Bypass is played an a 12x12 square grid of circles, all of which are connected horizontally and vertically. There are four areas of the board in two shades each of red, blue, yellow, and green. On two opposite sides of the board is a black border numbered one through five, then skipping two spaces, and numbered five through one. A similar red numbered border exists on the board's other sides.
The game is played with up to six pieces for each player in red, blue, yellow, or green. The object is for a player to start the game with their pieces in the opposite corner of the home area of their color, and to move at least three of their pieces into that home area before their opponents, to win the game.
Movement of pieces is determined by one red and one black six-sided die; a piece will be moved to the spot where these two coordinates meet. There then follows a series of rules governing the exact part of the board the piece can move to, and what goals must be met for the piece to move further, and what happens when pieces become "triangulated," or captured.
Notes: The rules are detailed but something less than clear on some important details. Also, like other games from this publisher, the game board is a printed sheet of paper held between a transparent sheet of plastic in a black plastic frame.