En route to the treasure, the player can also summon Sabreman's collectible creatures, who give the character special abilities needed to advance through the levels. For example, Sabreman use the bear's belly as a trampoline, the serpent as a platform, and an exploding creature as dynamite. The player can either find or purchase these creatures. The quicker the player reaches the level's object, the more valuable the treasure will be. For example, if the player delays, the gold treasure becomes silver or bronze. When the player touches the treasure, Sabre Wulf begins to chase Sabreman, who must backtrack through the level to return the treasure to his tent without aid of the collectible creatures. Since the wolf can outpace Sabreman, the player instead needs to recall both the structure of the map and outmaneuver the wolf. If the wolf touches Sabreman, the player restarts from the beginning of the chase rather than the beginning of the level. The game's difficulty does not increase evenly, and some consecutive levels will require the use of all collectible creatures while the next require none. If the player completes a level with the gold treasure, a challenge mode version of the level unlocks with restrictions on time and helper creature selection.
