Somewhat unusually for a driving game, Road Rally is presented entirely in a turn-based, textual format. Your goal is to drive a 5-mile distance from home to the Old Mill Stream. There are five courses, ranging from relatively straight to riddled with curves, and you have a choice of four vehicles: a Volkswagen, a Chevy, a Mazda RX-7, and a Ferrari. Trouble is, you only have half a gallon in your tank... and the faster the car, the more gas it will guzzle.

A game turn represents 10 seconds of driving time, and gives you a run-down of your current stats and road conditions. On each turn, you get the option to adjust your gas rate, by entering a number from -10 (hard braking) to 10 (hard acceleration): this is the only form of control you have over your car. Careful speed control is required in order to avoid crashing, navigate curves safely, keep your engine from overheating, and your gas from running out.