Alchemist's Apprentice

You are at the High School of Magical Arts when you get a letter from your uncle. He is an alchemist and leader of a province. It seems he is hot on the trail of the Philosopher's Stone and, while he is away, he wants you to rule his province. You go to his province to find that, with your uncle always busy with research, he has neglected the province. It is up to you to run the province and get it back in shape.

Alchemist's apprentice is a puzzle game, mostly match three but also with some hidden object puzzles. The hidden object puzzles are standard where you must find a set number of a certain object, like swords or scrolls. The majority of the game, however, are match three puzzles. You use your mouse to swap two elements to create a row of three or more. The object is to gather the required amount of gold and, on some puzzles, make swaps over frozen cells to release them. You then use this gold to restore buildings. These buildings will gain you bonuses in the puzzles. For instance, if you restore the Thunder Tower, in the puzzle some elements will have a colored gem. Collect enough of these for the Thunder Tower and a bolt of lightning will destroy a random row or column. Later in the game, some elements will have a symbol called a totem. Collect enough of these and you play a bonus game where you use your mouse to lead a leprechaun back and forth under a money tree, trying to catch falling coins.