In Gold River, an updated version of Boomtown and La Fièvre de l'Or, players want to take home as much money as possible from the mines that surround them.

On a turn, multiple items — mines, dynamite, town characters, and more — will be available for auction. Players keep bidding until all but one player passes; that player pays their bid to the player on their right, who keeps half the money (rounded up), then passes the rest right, with that player keeping half, and so on. The winning bidder chooses one item from the lot, then the player to their left chooses one, and so on until each player has acquired something new.

The winning bidder also rolls two dice to determine which gold mines pay out. The first player to acquire two mines in a location becomes that town's Mayor, after which they earn a commission when anyone else acquires a card from that town.

Gold River includes a two-player game mode (unlike Boomtown) as well as an advanced "poker" game mode.