Xmas 2020 Mahjong Deluxe

WillingGames.com put out this holiday set in 2020, and its scale is the headline: 48 levels of Christmas tiles, each carrying a three-star rating that turns a cleared board into a graded one. Finishing the run is one achievement, finishing it at three stars throughout is a different and much longer one.

The eligibility rule is the classical one and it is worth stating precisely. A free tile is not covered by any other tile and has at least one side, left or right, open. Two free tiles bearing the same festive image are removed together, and everything else on the board is waiting rather than available. Valentines Mahjong builds the layers into another arrangement.

Because the rating rewards a clean run rather than a fast one, the sensible approach is to work down from the top of the stacks and to spend removals on the tiles that free the most neighbours. A board that seizes up has almost always been played greedily, taking easy pairs while burying the ones underneath. The page on deadlocked boards takes the same rules apart step by step.

Soft background music runs alongside the festive artwork, and the 1280 by 720 canvas gains from full screen where the stacked layers overlap and a covered tile can be mistaken for a free one. Jewels Kyodai Mahjong uses the matching rule on a differently drawn set.

1. Open a level and identify the tiles that are not covered by anything.
2. Among those, look for ones with a free left or right side.
3. Match two free tiles showing the same Christmas image to remove them.
4. Work down through the layers so that buried tiles come into play.
5. Clear the board and aim for three stars, then continue through the 48 levels.

• Check covered before open — a tile under another one is unavailable whatever its sides look like.
• Play for the star rating — every one of the 48 boards is graded, so clearing it is only half the job.
• Top layers first — removing what sits on top is the only way to bring the tiles beneath into play.
• Avoid greedy pairs — an easy match that buries two other tiles is how a festive board seizes up.
• Use full screen for the stacks — overlapping layers are where a covered tile gets mistaken for a free one.