Once you have inserted your coin into the cabinet of Atari's 1982 multi-directional shooter arcade game Black Widow and pressed the Start Button, you will proceed to the start screen shown above, which features an anthropomorphic version of this game's eponymous main character; you have fourteen seconds to select which wave you want to start on by pushing the right joystick up and down (the expression on the Black Widow's face will intensify as you scroll down further down the list!), then push the left joystick in any direction and press the Start Button again to confirm your choice. Depending on how the cabinet has been set the highest wave a player can choose to start on is either 13, 21, 37 or 53 (the default setting is the second) - and the list of starting waves, along with their bonuses (which you receive after shooting the enormous "Bonus Bug"), and difficulties, are shown in the table below.
| Wave | Bonus | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | FER SURE |
| 5 | 25000 | FER SURE |
| 9 | 50000 | FAR OUT |
| 13 | 75000 | FAR OUT |
| 17 | 100000 | INTENSE |
| 21 | 125000 | INTENSE |
| 25 | 150000 | UNREAL |
| 29 | 175000 | UNREAL |
| 33 | 215000 | AWESOME |
| 37 | 255000 | AWESOME |
| 41 | 295000 | INSANE |
| 45 | 335000 | INSANE |
| 49 | 375000 | TUBULAR |
| 53 | 415000 | TUBULAR |
The Black Widow then appears in the centre of her web as the various enemy insects start advancing towards her; Mosquitos leave "grubsteaks" (dollar signs) behind when killed, while Beetles eat them (but still leave them behind when killed). Hornets lay eggs on "grubsteaks", which must be pushed off the edge of the web or through its central hole before they hatch into more Hornets, or even Spoilers, which can initially only be killed by the Bug Slayer but are also vulnerable to the explosions caused by the Grenade Bugs when they are introduced on the ninth wave - and once all the enemy insects on the current wave have been killed, the web will flash in different colours to indicate that the game has proceeded to the next wave. Every fourth wave, a formation of Thunderbugs will fly towards the Black Widow; when the Black Widow shoots them, they will break away from the formation and fly directly towards her (but when she shoots them again they shall explode). If you manage to kill all of them, you will receive a 5000-point bonus - but if you miss (or get killed by) one, you won't (and in the case of the latter, you shall immediately proceed to the next wave on resurrection, unless you were down to your last life). On the seventeenth wave the invulnerable Rocket Bugs are introduced (and the Bug Slayer stops appearing, so it cannot kill them); they launch miniaturized (vulnerable) versions of themselves at the Black Widow from the other insects they tag, and fly away when all other enemy insects have been killed on a wave. Finally, specific parts of the web on each wave are coloured green or red - and the former can only be passed over by the Black Widow but the latter can only be passed over by the enemy insects. The game shall continue until you lose your last life; it will then go into high-score mode, (and you will have to enter your initials by pushing the left joystick up and down to select each letter, then pushing the right joystick in any direction to confirm it). Also, if you choose to start on any wave that is not the first, you will have to shoot the enormous "Bonus Bug" after clearing it to receive its bonus - because once it flies away off the left side of the screen (or you get killed while it is on the screen), you will not be able to receive it.