Inferno is a worker placement and soul management game in which players guide sinners to their correct circles in Hell. The game board consists of two parts: one depicts all nine circles of Hell and the soul register, while the other depicts early 14th-century Florence, with all its power struggles and palace intrigues—the city where Dante himself lived.

Each turn consists of two phases:

In the Inferno phase, you guide a soul through Hell. If you manage to place that soul in the correct circle, you earn Infamy points.

In the Florence phase, you choose between two actions. You can activate a location in the city, for example, to take in a street urchin, add an extra floor to your family tower, or invite an influential person.

Or you choose to expose a sinner. They will then be sentenced to death, and their soul will descend into hell. This will earn you entry on the soul register, which keeps track of who has "delivered" how many souls.

Each time someone dies, Dante comes closer to his descent. Once he reaches the gate to Purgatory, the game ends.

The one with the most Infamy points wins – and is officially considered untrustworthy.