Rollercoaster Mania casts players in the role of a new park manager. An initial tutorial walks players through the processes of laying down paths, placing food and drink stands, setting up rides and introduces the fact that some rides are friend-gated — though as in most other social games, this may be bypassed by the expenditure of hard currency.

Many things in Rollercoaster Mania are time-sensitive. The player has the option to keep their park open for between 30 minutes and seven days. Food and drink stores also carry timers, which function in a similar manner to the park timer.

It's difficult to ignore the fact that Rollercoaster Mania doesn't quite feel finished, however. After the initial quacking splash screen for the developer, there is no sound whatsoever in the game. There is a "music on/off" button on the interface, but this is stuck on "off." Rollercoaster Mania's performance also struggles a little in full-screen mode on less powerful computers, particularly when viewing busy parks.