Classic Mahjong Deluxe

Thirty levels, each scored out of three stars: that is the structure WillingGames.com built around an otherwise traditional board. Clearing a level is one thing, and finishing all thirty with three stars apiece is the challenge the game actually sets, which is why players return to layouts they have already beaten. Another layout to unstack is Tap 3.

The rules are the strict ones. Only a free tile can be taken, meaning nothing covering it and at least one of the left or right sides without a neighbour, and matches are always exact pairs. Around that sits a Chinese-styled board with jungle motifs at the edges and a slow instrumental loop that stays out of the way. A second stacked layout here is Mahjong Deluxe.

Each level carries a time limit, so reading the formation quickly matters as much as reading it correctly. The layouts grow taller as the thirty progress, which shifts the work from scanning a wide board to remembering what is buried under the middle of a tall one. The 1280 by 720 board expands to full screen, which is the practical way to tell the bamboo suits apart. Mouse and touch both work. Another board from the same undemanding group is Solitaire Mahjong Juicy.

1. Identify a free tile, with nothing stacked on it and one side clear.
2. Find its exact match elsewhere on the board and select both.
3. Work through the layers until the formation is empty.
4. Finish inside the time limit, since every level is scored out of three stars.

• Chase the third star on replays — a first pass at a level teaches you the formation, and the rating comes on the second.
• Top tiers before flat rows — a tile removed from the peak of the stack frees more than one on the edge.
• Remember the buried twins — later layouts are tall, and the match you need is often the one you saw two removals ago.
• Do not deliberate — with a limit on every level, a fair match now beats a perfect one later.
• Use full screen — bamboo and circle suits are separated by fine line work that a window flattens.