Treasures of Montezuma 2 is a match-3 puzzle game. To collect ancient crystals and other treasures, the player matches three or more identical tokens on boards in Adventure, Endless and Puzzle modes. They must play the Adventure mode first to unlock the other two modes.
The Adventure mode offers the player eight levels of play in Normal, Expert and Hard modes across five categories numbered with Roman numerals. The player destroys tokens to collect a specific number of crystals per level in a vertical storage bar to the left of the board.
As with other match-3 games, the player can create a unique booster, known as a bonus item in this particular game, by matching a specific number of the same type of token. For example, if the player matches four tokens of the same color, they create a detonation bomb in a random color that they can use to destroy a large group of non-matching tokens. The player earns coins at the end of each level that they can use to buy boosters. After a purchase, the booster appears automatically whenever the player completes a specific maneuver.
Treasures of Montezuma 2 also rewards the player with masks when they complete a task. They receive a green one if they collect every crystal and complete every task before a timer changes color. If the timer's color changes once, they receive a yellow mask. If it changes twice, they receive a blue one. In Puzzle mode, they receive masks based on the number of moves they complete to win.
It's important to note that the timer status also impacts the number of gold coins the player receives at the end of a level. The total amount decreases to match the clock. That said, the player can complete matches faster if they use two board reshuffle options to the lower left below the clock.