| The NES booklet sets the game in Calgary, Alberta, in the winter of 1988 and has the player compete in four events: Hot Dog Aerials, Speed Skating, Figure Skating, and the Bobsled. | image 3, The Sceneimage 3 | Manual |
| The NES booklet ends with a table of past Winter Games sites that gives the 1988 games as "Calgary, Ontario", though its opening pages place Calgary in Alberta. | image 20, History of the Winter Gamesimage 3, The Scene | Manual |
| On the NES, the options screen offers competing in all events or in one, practising one event without saved scores, the world records, and the opening ceremony. One or two players each choose one of six countries and enter up to four letters. | image 7, The Optionsimage 8, Compete in All Eventsimage 8, Compete in All Eventsimage 8, Compete in All Eventsimage 9, Practice Events | Manual |
| In the NES Hot Dog Aerials, the player presses A to jump and the control pad to perform stunts and flips in the air. A jump scores from 6.3 for one stunt to 10.0 for two different flips or a stunt and a flip, and a fall scores nothing. | image 11, Hot Dog Aerialsimage 11, Hot Dog Aerial Scoringimage 11, Hot Dog Aerial Scoring | Manual |
| NES Speed Skating races the player side by side against a computer opponent (in a two-player game each player has one), with the skater's legs worked by pressing the control pad right and left in rhythm. The fastest time wins. | image 12, Speed Skatingimage 12, Speed Skatingimage 13, Speed Skating Scoringimage 12, Speed Skating | Manual |
| NES Figure Skating is a one-minute routine of seven movements in any order: camel and sit spins, double and triple axels and lutzes, and a camel into sit spin. Completing all seven scores the maximum 6.0; a fall costs .7 and an awkward movement .2, and only the first attempt at each movement counts. | image 13, Figure Skatingimage 16, Figure Skating Scoringimage 16, Figure Skating Scoringimage 16, scoring tableimage 16, scoring table | Manual |
| In the NES Bobsled, the player steers with the control pad's right and left to take the turns without capsizing, presses down to slow, and watches a map screen and a close-up screen; the fastest time wins. | image 17, The Bobsledimage 17, The Bobsledimage 18, The Bobsledimage 18 | Manual |
| After each NES event the results list each player's name, country, and score; a gold medallist's name heads the screen and the country's national anthem plays. A broken world record goes on the World Records screen. | image 18, Awards Ceremonyimage 18, World Recordsimage 18, Awards Ceremonyimage 18, Awards Ceremony | Manual |