Skyward Towers is an endless stacker game. The player tries to stack the building segments as high as they can. The crane moves faster and faster, increasing the difficulty of the game as the tower grows. Once a segment is misplaced or the tower tips over, the building is deemed too dangerous, and must be demolished.
The two game modes are normal and hardcore. In the normal mode, the segments are locked in place once they have stopped moving. This allows the player to only worry about successfully landing the current segment. In the hardcore mode the segments are not locked in allowing the building to tip over when not being careful.
Skyward Towers also has an in-game store where tools/utilities and aesthetics can be purchased using points. A player can earn points for every segment successfully landed and the accuracy of the landed segment. Points can also be obtained by watching short ads or through in-app purchases.
There are three tools/utilities that the player can purchase from the store: "Slow Down!", Freeze Lock, and The Eraser. "Slow Down!" allows the player to make the speed of the crane go back to the starting speed. Freeze Lock gives the player the ability to freeze the building and its floor segments in place. The Eraser is used for destroying the last dropped floor segment. The player can only have three of each tool/utility at the same time.