Happy Trails is an action strategy game for one or two players. Black Bart has robbed the stagecoach, and you need to recover all of the stolen money within the given time limit! The money is located in various locations in a series of maze-like paths. The paths are broken up into tiles, and there is one tile missing so you can rearrange the maze by moving a tile into the empty space. As your character walks through the paths, you need to rearrange the tiles to make sure there is always a connected path in front of him (or you'll lose a life) and to guide him towards the money bags. When all of the money has been recovered, you move on to the next round. On the more difficult rounds, Black Bart will also be wandering around the maze trying to stop you! You should avoid him at all costs, unless you have first collected a star which gives your character temporary invincibility.
The mazes get tougher and bigger as you go along, and the gold and the badges get harder and harder to reach. Even if you have a terrific memory for patterns there is a random maze selection that will destroy all your hard work. A range of options offer standard mazes, random mazes, and a pair of speed settings. Not a big hit in its time, but Happy Trails is a real gem.