In Alan's Adventureland, players are a part of the design team for a new amusement park. There are four themed neighborhoods within the facility, and each player is responsible for constructing the attractions in one of those neighborhoods: Animal Kingdom, Tour America, Sky World, and Foreign Lands. Each turn represents the passage of one week.

During the game, players draw cards representing purchase orders (POs) for different types of attractions. These cards have two uses: first, as POs approved by the finance office to expedite construction of specific types of attractions each turn, and second, as the actual financing to construct the attraction represented on the card. At the end of each month, the review board meets, evaluates the progress of each neighborhood, and awards bonuses for meeting a set of predetermined preferences. These preferences relate to how attractions in a park are arranged. Points are awarded to the players who meet the review board's preferences.

At the end of the game, the owners of the facility come in and award points to the finished themed neighborhoods. These points are awarded based on four criteria:

1. Excitement Level — size of the rides
2. Parking Lot View — curb appeal to visitors upon arrival
3. Main Entrance View — attractiveness to patrons waiting in line for their tickets
4. Themed Attractions — number of matched types of attractions in a neighborhood

The player who earns the most points wins the design contract for the owners' next project.