The player is introduced to the game with a short cut scene showing that a princess has been kidnapped and held captive inside a castle by an evil witch. The players mission is to enter the castle and rescue the princess. In order to successfully rescue her, the following items must be found: a cross to prevent her from turning into a witch, a potion to wake her up, and a ring to get her to marry the player. These items are hidden in a maze, separated into separate rooms that are static (i.e. no scrolling). The number of rooms depends on the level of difficulty. Along the way, the player will face monsters and puzzles. Using a magic hammer, the player can squash the enemies, and smash tiles into the bottomless pit. The monsters regenerate at a predetermined respawn spot, similar to Pac-Man, so the player must move quickly.
The game ends if the player lost all of his allowed lives. The game also ends when the player does not have enough treasure to save the Princess, regardless of his lives.
Source: Wikipedia, "Pit Pot", available under the CC-BY-SA License.