Mystic Emporium is a time management game, in the vein of games like Diner Dash. The object is to supply your store's customers with the goods they want, before they get impatient with waiting and leave. At the same time, you have a monetary goal to meet, and the number of items you offer keeps increasing, making it extremely important to know how to juggle inventory and orders.

You play a witch with a little critter on her shoulder, taking charge of her own magic shop for the first time. Your clients are a varied mix of supernatural creatures like ghosts, monsters, etc. Each of these customers bears a column of icons next to their bodies; these icons indicate their patience index. As they wait for their order to be filled, these icons will disappear one by one. Once all icons are gone, the customer leaves, and you've lost that revenue.

What they want are various magical items. A window in the upper right corner shows you what items you currently sell. You'll start with a small number of items, and this number grows as you complete each level. More items means more variables, and it can quickly become overwhelming. Here's the catch: you can't just give an item to a customer; it must be created.

To do this, you'll click on the item being ordered, then click on your cauldron at the bottom of the screen. That puts the item's recipe into the cauldron, which will then tell you which ingredients will combine to make the item. Then you'll go to your shelf to pick the proper ingredients (you can only carry two at a time at first, which over time can end up being a huge headache), and then drop the ingredients into the cauldron. Finally, you need to click on the twigs under the cauldron to cast a fire spell to get the whole thing cooking. A number of flames decrements, and when they're gone, your item is ready. A final click on the item itself lets you carry it, and a click on the customer who ordered it gives the item to him or her.