Mahjong Link

Mahjong Link prints a number on every tile, which sounds like a small decision and changes the whole reading of the board. Identical faces are confirmed at a glance instead of being squinted at, and the number is there precisely so the blocks are easier to identify. Types of Mahjong answers the questions this board raises.

The rule Agame applies is that a block has to be free on at least one side before it can be taken. That makes the tiles at the ends of a row your working set at any moment, while the ones packed into the middle wait their turn until a neighbour is removed. Another entry from the same shelf is Golden Autumn.

It is pitched as relaxing and simple, and the numbering is what earns the description. Most of the friction on a tile board comes from misreading two similar faces under time pressure, and this build takes that friction out and leaves the ordering problem behind. The window is 800 by 600, single-player, mouse or tap. The same group of boards includes Merry Christmas Connect.

1. Look along the rows for two blocks carrying the same number.
2. Check that each of the two is free on at least one side.
3. Select both to match them and remove them from the board.
4. Clear the outer blocks to free the ones packed behind them.

• Read the numbers — they exist to identify blocks quickly, so use them instead of comparing tile art.
• Work the row ends — a block only becomes playable when one of its sides is clear.
• Do not strand the middle — clearing both ends of a row and leaving its centre packed is the usual way a board locks up.
• Take it slowly — Mahjong Link is built as a simple, unhurried board rather than a scored one.