Kids Mahjong

Kids Mahjong is the tile game reduced to its simplest working form. The board is small, the artwork is large and bright, and the rule is the one every version shares: two identical tiles go together and leave the board. Nothing sits behind a menu or a settings screen, so the first pair can be made within a second of the tiles appearing. The Link board shares this board’s place in the catalogue.

Difficulty arrives gradually rather than suddenly. Each new level adds tiles to the layout, so a child who has cleared the first board meets the same rule on a slightly bigger one, and the step up never involves a new mechanic to explain. There is no time limit anywhere in the game, which removes the single thing that makes tile puzzles frustrating for young players. Mahjong Black and White was filed here for the same reason.

It runs on desktop browsers and is played with the mouse. Full screen is the setting to switch on for a small player: the tiles are drawn boldly, and at full size the difference between two bright, similar pictures stops being a squint. The same group of boards includes Connect Dots.

1. Look at the board and find two tiles that show the same picture.
2. Click one and then the other to take both away.
3. Carry on until every tile has gone.
4. Move to the next level, which starts with a few more tiles than the last.

• Start at the top — the tiles lying above others are the ones holding a Kids Mahjong board together.
• Point before clicking, which is the easiest way for a young player to check a match.
• No rush is needed, since nothing on this board is timed.
• Turn on full screen so the bright tile pictures are big enough to compare at a glance.