Zig-Zag is an arcade style shooter in which the player takes the role of a star pilot. The goal is to maneuver the star fighter down the narrow passageways of Matrix of Zog somewhere in the 12th dimension, and locate the Eight Crystals of Zog. To prevent the hero from succeeding, the enemy will send their best against him. There are seven types of aliens that will hinder his progress: zigzags, homers, drifters, attracters, bouncers, corkscrews, and cubes. Ramps, traps and disappearing barriers are a few of the other obstacles in the protagonist's path.

There are two modes available at the beginning of the game, Brain Teaser and Zapper. The first corresponds to a "normal" difficulty level, with five lives for the player-controlled character; the Zapper mode has all prisms in place and all passageways open. To change the forward direction of the ship, it must run into the prisms on the floor (or the walls). The prisms allow 90 degree and 180 degree turns, depending on how they are oriented. Hitting a wall always reverses direction.

There are three Special Zones in the game:

Save Zone: entering this zone will allow the player to save the game, using a password system.
Death Zone leads to instant death of the protagonist.
Shop Zone allows the player to purchase maps, shields, an extra life or two, or even infrared and X-ray vision.

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