Monte Cristo is an arcade game without any reels and paylines which are the fundamental elements of any slot machine. Once you place a bet that ranges between $0.02 and $500, a moving ball appears inside the screen. When the ball hits an obstacle, it either bounces off or breaks it. Whichever the case is, you have 10 bounces in each round. Some obstacles (walls, wooden boxes or stone bricks) bring you no prizes, if hit; the ball just rebounds and continues travelling across the screen. If the ball hits some feature symbols, you get a corresponding award, for example, the Heart symbol adds three bounces to your current game, the Bomb symbol awards all wins from its adjacent symbols, etc. The screen refreshes regularly to another playfield with a new set of bricks.

There are four symbols that pay out a cash prize when hit by the ball: golden coins (x0.5 times your bet), a ring (x5), a treasure chest (x25), and a blue gemstone (x100), so playing at the maximum bet you may win up to $50,000.

There are also two bonus symbols that start a respective bonus game. One of the symbols unlocks 5 free games; another feature symbol triggers a bonus round where you have to open the doors that reveal a coin award.