Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang are ready to hit the tennis and squash courts in Snoopy Tennis for Game Boy Color. A total of 12 characters are available to choose from, each with various strengths and weaknesses. Snoopy sports strong running and forehand abilities, but is not a great server or net player. On the other hand, Lucy isn't very fast on her feet, but is deadly from the net and has the ability to serve up lightning-fast aces. Not all 12 characters are initially playable, however, so they must be uncovered by winning matches.
Five different modes of play are available in Snoopy Tennis. The most basic is the Normal mode, which is standard play and regular advantage system scoring. Power Mode, which is available in singles play, gives users the opportunity to collect power-ups from around the court. The power-up icons, which can let the user win the point immediately or have the tennis ball pause in midair, are instantly activated after being collected. While most power-ups help the human-controlled player, some need to be avoided.
The Points Race mode sets the clock at two minutes, with the object being to score as many points as possible. This can be played with one or two players. The final two modes are Sudden Win, where there are no service breaks, and Squash, which adds walls instead of sidelines, but still follows normal scoring rules. As with the Points Race, any of the other modes can be played with another human player in the form of head-to-head competition or doubles competition against computer opponents.
Nine courts are available to play on including Snoopy's Backyard, the beach, the school bus, and several more from the actual Pro Tennis Circuit. In normal mode, only the four courts inspired by the comic strip are available to play, while the pro courts are used in the other competitions. On the court, users have the option of using basic in-game controls or advanced controls.
The two control options are similar in that they both include lobs, drop shots, serves, ground strokes, and volleys; however, the basic mode has autoserve while in advanced mode the user must serve manually. Because of this, some of the key assignments are different in the two modes. Learning the techniques in the basic setting and then moving on to the advanced controls will give Snoopy and his friends the best chance of being victorious on the court.