Classic Mahjong, also commonly known as Panda Mahjong Classic, is a timed tile-matching game. A panda named Panda needs the player's help to complete tasks that relate to stories about different animal characters. For example, in the first story, Panda asks the player to find their old friend, Rabbit, who has decided to meditate at a nearby temple.
On each level, the player clears away layers of tiles on a wooden table to reveal one of five animal symbols carved into the surface. They must act quickly before time runs out on a top-center horizontal timer bar. They must also attempt to earn a high score from standard and bonus points.
The player completes their mission by rapidly selecting unblocked, uncovered pairs of matching Mahjong tiles on the table. The tiles feature Chinese characters and classic artwork that includes bamboo, dots and dragon symbols. Some tiles display different types of flowers and calendar seasons. The player can select non-identical tiles from these two categories.
Any time the player selects a pair, the game highlights the selections with yellow light. Tiles hidden in lower covered layers or stuck between other tiles on both the right and left sides at the same time aren't available until the player removes nearby tiles.
Panda Mahjong Classic gives the player extra time and bonus points when they collect the pairs. It also supplies them with three free hints in the bottom-right corner via a button marked with a magnifying glass. It points out a matching pair with flashing green highlighting and down-pointing red arrows.
