In Gyromite, You play as Professor Hector, a somewhat aged scientist, as he must traverse his expansive laboratory in order to collect and defuse the dynamite which is scattered across his lab. You have a set about eight minutes to use R.O.B. to move "Gyros" around in the real world so that either the A or the B button on the second controller will be pressed, causing the blue and red pillars in the game to move up or down. You cannot jump, but you can climb vines, use moving pillars to go up or down, or fall off of platforms to move through the level. You also must avoid the many Smicks which wander around the stage, which will bite the player when touched. Smicks can be distracted using turnips, which can be found and picked up in some levels. While distracted, the Smicks stop moving and can no longer harm you temporarily. Pressing select will allow you to direct R.O.B., but you will have to stop moving, which can possibly leave the player in a vulnerable state.