Recommendation for good Mahjong game?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by virtualsmith, Jul 13, 2010.

  1. virtualsmith

    virtualsmith Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2010
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    Software Engineer - Telecommunications
    Colorado
    Does anyone have any suggestions for a good Mahjong game on the iPad? The american-ized matching type game, not the actual Chinese version.

    It seems like everyone in my family loves to play Mahjong on my iPad, I have two different free/trial variants. I want to buy one, but there are literally hundreds out there. I'd especially like one with a "quest" game mode where there are different puzzles to unlock and maybe unlocking different special tiles. Like the PC "Mah Jong Quest" game, which is a great game! I'd easily pay $10-15 for a good version like the PC one (searchable, hosted on many sites).

    Any recommendations out there from personal experience?
     
  2. CzarCastic

    CzarCastic Well-Known Member

    My go-to mahjong game is definitely Moonlight Mahjong. It's the only mahjong game I keep on either of my iDevices, and I've played a few of them. It's a Universal app and it looks great on the iPad. It's one of those games that you can use to show off the capabilities of the system because the tiles look great (the engraved marble tiles are awesome) and the control you have over the view is really great...full zoom, rotation, pan and all while using intuitive iDevice gestures. Tons of settings. You can customize the background. There are hundreds of free downloadable tilesets through dedicated servers accessible right in the app. Built-in editor, if you're into that thing. And, it's been on sale for $0.99 since April. Can't beat that!
     
  3. aelam

    aelam Active Member

    Jun 2, 2010
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    One of the Mahjong ones is free and it seems to be pretty good. Only one board though.

    However, are there any REAL (the one you call Chinese) MahJong apps out there? I would love one!
     
  4. CygnetSeven

    CygnetSeven Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2010
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    I have Shanghai Mahjong and iMahjong Premium (Jirbo) on my iPhone. Both are universal apps and both have free versions. I HIGHLY recommend Shanghai for tile size, HUNDREDS of layouts, tile assortment, backgrounds. You can even import a photo as your background. Really worth it at $1 but iMahjong is free so get both! Hope that helps.
     
  5. colorsound

    colorsound Well-Known Member

    May 15, 2009
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    I believe the original poster is referring to a Mahjong Solitaire, which is also known as Shanghai.

    The current versions I have on my iPad are:

    'Moonlight Mahjong', 'Mahjong Artifacts II', and 'Shanghai Mahjong'


    A great non-ipad solitaire 'Mr. Mahjong Touch'.
     
  6. CygnetSeven

    CygnetSeven Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2010
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    My wife plays SG Mahjong (shanghai rules) and there is also KL Mahjong (malaysian rules). Both have free versions. But the full version is currently $1. Hope that helps too!
     
  7. starscapes

    starscapes Active Member

    Jul 1, 2010
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    I LOVE the Mahjong Artifacts games. They are a bit pricey, but the graphics are smooth, the music is relaxing, and there are some extra tiles in the Quest mode that make the game more interesting. I also think in classic mode there are some 99 board sets, so you really never run out of games. It also really shows off its HD. You can download the free versions from the app store and if the full price bothers you, you can always get the iphone version and upscale it to save a few bucks!.

    If you're looking for something with a smaller price tag, I suggest Mahjong Epic HD(which also has a free version to try) Not only does it have relaxing "Enya-like" sounds, but it has a board creator so you can design your own! Hope this helps ^_^
     
  8. virtualsmith

    virtualsmith Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2010
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    Thanks for all of the replies. I think the Mahjong Artifacts games look cool, I'm going to pick up the first one tonight. The quest/adventure mode is appealing in that one.

    As far as other Mahjong solitaire/Shanghai games, I'll also look to pick up one with different tilesets. My daughters (ages 5, 5, and 7) are getting into playing and they'd get a kick out of playing with different tilesets. Since the Bams, Winds, and Seasons of original tileset don't hold any meaning for them.
     
  9. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Best one for different tile sets is Shanghai Mahjong.

    I am just reading this in the evening, and agree with everything that is being said - I have :

    Shanghai Mahjong - Lots of tile sets, lots of different setups, well implemented - Overall probably best.

    Moonlight Mahjong - allows you to change orientation of the tiles, very handy for being able to look all around. Limited tilesets, but well done. A nice selection of different setups. For me - number 2, but only barely to Shanghai...

    Aki Mahjong - made by the same people that make Mondo Solitaire (cards) - a nice selection of setups - although you have to unlock them - and for some, this can be great, or frustrating - some people like the challenge of having to "win" in order to be rewarded. They also have a bunch of "bonus" levels that are unlocked from the get go.. Highly polished. Price is significantly higher - I got it in a rare sale...

    Epic Mahjong - another reasonable implementation - this one allows you to build your own custom set ups.. So theoretically infinite playability. I think that Shanghai has about 150 time tested ones, - more than enough for me. Some people like the UI of Epic better - for me, nothing special.

    Mahjong Artifacts - this one more of a game than a solitaire game - the quest mode has you winning games and getting various powerups in order to reach a goal. Makes playing it enjoyable. The tiles are a bit more cartoonish than Shanhai or Mahjong, but are still quite nice. The Mahjong Artifacts 1 and 2 for the iPhone scale up fairly well, so if you are looking to save a bit, you can go that route - but the HD certainly is pretty to look at... I prefer Chapter 2 to the Chapter 1, but I can't really tell you why...

    There are a couple of free ones that you can try - I think that I have tried them all - but they don't really meet up with the pay ones, especially as you can get Shanghai, or Moonlight for $0.99 - Maybe free would be the way to go if all the others were $5 or more, but for a couple of bucks you can get a couple, and keep the one you really like, and you are still not specding much, and I think you will feel like you got your money's worth...

    Good luck and enjoy..
     
  10. Galley

    Galley Well-Known Member

    Jan 4, 2009
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    Shanghai Mahjong gets my vote.
     
  11. Adams Immersive

    Adams Immersive Well-Known Member
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    I like Moonlight too—I’m not sure the 3D makes things easier, but it’s cool :)

    (I have the Lite version, but I don’t even see a Lite in the store currently.)
     
  12. virtualsmith

    virtualsmith Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2010
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    I ended up getting Shanghai Mahjong and Mahjong Artifacts. Both are great games...
     
  13. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    I'm surprised no one mentioned Mr. Mahjong. It's not quite as classic in it's styling but I prefer the UI to all the others.

    Mr. Mahjong touch

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    Seller:
    Genre:Board, Puzzle
    Release:Jan 08, 2010
    Updated:Nov 30, -0001
    Version:
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    TouchArcade Rating:Unrated
    User Rating:Unrated
    Your Rating:unrated
    Compatibility:HD Universal
     
  14. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Actually I think that colorsound did mention it.

    I have it, and like it - but was not as pleased with Mahjong Artifacts 2 with it upscaled to the iPad - the graphics were just not what I was hoping for, which is why I left it off - very good consideration for the iPhone though...

    And, even though I wrangled for a long time with FDG (and came to an amicable understanding) - I am just not an in-app purchase person, and so don't typically recommend them..
     
  15. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    I think that you will be happy for a long time with those. Shanghai obviously is an endless game, with all the differnt layouts, and tilesets - you can play a different game everytime...

    My favorite Mahjong of this style of all platforms is Kyodai Mahjong - which I think is stil out there as shareware - I don't think that the original developer is doing anything with it any more- but there are hundreds of tile set ups and tilesets as well as music, and backgrounds that you can d/l from various sites - plus it is just an incredbile render of the game... Still have it on my PC and I still consider it the best if you are interested...
     
  16. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Moonlight is only $0.99 so you might consider that. I don't remember what the differences were, but I always like to support the dev if I really like the game.. :)
     
  17. LordGek

    LordGek Well-Known Member
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    Feb 19, 2009
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    Here is the best REAL Mahjong game I've seen so far is:

    World Series of Mahjong

    * We support iPad now!
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    Thi…
    Free
    Buy Now
    Media
    Details
    * We support iPad now!
    * You can now select the points required to win the game. 增加起胡番值的選擇,現在可以選擇零番起胡了!

    This is only a Lite Version. From the maker of Mahjong Fairyland and Big2 Fairyland, is proud to bring you World's First World Series of Mahjong!

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    Seller:
    Genre:Card, Casino
    Release:Oct 07, 2010
    Updated:Nov 30, -0001
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    TouchArcade Rating:Unrated
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    I'm pretty sure, if not this specific incarnation (there are a few variants by this company), World Series of Mahjong has high production values completely in English (no clue why they chose the Chinese text in the screenshots). I think it is the best so far not so much for the AI (it might be great, I'm not a good enough player to make the call) but that it appears to support literally scores of Special Hands (one of my favorite aspects of real mahjong games...the hands you're never likely to see in your lifetime but sure would be cool if you DID luck out and were appropriately awarded) and some pretty detailed scoring in general!
     
  18. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Thanks for the tip - I never learned to play real Mahjong - so I'll get it, and hope that I can pick it up.
     
  19. LordGek

    LordGek Well-Known Member
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Feb 19, 2009
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    I look at it as an Asian 4 player variant of something like our Gin Rummy or Canasta card games.

    Where it really becomes fun, however, is unlike Gin Rummy where the point is pretty much just to go out as quickly as possible while your opponent still is holding a bunch of his cards unplayed, the focus in Mahjong is to go out in style. For example, if you manage to go out and all of your melds are sets of three like tiles (with the exception of the final pair as a hand is 10-11 tiles) you'll get a few bonus points. If they are all sets of three like tiles that are all from the same suit (unlike our western deck of 4 suit cards, Mahjong has 3 suits) it is worth even more! There are all sorts of these artsy bonus conditions you can shoot for as well as your opponents so you not only are needing to simply block an opponent from going out, but even more so, making dang sure you never give him the ammunition he'd need to go out with all of his sets (like tile groupings or straights in the same suit) conforming to one of these many potential bonus conditions.
     
  20. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Thanks for the tips... If figures that an asian game would have a lot of style points built in - it goes with the culture. I remember getting my first Go board and stones, and the guy selling them telling me how to correctly hold the stone between my index and long fingers to place the stone with just a little "click" onto the board... Who cares if you are winning or losing, as long as you follow protocol - but I always loved that about Go.
     

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