Mahjong Shanghai

Two modes are offered and the choice matters more than usual. Kids strips the pile down to something a beginner can actually finish, while Shanghai restores the full arrangement and all the depth that comes with it.

No timer runs in either mode, which makes this 2020 build one of the more forgiving places to learn the rule: pick a tile that is uncovered and open on at least one side, find its identical twin, and both leave the board. Freeing the lower rows early matters in the Daily board as well.

The end condition is worth knowing before you start. A round finishes either when the pile is empty or when no legal move is left, and the second ending is a real possibility on the deeper Shanghai layout. For one more pile of the same kind, see Mahjong Deluxe Plus.

That is what gives an untimed board its own tension. Every match is a decision about what it unlocks, and a run of easy pairs taken off the flanks can leave the centre sealed with twenty tiles still standing. Full screen is the better way to weigh those choices, since the whole pile stays in view, and the layout also works on a touchscreen. Only tiles with an open side move in the Jungle Deluxe board too.

1. Choose Kids for a shorter pile or Shanghai for the full layout.
2. Pick a tile that is uncovered and free on at least one side.
3. Click its identical twin to remove the pair.
4. Carry on until the board is clear or no moves remain.
5. Weigh each choice properly, because the Shanghai pile ends a round the moment it locks.

• Learn on the Kids mode — the same rules with far less depth, and the shape of the pile is much easier to read.
• Take the pair that opens the most — with no clock, the only price you pay is a dead board later on.
• Clear the crown before the flanks — loose edge tiles keep, and buried ones do not.
• Count the four copies — choosing which two of a set to take is the decision that seals or saves the centre.
• Play it in full screen — with no time pressure, the advantage on offer is seeing every tile at once.