Mahjong Four Rivers

Playgama pitches Four Rivers as a fresh take on a very old puzzle, which in practice means the traditional shape with a modern coat of paint. The tiles are the drawing card — the studio makes a point of them — and clearing the board is the whole objective. A longer explanation of the rule sits in the guide to clearing a pile.

What Playgama highlights instead of features is the skill involved: observation and strategy. That is an honest account of what a classic tile board asks. Spotting the pair is only half of it; the other half is deciding which of two legal pairs to spend, since one of them opens the layout and the other closes it. Pairs leave the stack the same way in the Burger pile.

The 800 by 600 frame is the conventional one for this genre, tall enough for a proper pyramid without cutting off the upper tiers, and the build is made to run on a phone as readily as on a desktop. Mahjong Magic Islands builds the layers into another arrangement.

1. Study the arrangement before touching anything — Playgama built this one around observation.
2. Pick out two matching tiles that are free to lift.
3. Remove the pair and check what it has exposed underneath.
4. Repeat until the last tile leaves and the board is clear.

• Choose between duplicates deliberately — when two legal pairings exist for the same face, one of them usually unlocks more of the stack.
• Read top down — the 800 by 600 frame gives Four Rivers real height, and the upper tiers are what pin the rest.
• Trust observation over reflex — Playgama sells this board on noticing things, and its pairs are found by looking rather than by clicking.
• Prefer the larger screen — the tile art carries detail that a handset compresses, even though the build handles both.