The concept of Traffic Jam shares similarities with titles such as Make Trax and Pac-Man. The player is in control of a car that leaves a blue streak while it drives through a city, viewed from an overhead perspective. The goal is to turn all the black roads into blue. Other cars and roadblocks must be avoided. The other cars can also turn into steamrollers which revert the colors back. The player can use emergency hazards which make his car temporarily invincible and allow to drive into the other vehicles to stun them and receive bonus points. The supply of these hazards can be replenished by driving over oil cans that sometimes appear. There are also letters that spell out" BONUS", which can be collected for additional points. Once the entire street grid is turned blue, the next stage begins.