Toontown's 3D virtual world takes its theme from the colorful style and humor of classic animated cartoons, packaged into an online game experience that is designed to be social and non-violent.

In the game, players play the role of a toon, choosing its species and customising its look when they begin. The game tutorial explains that toons must work together to rid the streets from the ongoing menace of the "Cogs" — robots dressed in business suits who are trying to transform the bright and cheerful Toontown into a gray, corporate world.

To battle the cogs, toons use "gags" — silly weapons that are reflective of the slapstick humor found in classic cartoons: cream pies, seltzer bottles, banana peels, dropping anvils, squirting flowers, etc. Perhaps just as appropriately, both the cogs' names and their weapons are taken from business slang: Micromanager, Spin Doctor, Red Tape, Power Tie, etc. By defeating all the cogs found in a cog building, players restore it back into a toon building. Defeating cogs also earns experience points for the player in various gag tracks, eventually leading to new and more powerful gags.

The Toontown game software is available as a free download or in a retail box version. Both require a subscription fee to play beyond an initial trial period.