Dinosaur Zookeeper is a casual management game about a zoo filled with dinosaurs. The game screen is divided in small tiles and the player gets to pick and place dinosaurs, and put a fence around them. Every day a certain number of visitors arrives and the player needs to make sure they do not get hurt when the dinosaurs break out of their fenced enclosure. For each day that the zoo survives without being run down by trampling dinos, the player receives income and gets access to new types of dinosaurs. After the first week new goals are offered when you do not put up new fences, make sure that less visitors die than the day before, or survive a PETA inspection. While placing the dinosaurs and putting down fences, the game is paused. When done, everything comes to life for about ten seconds and then a tally is made. Generally the player cannot interfere during those seconds, except with some emergency measures.

Each dino has specific characteristics. Some can sit together, while others need to stay away from each other. Certain dinosaurs need lots of space and others get angry when too many fences surround them. Once they get angry, they knock down fences, attack other dinosaurs and eat visitors. When this happens too often, the game is over. Money can be spent on upgrades:* One-Shot gun: emergency tool to stop rampant dinosaurs