by Joyce Kohl
December 22, 1998
Mah-Jongg is a Chinese board game usually played by four players. Adaptations of the original game are merely tile-matching solitaire games and are not played at all like the original game. The tile-matching versions have been around for a number of years prior to Windows, and are one of the most enjoyable one-player games available. Mah-Jongg 3000 Pro is a superb 32-bit program for Windows and NT. The newest version as of the date of this review is 6.3.183.
There doesn't seem to be only one correct way for spelling the game name. It will be found as "Mah Jongg," "Mah-Jongg" and "Mah jongg." I've also found it spelled with only one "g." The game installed without a hitch on my Windows 98 Pentium 266 computer system.
Playing the Game
The only complexity in playing the
tile-matching game of Mah-Jongg is figuring out the best two tiles to eliminate in order
to uncover other tiles and to assure you will be able to match another set of tiles. That
is, tiles are removed from the layout in pairs. You select one tile by clicking on it,
then select a matching tile by clicking on it, too. Then the two tiles are automatically
removed.
The optional status box
displays how many moves are left according to the way the tiles are at the time, and also
keeps track of the time it takes to play the game. The object of the game is to remove all
the tiles in the least amount of time as possible. Layouts are simply differently placed
tiles and will vary in difficulty to play and will require different levels of expertise
to remove the best set of two tiles in order to create more moves. Being able to select
tile sets is another way of adding interest to the game.
Using different layouts and tile sets increases the concentration and strategy needed for any game and certainly helps to break any monotony of seeing the same set of tiles with the same layout every time you play the game.
The majority of the Mah-Jongg tiles are divided into groups of four, yet only two are removed at a time. That's where some skill comes into play - remembering what you've removed and/or which two you should remove. Eight of the times are unqiue, and match the categories of Flowers (four tiles) and Seasons (four tiles).
Mah-Jongg Tile Groups
Features
Besides eight layouts and six tile sets from which to select for playing, there's the Hall
of Fame which allows multiple users to be entered into its database and it will track
things such as the time it took to play the game, the name of the tile set and layout, and
the completion time. The Hall of Fame can be printed; sound effects can be customized;
select your choice of background pictures, re-play winning layouts, and a quick way to
send your winning information to the author's Website for inclusion in his online World
Record Table. You'll also find a set of keyboard shortcuts in the help area.
Tile Sets
All Mah-Jongg games I've seen have their own "original" Chinese set, usually
referred to as "standard." though each programmer uses different designs for it.
Other tile sets included with Mah-Jongg 3000 Pro: Medieval, USA Road Signs,
Germany's Road Signs, Christmas, and Stained Glass. Here's what they look like. I've cut
each of them from the full dialog selection box:
Layouts
Eight layouts are available in Mah-Jongg 3000. You'll want to at least try every single
one of them to add versatility to the game. They are Mah-Jongg (the original Chinese
layout), Lion, Butterfly, Atrium, Snake, Portal, Lobster, and Labyrinth. Following are
cuts from the full layout dialog boxes:
Layouts: Left is Atrium; Right is Butterfly
Layouts: Left is Labyrinth; Right is Lion
Layouts: Left is Lobster; Right is Portal
Layouts: Left is Standard; Right is Snake
Hall of Fame
The neatest thing about winning a game is the popup box which lets you copy/paste the
information into an email which is then sent to the author for entry into his online World
Record Table. Yours truly has sent one. My time was lengthy, but my name is included
online. Here's a highly reduced screenshot from the Mah-Jongg 3000 Website:
Hot Keys
All the Main menu functions can be opened by using hot keys. Press Ctrl-N to start a new
game; Ctrl-O to open an old game; Ctrl-R will restart the game in progress; Ctrl-H
accesses the Hall of fame; and Ctrl-X to exit the game. The toolbar has all the main
functions which are opened by clicking on the icon.
Support
Getting support from the author is fast. He doesn't permit much time to elapse before he
responds to questions or acknowledges receipt of World Record information sent to him. His
email address and Website are found in the Help section.
Interesting Facts About Authentic Mah jongg
The original game of Mah jongg (note the spelling and the lowercase "j") reached
the West from China in the 1920s. The name means "the sparrows." Each of three
or four players collects sets of tiles with the object of completing their hands in a
prescribed manner. Each player plays solo and without partners. Scoring is settled after
each hand. The winner is the player with the most points when the players stop playing.
The game is complex and many Mah jongg clubs used to exist and probably still do today.
Conclusion
I downloaded, installed, and played every shareware Mah-Jongg game I could find - at least
a dozen, maybe more. I found none available commercially. Mah-Jongg 3000 Pro is the best
all-around Mah-Jongg game I found. All the others had flaws of one type or another - some
were still only 16-bit; some hadn't been updated since Windows 3.1. Some were still
DOS-only games (though they run well in a DOS box under Windows 98). Of course, like all
shareware, you may try-before-you-buy. Cost of Mah-Jongg 300 Pro is $29.95 USA and can be
registered in several ways. I registered mine online at the Mah-Jongg 300 Pro Website. Check the Help to find
other ways to register.
In my opinion, you cannot find a better Mah-Jongg tile-matching game for Windows. Every function works as it should; I found the program to be perfect in every way, plus it has features not found in others. I give Mah-Jongg 3000 Pro five out of five Go Inside Review Lights!
Copyright © 1998 by Joyce Kohl
"Go Inside" is a David Boles Trademark