The game provides eight galaxies, each containing 256 planets to explore. Due to the limited capabilities of 8-bit computers, these worlds are procedurally generated. The player, initially '''Commander Jameson''', starts at '''Lave''' Station with 100 Credits and a lightly armed trading ship, a '''Cobra Mark III'''. Most of the ships that the player encounters are similarly named after snakes, or other reptiles. Credits can be accumulated through a number of means. These include piracy, trade, military missions, bounty hunting and the mining of asteroids. The money generated by these enterprises allows the player to upgrade their ship with such enhancements as better weapons, shields, increased cargo capacity, an automated docking system, and more.
[[Image:Elite The Dark Wheel Novella.jpg|thumb|left|Cover art for ''[[The Dark Wheel]]'', a novella included in the Acornsoft release of ''Elite'', duplicating the box art used for that version]]
Travel between planets is constrained to those within range of the ship's limited fuel capacity (7 light years); fuel can be replenished after docking with a space-station in orbit around a planet - a challenging task without a '''docking computer''', as it requires matching the ship's rotation to that of the station. Players can upgrade their equipment with a '''fuel scoop''', which allows raw fuel to be skimmed from the surface of suns - a dangerous and difficult activity - as well as collecting free-floating cargo canisters and escape capsules liberated after the destruction of other ships.