Mahjong computer games
Link of the month - November 2002Fantastic game with the opportunity to play with many different rules. The homepage has a knowledge base, where you can se the rules for eight different types of mahjong. Furthermore they have a documentation section, where you can see how to set up the game in order to play with just the rules you want. Free demo is available.
Cut from The Norwegian Mah Jongg Site: 4 Winds Mahjong is, as many of the other games on this site, a classical Mah Jongg game. You play against the computer. The design of the game is a bit different from some of the others (but you can choose this design in other games as well). You are able to see the tiles of all the other players' on the screen. (You can choose if you want to see the front or the back side of your opponents tiles.) If you know the main rules of the game (for instance from reading these pages), you will have no problems playing the game straight away. But I doubt you will be able to win the first times you try it. A very good and detailed help menu will guide you through problems that may occure. As the case is with many of the other games this is a complete download product (no disks or CDs). A code sent to you by Email will give you admittance to 'closed' areas of the game.
Computer game for Windows. The rules are as the name implies, Hong Kong. Official International Rules are available as a free add-on. A free demo is available for download.Cut from The Norwegian Mah Jongg Site: This is a classical Mah Jongg game (no solitaire games included). Your opponents are presented with picture and description of their playing skill. You can choose between 8 - 10 different players, and you should be careful not to choose some of the more able players when you first start to play (it is nicer to win the first three or four games, you know). The bird that you can see above these lines, is your little helper in the game. Whenever you are in doubt of which tile to discard, you may click the bird, and it flies to the best choice at the moment. The background, where the discarded tiles are placed, have nice pictures from Hong Kong.
This game has a voice that tells you what tile just got thrown away. The homepage has several good sections, among those are rules, history and symbolics.Cut from The Norwegian Mah Jongg Site: This game has voices telling you which tiles are played, nice animations when the tiles are moved and hints to help you during the game. Moreover you can choose from a selection of tile sets, and customize the game to your satisfaction. The game is suitable for all ages and of course all skills.
The rules are classic chinese with some special hands. The good thing about the game is that it is freeware. The homepage contains a download section and the rules for the game.System: Not known.
Price (sept. 2002): Freeware
The rules are based on traditional Hong Kong. You can play against computer players or against real people on the net.Price (sept. 2002): 14 US$
Cut from The Norwegian Mah Jongg Site: You can customize this game in many ways, to have it to your satisfaction. You can even choose if you want the playing table to cover your screen (as on this screenshot) or if you want a picture of the remaining tiles in the game to the right of the screen. Choosing the latter alternative, helps you keep order of which tiles are still available - in other words, you can avoid keeping tiles that will not give you a Pong or a Kong, for instance. The flower tiles play a greater role in this Mah Jongg game than in many others that I have tested. They are a kind of bonus tiles which you can keep (smart!) or discard. You will always have a compensation tile when you draw a flower. In front of you on the playing table you will find a hand and a little soundless bell. The hand is clicked when you want to draw a tile or discard a tile, and you click the bell to claim tiles that other players have discarded (be quick). Remember that you have to possess two (or three) of the tiles that make a Pong or a Kong to claim a discarded tile, and you can only claim a tile to complete a Chow, from your left hand opponent. The bell is also clicked when you want to declare Mah Jongg (win). In this case a little dialogue box appears on the screen telling you how many points your hand is, and asking you if you want to continue "the winning process".
Awfull graphics, but has a good tutorial. A free demo is available for download.System: Windows 95/98/NT4, 2.75 MB disc space.
Price (sept. 2002): 21.25 US$
Cut from The Independent Internet Mahjong Newspaper: Mah Jong Mimosil is different in two ways: you have to do the tile-sorting yourself, and the game does not have sound effects. It is is the only mahjong software we know of that does not support any sound. This is a drawback, since now one has to watch very closely the text-balloons that pop up when a tile is discarded. The game has the option of playing against just one or two adversaries instead of four.