Mahjong Birds

Mahjong Birds puts birds where the traditional suits usually sit and matches pairs of identical tiles off a stacked layout. The theme does more work than usual: many of the birds share a silhouette and differ by colouring, so pairs have to be checked rather than glanced at. One more board from the same group is the Dream Pet Link board.

No clock runs on the board, but the game does keep score against everyone else playing it — there are global leaderboards, which turns an untimed puzzle into a competitive one for anyone who cares about the number at the end. Several levels follow one after another, each with its own arrangement. For one more pile of the same kind, see Mahjong Relax.

A shuffle is available when the remaining birds cannot be paired, and this HTML5 build works on a desktop machine and on a phone. Full screen is the setting worth changing before the first level, because two birds of the same shape in slightly different colours are exactly what this board is made of. The Restaurant pile asks the same question of a taller pile.

1. Look across the stack for two tiles showing the same bird.
2. Check both are free to lift, then click them to clear the pair.
3. Keep matching until the layout is gone and the level is complete.
4. Compare your score against the global leaderboard when the run ends.

• Check the colouring, not the outline — Mahjong Birds repeats silhouettes across different species.
• Take the top tiles first, since they hold the rows below them shut.
• Play for score, not for speed — nothing here is timed, and the ranking is decided by the score you finish on.
• Use the shuffle when no pair is left rather than clicking hopefully around the stack.