[1] The player controls a girl attempting to keep a group of several spinning plates balanced on poles from falling.

The number of poles to spin varies between the selected skill level; there are six on the easiest setting, and ten on the hardest.

Author Brett Weiss stated that Dishaster was "as bad as its unfunny title implies" and that it was "a hopelessly repetitive game".

[5] Al Backiel, a reviewer for the newsletter and website Digital Press, wrote: Dishaster gets to be so monotonous so quickly because if you play in a systematic manner it's too easy: I move sequentially from left to right and repeat.

[2]Another Digital Press writer, Kevin Oleniacz, included the game in his "The Worst of the Atari 2600" list, writing: "The lack of sound effects, details or any background whatsoever while maneuvering around one unchanging screen would surely claim this as a DISASTER".