Mahjong Tiles Christmas

Lof Games dresses the board for winter. Baubles, wreaths, candy canes and wrapped presents stand in for the traditional suits, the palette runs to red, green and silver, and the backdrop keeps snowing quietly while you work.

The selection rule is stricter than it first looks. A tile can be collected only when it is open from either its left or its right side, so a piece hemmed in by neighbours on both flanks stays exactly where it is, however obvious its twin may be a row away. From the same group, there is also the Dragon layout.

Clearing every tile completes a level, and completing every level wins the run, which gives this one a finish line that many holiday boards never bother to draw. The difficulty comes from the shape of each arrangement rather than from any clock. The list this board belongs to also carries Kris Mahjong.

An optional hint and a shuffle wait for the moment the layout stalls, and both are worth holding back, because a festive board that looks dead usually still has one legal pair sitting out at the edge. The stage is 800 by 450, wide and shallow, so full screen suits it, and tapping works as well as clicking. For a different season, there is the 25 December board.

1. Pick out two identical festive tiles: the same bauble, the same wreath, the same gift box.
2. Check that each of them is uncovered and open at the left or the right edge.
3. Click or tap the pair and both leave the board.
4. Empty the whole arrangement to finish a level.
5. Work through every level in turn to complete the game.

• Read the flanks, not the gaps — a tile with neighbours to left and right is locked even when its twin is in plain sight.
• Open the long rows early — freeing one end of a decorated row makes the whole line workable.
• Match the rare ornaments first — the unusual decorations have fewer copies, so leaving them late risks stranding a pair.
• Hold the shuffle — it is the only reset a stalled winter layout is going to get.
• Play it in full screen — the 800 by 450 board puts the outer tiles far apart, and a bigger picture keeps both ends in view.