Game designer Michael Berlyn gives the following source for the word: Muffy and I were employed there [at Harvard], teaching creative writing.

The player learns that Gramps' mysterious disappearance extends even into the Tonetown world, and may have been arranged by the villainous Franklin Snarl.

To progress in the game, the player must assimilate into Tonetown's culture, using guitar picks as currency and partaking in its party scene, its "tass" music, including the popular band The Daglets, and such delicacies as "GloBurgers".

The player encounters technology unique to Tonetown such as the "zagtone" (a device that plays variable notes depending on what object it is struck against), as well as bizarre creatures including the cute but destructive "blobpet" and dangerous monsters.

Other scenarios include many possible instances of saving the game in situations in which death can never be avoided in time, such as in a location too far away from the shopping boutiques, so that Snarl will kill a player still deemed a "tourist" before Tonetown apparel and hairstyles can ever be purchased.

stated that the Amiga version of Tass Times in Tonetown was a "fascinating new game" with "superb color graphics", calling the story "unusual".

[3] Hartley and Pattie Lesser similarly commented on the game in their "The Role of Computers" column in Dragon #116 (1986), stating "This one is truly bizarre".

"[6] Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Tass Times in Tonetown, calling it a "Challenging, unique game with [a] sense of humor."

Macworld praises its gameplay, puzzles, and atmosphere, stating that "the game demands that you familiarize yourself with a vernacular and logic particular to Tonetown.

Macworld compares Tass Times in Tonetown's gameplay to other adventure games, including Déjà Vu, Uninvited, and Mindshadow.

Macworld called Tass Times in Tonetown "something that seems a cross between Raw magazine, The Face, and the Bizarro World of DC Comics" and praised it as a fun game with a user-friendly interface.