The game world is represented by a board game-like ring of buildings in squares, resembling a cross between Monopoly and Careers.

The event can also be random, described to the player with traditional Sierra humor, e.g. "You went to Las Vegas in a $20,000 car and came back in a $200,000 Greyhound bus."

Most buildings feature a live-action clerk or store person who greets the player with a variety of humorous phrases, complete with lip-syncing.

The "board game" interface was aimed at ensuring the rules were intuitive and accessible to younger or inexperienced players.

[3] Bill Davis, Jones in the Fast Lane's designer, stated that it is "the game you'll bring out when friends drop by, or when the family just can't take one more evening of Trivial Pursuit.

"[3] The One gave the MS-DOS version of Jones in the Fast Lane an overall score of 88%, calling it a "good example" of how to implement the gameplay of a board game on a computer.

The One praises Jones in the Fast Lane's graphics, music and gameplay, expressing that gameplay has a "generally good feeling", noting the game's digitized actors and the varying music for each game location, furthermore stating that Jones has "first-class presentation".

The One praises the computer AI, saying that it offers "a challenge", as well as Jones' multiplayer, expressing that "Playing the game with others incites plenty of excitement ....

"[3] Strategy Plus's Brian Walker wrote, "As in most Sierra games, the joy comes from the process of discovery, and Jones is no exception to this."