Little Alchemy Game
4 / 147 discovered · 3%
Click any element in the sidebar to place it here, then drag elements together to combine them
Category Progress
How to Play Little Alchemy
Place Elements on the Workspace
Click any element in the right sidebar to place a copy of it on the workspace canvas. You start with four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Elements in the sidebar are unlimited — you can place as many copies as you like without using them up.
Drag Elements Together to Combine
Drag one element on the workspace and drop it onto another element. If a valid recipe exists between those two elements, they will merge into a new element that appears where the target was. If no recipe exists, both elements stay in place. Try every combination you can think of!
Discover New Elements
Each successful combination reveals a new element with a discovery popup showing its name and emoji. The new element is automatically added to your sidebar library, where you can use it in future combinations. Watch the discovery counter at the top to track your progress toward all 150 elements.
Use Hints and Explore Categories
Stuck? Click the Hint button to reveal one combination you can make right now with your current elements. Use the category filter tabs in the sidebar (Nature, Animals, Technology, etc.) and the progress bars to see which areas have undiscovered elements. Your progress saves automatically — just come back whenever you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many elements can I discover in this version?
Our version includes 150 total elements across nine categories: Nature, Plants, Animals, Food, Technology, People, Space, Fantasy, and Concepts. This includes the four starting elements (Water, Fire, Earth, Air) plus 146 discoverable elements. We chose 150 as a deliberate design decision — it is ambitious enough to keep you engaged for hours of play, but finite enough that reaching 100% completion feels genuinely achievable. The original Little Alchemy has 580 elements, and Little Alchemy 2 has over 720, which many players find overwhelming. Our curated set prioritizes satisfying logical chains and clear category progression.
Does the order I combine elements matter?
No. Combinations in Little Alchemy are always order-independent. Combining Fire + Water produces exactly the same result as Water + Fire — both create Steam. Internally, the game sorts the two element names alphabetically and joins them to form a lookup key, so the order you drag-and-drop or click elements has no effect on the outcome. This means you never need to worry about trying a combination 'the wrong way' — every attempt checks both orderings simultaneously.
Is my progress saved if I close the browser?
Yes. Your discovery progress is automatically saved to your browser's local storage every time you find a new element. When you return to the page, the game reads this saved data and restores all your previous discoveries. Note that clearing your browser history or site data will also delete your game progress. The workspace (elements currently placed on the canvas) is not saved between sessions — only your discovered element library persists. If you want to start over intentionally, use the Reset button in the header.
What happens when I use the Hint button?
The Hint button analyzes your current discovered element library and finds all valid recipes where both ingredients are elements you have already discovered, but the result is still undiscovered. It then randomly selects one of these possible combinations and displays it as a text hint at the bottom of the workspace, showing: Ingredient A + Ingredient B = Result. The hint stays visible for four seconds. There is no limit to how many hints you can use, though the game tracks how many you have used as a personal challenge metric. Hints never spoil the entire recipe book — they reveal only one combination at a time.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes, the game is fully touch-compatible. On mobile, tap any element in the sidebar to place it on the workspace canvas. To combine elements, touch-drag one workspace element and release it on top of another. The combination detection checks whether two elements are within 48 pixels of each other when you release, so you just need to drop one near the other — pixel-perfect placement is not required. On very small screens, use the 'Hide' button in the header to collapse the sidebar and maximize the workspace area. The category progress bars and search remain accessible by tapping 'Elements' to reopen the sidebar.
What is the hardest element to discover?
Elements in the later tiers of the recipe tree tend to require the longest chains to reach. Unicorn, for example, requires discovering Ocean, Life, Forest, Wild Animal, Grass, Horse, then combining Horse with Rainbow (which itself requires Sky and Water, meaning you first need Cloud and Air). Astronaut requires discovering Sky, Sun, Night, Star, and Human before you can create it. King needs the entire chain from Lizard to Dragon to Hero to Sword to Knight and Castle. These long chains are intentional — they make late-game discoveries feel especially rewarding. If you are stuck on a specific element, try using the Hint button or check that you have explored all combinations involving your most recently discovered elements.