Mahjong Connect Deluxe

Mahjong Connect Deluxe is Lof Games reading the Chinese tile-removal tradition straight: the whole board has to come off, and it comes off in identical pairs joined by a connecting line. The rest of them are gathered in the Connect section.

That line may not involve more than two turns, and the single restriction is what separates a solvable board from a stuck one. There are eighteen levels, short enough to finish in a sitting and long enough for the arrangements to tighten noticeably towards the end. Each level carries its own clock, and beating it pays extra bonus points on top of the clear, so the reward is for finishing rather than for merely surviving. The line between two tiles decides the match in the Animals Connection board as well.

The board is drawn at 800 by 450, a wide shallow rectangle that puts everything in one glance and keeps the tile faces small, so the suits want reading rather than skimming. Touch input works alongside the mouse. Mahjong Connect Cookware puts the same rule on a board of a different size.

1. Spot two identical tiles on the level.
2. Confirm the path between them needs two turns at most.
3. Take the pair and watch which routes it opens for the tiles behind it.
4. Empty the board before the clock runs down to collect the bonus, then start the next of the eighteen levels.

• Bank the early bonuses — the first levels of Mahjong Connect Deluxe are the easiest place to beat the clock, and the bonus is worth the same there as later.
• Two turns is the whole rule — measure a route by its corners, not by how far apart the pair sits.
• Unblock before you tidy — a pair that opens a path for three others is worth more than a pair that clears a corner nobody needs.
• Small faces, wide board — the 800 by 450 frame shrinks the tile art, so give near-identical suits a second look before clicking.