Triple Mahjong 2

Threes instead of twos: Triple Mahjong 2 asks for triples of identical open tiles, and that single rule changes the arithmetic of every layout. A tile whose two partners are buried is worthless, and a board that looks rich in matches can be almost dead.

An open tile is one with no tile on top of it and at least one free side. Because three of them are needed at once, the discipline is counting: before taking anything, work out where the third copy of a symbol is and whether it will still be reachable afterwards. Discover Egypt builds the layers into another arrangement.

Fifty levels follow, each on a clock. Hints and a shuffle exist for boards that seize up, and on a triples game a shuffle is more valuable than usual, since an arrangement with two copies free and the third locked is a common way to stall. Mahjong Dimensions is catalogued beside this board.

The 2014 HTML5 release works on a desktop machine and on touch devices, and full screen matters because a triples board has to be scanned as a whole rather than in sections. Halloween Tiles Mahjong sits beside this one among the layered boards.

1. Identify open tiles: nothing on top of them, at least one side free.
2. Find three identical ones that are all open at the same moment.
3. Select all three to remove them from the board.
4. Clear every tile before the timer runs out to advance through the fifty levels.

• Count to three before you click — Triple Mahjong 2 punishes taking a symbol whose third copy is still buried.
• Unlock, then match — freeing a third copy is usually worth more than completing an easy triple.
• Shuffle earlier than on a pairs board — with triples, a stalled arrangement is much harder to talk back to life.
• Scan the whole layout — the three copies are rarely near one another.
• Play in full screen — a triples board has to be taken in at a glance.