Dragonhold is an action RPG with a fantasy theme. The player controls a character in a large, four-way scrolling environment shown from a bird’s-eye perspective with about 250 screens. The game encourages exploration with locations such as a forest, a cave, a castle, dungeons and so on. The game environment is shown in the large, center part of the screen, an inventory is on the left, and the right side shows attributes for both the character and creatures that are encountered. The typical RPG attributes are charisma, intellect, strength, wisdom, curiosity, weapons, aggression, magic power, PSI power and endurance. Each attribute is represented through a numerical value and these change through certain items and by progressing through the game.
Characters that are encountered include a nagging woman, a dwarf, a thief, a priest, a vampire bat, a troll and so on. It is possible to communicate with many of them. Typical items include weapons and food. The game emphasizes carrying specific items to be able to enter certain areas. For instance, you need to carry a lamp or you cannot go down the dungeons. Item locations and some challenges are randomized for each session. There are both visual and text puzzles. The character is moved about directly using the cursor keys. Other commands are entered though single key presses, from A to X on the keyboard, corresponding with verbs and nouns to interact with the environment. There is a save game feature.