Chinese New Year Mahjong

Fireworks, lanterns, zodiac animals and luck symbols carry the tile faces in Chinese New Year Mahjong, drawn in the Lunar New Year palette of red and gold that runs through the backgrounds as well.

MarketJS opens with an interactive tutorial rather than a wall of rules, which is unusual for a board this simple: select two identical open tiles and they leave. The tutorial is worth a minute even if the format is familiar. Twelve levels follow, each tighter than the last. Freeing the lower rows early matters in the Number board as well.

Every level is timed. Clearing the board before the countdown ends is the requirement, and the auto-solve power-up exists for the levels where the last pairs are buried and the clock is short. The Summer Triple pile sits beside this one among the layered boards.

Hints and a shuffle round out the help. The 2016 build runs at 640 by 480 on mouse or touch, and full screen is the sensible choice, since the ornamental art is dense and several zodiac animals resolve into the same red shape at small sizes. The Math board uses the matching rule on a differently drawn set.

1. Run the interactive tutorial if this is your first board.
2. Select two identical open tiles to remove them.
3. Clear the level before its timer expires.
4. Call on an auto-solve bonus when the last lanterns and zodiac tiles are buried.
5. Work through all twelve levels in turn.

• Top layers first — a covered tile in Chinese New Year Mahjong cannot be selected until the tile above it goes.
• Save auto-solve for level twelve — the early boards rarely need it and the last ones frequently do.
• Learn the zodiac set — the animal tiles are the ones that look alike, far more so than the lanterns or the fireworks.
• Shuffle when moves run out — a locked board still burns the countdown.
• Play in full screen — red-on-gold art at 640 by 480 loses its detail inside a browser window.