In an his effort to "phone home," players control E.T. as he attempts to locate the items necessary to communicate with his home and rejoin his ship. Upon starting the game, the player's cursor becomes an E.T. finger, and besides serving as the control mechanism for E.T., the finger will illuminate when a response or an action can be initiated. When items such as candy, a coat hanger, or a key can be picked up and placed into E.T.'s backpack, the cursor finger becomes a grasping hand. An onscreen task bar stores the collected items until they are ready for use and also enables players to receive help from either Elliot or Gertie. Players are able to save their progress via the task bar, while allowing them to exit the game at any time.