Xmas Mahjong Deluxe

Twenty-four levels sit behind Xmas Mahjong Deluxe, and each one is arranged in the shape of a Christmas item, so the silhouette you are dismantling is part of the puzzle rather than decoration around it.

The taking rule is the strict classic. A tile is free when nothing rests on top of it and either its left or its right edge is clear, and everything else inside the multi-layered block stays locked until you dig down to it. WillingGames scores each level with up to three stars, which is what makes a fast and clean sweep worth chasing instead of a merely emptied board. Valentines Mahjong lays the same tiles out in another silhouette.

A timer runs over the layout, and it is the reason the festive shapes matter: the tall ones bury their own middles, so the opening seconds are better spent stripping the upper tier than taking the first obvious pair on the rim. The full shelf is the Christmas section.

Full screen suits the wide 1280 by 720 stage and makes the difference between reading an ornament and guessing at it once the tiles get small on the lower tiers. Touch input works, so the twenty-four levels play the same way on a tablet. Jewels Kyodai Mahjong asks the same question of a taller pile.

1. Find two identical Christmas tiles, each uncovered from above with a free left or right edge.
2. Click one, then the other, to take the pair off the shape.
3. Work down from the top of the block, since the buried middle of a festive silhouette cannot be reached otherwise.
4. Empty the level before the timer expires to bank as many of the three stars as your pace earns.
5. Repeat through all twenty-four levels, each built around a different Christmas item.

• Read the shape first — knowing which Christmas item you are taking apart tells you where the deep tiers sit.
• Top tier before rim — pairs on the outside will still be there later, while the covered middle blocks everything.
• Play for stars, not survival — three stars come from a quick clear, so a hesitant win is still a weak level.
• Keep both edges in mind — a tile with a neighbour left and right is unavailable no matter how exposed it looks.
• Use full screen on the wide stage — at 1280 by 720 the lower tiers are cramped in a window.