Safari Mahjong

Safari Mahjong tightens the connect rule to a single bend. Most boards of this kind allow a path with two corners; here the line between two matching animal tiles may turn once and no more, which cuts the number of legal pairs on a crowded layout dramatically. The full Connect list holds the rest of the group.

There is a collecting layer on top of the matching. Certain special pairs, once cleared, reveal a new safari animal image, so a round rewards choosing which pairs to take as much as taking them at all. The animal tiles double as the collection, so a finished round leaves you with pictures as well as an empty board. Five minutes are allowed per round, and with the one-corner restriction that allowance is not generous. Reading the edges first works in Krismas Mahjong too.

This 2021 HTML5 build plays on desktop and on touchscreens. Full screen is the practical setting, because the one-corner rule is checked by eye and a straight line that clips the edge of a standing tile is the most common failed match on this board. The Christmas Connect Deluxe board runs the connect rule on its own artwork.

1. Find two tiles showing the same safari animal.
2. Check the line between them: it may bend once, and it cannot cross a tile still in play.
3. Take the pair, watching for the special tiles that unlock a new animal picture.
4. Clear the round inside the five minutes to move on.

• Hunt for straight lines first — with only one corner allowed, Safari Mahjong rewards pairs that need no turn at all.
• Open the outer ranks, which gives the middle tiles somewhere for their single bend to go.
• Take the special pairs when they appear, since they are what reveals the new animal images.
• Keep the round moving — five minutes is short once the easy straight matches are gone.