Mahjong Holiday

A hundred levels in Mahjong Holiday are arranged as a trip: London, Cairo, Paris, New York and more besides, taken one destination at a time until the hundredth is reached. Mahjong Rules for Beginners walks through the same rules from the start.

The tiles are dressed for the occasion. Instead of suits you are matching sun hats, cocktails and sunglasses, and those read faster than counted symbols do — useful, because every level is scored out of three stars and the stars are earned by clearing it quickly rather than merely finishing. Popit Vs Spinner was filed here for the same reason.

Chasing all three stars is what gives the game its real length. The first pass gets you to the last destination; the second goes back to the stops where a fumbled opening cost a star, and those are usually the busy city boards rather than the early ones. Azerion Casual Games renders the trip at 800 by 600, played with a mouse or a tap. Directly alongside it sits the Story 2 layout.

1. Start at the first destination on the holiday map.
2. Match two identical holiday tiles to clear them from the level.
3. Work quickly, since the three-star rating is based on your clearing speed.
4. Finish the level to unlock the next city on the route.
5. Return to weaker stops to collect the stars you missed.

• Open fast, finish calmly — the stars in Mahjong Holiday come from overall speed, and the first ten matches are the easiest to make quickly.
• Group by object — sun hats, cocktails and sunglasses each cluster visually, so hunt one object type at a time.
• Replay the cities — the busier destination boards are where a lost star is usually sitting.
• Count to a hundred — the route runs to the one-hundredth destination, so pace yourself across sittings.