Double Deuce Mahjong

Double Deuce deals cards where a tile board would deal tiles, and pairs them the connect way rather than by unstacking a tower.

The rule that governs everything is visibility: two cards can be taken only when the line joining them is visible. A pair with other cards sitting across the route stays exactly where it is until that route opens, which is why the middle of the layout has to be thinned before the corners become any use. The same two-bend path rule drives the Kris Animals board.

A time limit runs on the board, so the reading has to be quick as well as correct. Cards are wider than tiles and sit closer together, and telling two similar faces apart at speed is most of the difficulty on offer. The Flash list gathers the boards that share this heading.

The 2020 Flash build is what plays here, carried by the Ruffle emulator, and the connecting line shows the strain first. It can draw jagged, or linger a beat too long after the pair has cleared, the countdown stutters occasionally, and full screen is the browser’s job rather than the game’s. Two turns and nothing in the way is also the rule in Sports Mahjong Connection.

1. Scan the layout for two cards showing the same face.
2. Check that the line between them would run clear of the other cards.
3. Click both to take the pair off the board.
4. Open routes through the middle so distant pairs become reachable.
5. Clear the layout before the time limit empties.

• Thin the centre — a clear middle is what makes the far pairs legal on a connect layout.
• Trace before clicking — a pair that refuses to clear almost always has a card sitting on the route.
• Cards, not tiles — the faces repeat in suits, so check the value as well as the colour before committing.
• Keep the clock in view — the round ends on the timer, not on your last good idea.
• Use full screen — card faces at window size are where the misreads come from.