Snoball in Hell combines the mechanics of Breakout with shoot 'em up elements. You control the Snoball battle tractor, a tank-like vehicle that moves vertically along the left side of the screen. As in classic Breakout, your goal in each of the 16 levels is to clear all bricks by bouncing the ball against them. At the same time, enemies approach from the right, and you must either shoot them down or dodge them – any contact or missed ball costs a life. You have five lives in total. Along the way, bonuses and anti-bonuses appear: helpful ones like shields, extra points, extra lives, or level skips, and harmful ones such as point loss, reduced fire rate, enemy attack waves, or even a full level restart.