Die Welt: Wetten, da liegt Manhatten! features gameplay similar to Die Welt: Singapur, wo liegt das nur? (which is derived from Deutschland: Finden Sie Minden), with players trying to locate places or landmarks on a world map.
To set up, players lay out game boards that feature land masses with no names on them. On a turn, players are confronted with a location, such as Timbuktu or Medina, then they all try to guess where in the world that location is. They can play it safe and choose a large block of land – scoring only a few points in the process if correct – or they can go small and pinpoint the location more precisely on one of the game boards, scoring far more points if correct, but upping their chances of scoring nothing if they miss their mark. In the end, whoever scores the most points wins.
Die Welt: Wetten, da liegt Manhatten! is playable as a standalone game or the ninety locations included in the box can be used with the Die Welt: Singapur, wo liegt das nur? base game.