The player was free to roam around the desert and town at will constrained only by the need to make sure they had enough food to eat and a safe place to sleep. Earning money could be accomplished in a variety of ways including panning for gold in a river, mining for gold in a cave, or capturing a wanted bandit. Food could be purchased or caught from a river if the player had previously acquired fishing gear.

The game became well known for its breezy, free-flowing nature. The game was also notable for not having a single environment for the player to operate in; the location of mines and rivers, and the details of characters a player could meet were different each time the game was played.