The Caves of Oberon is a puzzle game that takes place in a large cave system on Oberon, one of the moons of Uranus. The caves hold knowledge of a long extinct culture and the aim of the game is simply to discover all of that knowledge.

The player is in control of a saucer-like spaceship that is controlled from a side view perspective. Interaction with objects in the world, such as computers, sensors, fuel tanks and radars, is done by directing a beam onto them. To progress through the caves it is necessary to unlock doors by interacting with computers. The player is then given a puzzle that has to be solved, for example a math problem where the correct missing number has to be entered or a word with a letter missing. While moving around it is necessary to avoid bumping into the cave walls since the ship will take damage and when it is destroyed the game is over. Fuel is also limited and it is necessary to refuel at the fuel tanks.