint. His score is reduced based on the distance traveled to reach the cross. Additionally, collecting gold bars awards him 5000 points and increases his energy reserve.