Mahjong Alchemy, a timed tile-matching puzzle game, asks a player to learn symbols related to alchemy, nature and science while clearing a playfield of patterns made of layered ingot-shaped tiles. They receive only 15 minutes to complete these goals.
The player removes pairs of matching uncovered tiles that aren't blocked on the left or right side. The ingot tiles are made of light blue silver or tin and brown copper or gold metals. Whenever the player hovers the cursor above a symbol, they can review its name and value at the lower-right corner.
The symbols include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, brass, crystal, crucible, dawn sun, different colors of dragons, full moon, gold, iron, lead, mercury, nickel, noon day sun, phosphorous, silver, spirit, tin, vinegar and water. The player can also learn the symbols of common tools and processes used by ancient alchemists. Instead of matching those symbols, they can match any tiles from the respective categories.
Mahjong Alchemy allows the player to change the perspective of a pattern between Front View (top-down view) and Perspective View (side angle) using the Menu option near the upper-right corner. They can also stop a game to submit their score and even check out the various available patterns that include The Altar, Celtic, Stone Circle and Twin Peaks.
The game displays the score and time along the top of the field. If the player fails to win because they run out of time or moves, the game automatically resets the pattern to a different one without restarting the clock. Otherwise, the player must restart the game.