Playground Mahjong

Playground Mahjong is a solitaire board painted in swings, slides and bright primary colours. Identical tiles are lifted in pairs and the stack comes down layer by layer, which is the standard rule; what varies is the arrangement, and the arrangements keep coming. The Onet grid is catalogued beside this board.

The level count runs from twenty-five up to a hundred, each with its own layout, so the board you learn on is not the board you finish on. A tile is available only while nothing sits on top of it and its sides are not both blocked, and that condition is what makes a colourful, friendly-looking stack turn stubborn around the middle. Another layout to unstack is Shanghai.

A time limit runs on each level, and hints and shuffles are provided for the layouts that lock. This build is made for desktop and laptop browsers, and full screen suits it: the playground artwork is busy, and at window size two brightly coloured tiles showing different equipment read as the same splash of colour. Pairs leave the stack the same way in the Stylish Purses board.

1. Find two tiles showing the same piece of playground equipment.
2. Check that each one is uncovered and has a side that is not blocked.
3. Take the pair off and read what it uncovers underneath.
4. Clear every tile before the level timer runs out.

• Go by shape, not colour — Playground Mahjong uses a bright palette that repeats across different tiles.
• Unstack the peaks first, since a single tile on top can hold two rows in place.
• Keep both flanks of a row in mind — opening only one end leaves the far tiles stranded.
• Spend hints on the later layouts, where the level count climbs and the arrangements grow denser.