Mahjong Halloween

Pumpkins, bats and other seasonal faces cover the tiles in Mahjong Halloween, on a 640-by-360 board that is far wider than it is tall.

Two identical tiles clear when you click them, and the whole board has to go before the clock empties. The developer’s advice is blunt: once you can finish it, finish it faster, which turns every replay into a timed run rather than a fresh puzzle. A second stacked layout here is Mahjong China.

Stacked tiles come off from the top down, so the useful habit is to take the upper layer even when an easier pair sits exposed at the edge. Hints and a shuffle are available, but both cost seconds you are already racing against. Only tiles with an open side move in Mahjong Solitaire too.

The letterbox frame suits a laptop screen better than an upright phone, and full screen widens the rows enough that the darker Halloween tiles stop blending into each other. Mouse and touch both work, and the board scales to either. The same free-tile rule governs Tile Mahjong.

1. Scan the wide board for two tiles with the same Halloween face.
2. Click the pair to remove it, remembering that only tiles clear of anything above them can be taken.
3. Work the upper layer down so the tiles beneath come into play.
4. Use a hint or a reshuffle if the visible pairs dry up.
5. Clear the board before the timer ends, then run it again for a better time.

• Top layer first — a pair sitting under another tile is not a pair yet, however clearly you can see it.
• Play for the clock — the challenge in Mahjong Halloween is repeat runs, so the tiles you clear in the first ten seconds set the pace for the rest.
• Hints cost seconds — the countdown does not pause while the game points out a pair, so use them only when properly stuck.
• Learn the pumpkin variants — several tiles share the same orange shape and differ only in the face carved into it.
• Full screen the 640-by-360 board — it is small by default, and dark seasonal art is exactly what suffers at reduced size.