A heavily modified port of Little Computer People, Apple Town Monogatari is an early life simulator. It stars a randomly named little girl who lives in a 3 story house with her cat. Very little interaction is featured in the game. Gameplay largely involves simply watching the girl go about their daily life. She wanders the house, occasionally doing activities like exercising, reading, brushing her teeth, feeding herself, sleeping, or even playing a game on her Famicom. The time of day is tracked on an in-game clock, on which 5 minutes is only a few seconds in real time.

Simple requests can be selected from the menu bar. These include making the phone ring, sending the girl a letter, sending her to purchase food or milk, feeding the cat, sending her a Famicom game as a gift, and having her perform a song on the piano. The girl only stores a few boxes of food and bottles of milk, and must be sent out to retrieve more before she runs out. If left neglected for too long, the girl will become angry, and may leave the house and never return.

One option in the menu allows the player to have their fortune told by the girl. This can be done through a blood-type compatibility test, a horoscope, or a variation of tarot using playing cards.