Labeled as a "management game" by its publisher, Monster Ville could better be described as an action/basic RTS game with a humorous tone, starring the Universal Studios Monsters: Dracula, the Monster of Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Werewolf, etc.

The objective is to control a medieval town of humble peasants by hypnotizing the citizens. Two or more monsters compete for the domination of the town and have a limited time to use their magic powers to convince a majority of peasants to rally to their cause.

Each monster has its own special powers (e.g. Dracula can fly), strengths and weaknesses. You can use a series of traps to stop your enemy's advance (e.g. place a mirror somewhere to stop Quasimodo, since he can't stand his own reflection), or build new dwellings for your supporters. On certain maps, there's a "neutral" monster that you can hypnotize too and use as a secondary character to gain support amongst the citizens twice as fast.