The game plays much differently than its Gold Box brethren. Your party camps outside the city of Hillsfar, where the mage Maalthiir has taken power, outlawed magic and oppressed the populace.

You take individual characters inside the city to quest alone. Based on their class, they find quests by visiting their respective guilds. Quests range from finding lost items to investigating a kidnapping, and may require you to fight for information in the arena or check out the latest gossip in the taverns. Three quests, with increasing rewards, are available for each class.

Most of the action takes place in the form of arcade segments. Travelling to outlying areas requires riding a horse across dirt roads while avoiding obstacles. Investigating locations (or breaking into them) takes place in a top-down perspective as you explore mazes for treasure and clues, avoiding the town guards and magical traps. There is an archery range where you may compete for prizes and an arena where you may fight for the same (sometimes your life).

All combat takes place in the arena, and since magic is outlawed, magic users will not be permitted to cast spells during the game. The mini-games are the same despite your class, though class will affect certain aspects of them. For instance, chests that you find will often be locked, and you can either force them open, risking dangerous traps, or if you are a thief you may engage in a lock-picking mini-game that requires good eyes and fast fingers.

Although as a standalone title the game can be tedious considering the lack of an overarching quest, as a companion piece to Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds and a chance to build your characters beyond the usual methods of experience farming, Hillsfar is an entertaining diversion and a fun place to explore.