Mahjong Horoscope

The tiles are circles rather than rectangles, and each one carries a zodiac sign. That is the whole visual idea here, and it changes how a board reads far more than a repaint usually does.

Round pieces sit differently in a stack, and the twelve signs are drawn as line symbols rather than suits, so the eye has nothing as easy as a row of dots to count. Highlighting is what rescues that: playable pieces are marked out, which turns the search from a hunt across the pile into a shortlist. Pairs leave the stack the same way in China.

A timer runs on the round and decides it. Clearing every pair before that timer empties is the win condition, and hints are there for the moment the shortlist runs dry on you. The Solitaire board sits beside this one among the layered boards.

The build comes from Anna Inc and plays on a phone as readily as on a desktop screen. Full screen is worth switching on either way, because the zodiac glyphs are fine-lined and lose their differences the moment they are drawn small. Working the covered edges first pays in Tiki Mahjong as well.

1. Wait for the circles to finish laying out, then read the top layer.
2. Use the highlighting to see which pieces are free at that moment.
3. Click two matching zodiac symbols to remove the pair.
4. Take a hint when nothing on the shortlist pairs up.
5. Clear the board before the timer runs out to win the round.

• Trust the highlighting — it narrows the pile to what is legal, which is quicker than checking every edge by eye.
• Learn the four you confuse — a few zodiac glyphs are near-identical at a glance and cost the most time.
• Top layers before the rim — a circle lifted from the peak frees more than one taken from the outside.
• Spend hints late — the closing pairs are where a hint saves the round rather than a second.
• Switch on full screen — round tiles pack tightly together and the symbols need the extra size.