As with Blue Chip's other business simulation games, the objective in Baron is to get filthy rich by speculating and trading - this time around, in the American real estate market. The game is turn-based: each turn represents one month of market activities, and allows you to eyeball the market trends, get the lowdown on various properties, buy/sell them, trade in options and and take out loans. You start out with $35,000 in cash and the status of Novice, which carries some limitations like lower loans and high closing costs on sales. As you increase your net worth, becoming an Investor or a Banker, the limitations relax and you gain better leverage.

The goal is to achieve the status of Baron by piling up a net worth of $1,000,000 within 60 months, but if you pull that off, you may still opt to go for the next million and see how quick you can get there. On the other hand, a lack of business savvy may leave you bankrupt. Up to 14 players may record their status and history, although only one can play at a time. A single game session may be saved to disk and resumed later.