Latest Reviews

When you see the word "mahjong" in the title of a computer game, you know what to expect: It will challenge you to clear elaborate stacks of tiles by matching identical game pieces. And as you begin playing, you'll instinctively know that in order to select a tile for elimination, it must be free to either the left or right. What you don't know from a game's title are the twists that differentiate it from the crowd. That's how it works with Aerial Mahjong from Enkord, a game that plays on your expectations of what a mahjong release is and then turns them upside down. Read more»

Pop culture meets ancient puzzles in Cafe Mahjongg, the new game from iWin and Jenkat that is sure to give a "jolt" to casual game fans. Read more»

Confession is good for the soul, so here goes: I like watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS. I enjoy seeing someone's jaw drop when they learn the ratty piece of furniture they bought at a garage sale for twenty bucks is actually worth a few grand. These days, that's close to the feeling I get when I play a casual game that takes a worn-out formula and injects it with new life. Case in point: Mahjong Roadshow from publisher PlayFirst and developer Zemnott. Read more»

Stressful, fast-paced and super-challenging aren't three words that normally come to mind when I think about the Chinese tile-matching game of Mah jong, but it's exactly what happens when Mah Jong and Zuma collide in Liong: The Dragon Dance. Read more»

Casual gamers who want a relaxing time-waster won't find anything more therapeutic than a Mahjong game. These ancient Chinese solitaire diversions are a perfect way to melt away the day's stressors, whether it's during the last few minutes of a coffee break at work, at the end of a hectic day at the office or on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Read more»

Mahjongg Investigations: Under Suspicion can best be described as a combination of the ancient tile-matching game of Mahjongg (also referred to as Shanghai) and the classic whodunit board game of Clue. That is, not only do you need to pair up identical tiles on a 3-D board but you're playing this game at a crime scene, in the hopes to unravel enough clues to pin the charge on a suspect. This interesting fusion works -- for the most part. Read more»

Has a casual game ever left you feeling shortchanged? Perhaps you burned through the story mode too quickly or there weren't enough extras to keep you interested after you'd completed the main part of the offering. That's not a problem with Mah Jong Quest II from iWin, a sequel that could keep you matching pairs for weeks on end before you see everything the game has to offer. Read more»

The first Mahjong Escape took players on a jaunt through Ancient China, where they absorbed Chinese history and proverbs while playing the tile-matching game of Mahjong. In part two, the adventure continues in Ancient Japan with beautifully-rendered Japanese settings and lush, authentic Japanese music. Read more»

Small wonder South Florida's such a hotspot for hipsters, vacationers and retirees alike. According to the world of Hoyle Miami Solitaire - set during the heyday of the city's Art Deco Jazz Age - it's a swinging place to be. Read more»

Mention treasure hunters and some folks will conjure up images of Angelina Jolie from the Tomb Raider flicks. Many more, however, will likely identify with the daring archeology professor Indiana Jones or earlier contemporary Alan Quatermain. Regardless of who you associate with, it's an innately dangerous endeavor. Thankfully, Mahjongg Artifacts allows you to do your relic hunting from the ease and comfort of home. Read more»

Not too many games teach you about yourself, but this is precisely what Mahjong Fortuna 2 Deluxe sets out to do - this tranquil tile-matching game separates itself from the many other Mahjong titles on the market by giving players personalized information, such as horoscope, birth stone and flower, element, and more. Read more»

Supposedly created hundreds of years ago by philosophers or debutantes in faraway China, tile-matching game mahjongg remains one of the world's most treasured pastimes. Credit for the hobby's continued popularity is no small part due to interactive tributes such as Mahjongg Fortuna, which cleverly update the ancient amusement for modern audiences by adding novel audiovisual enhancements. Read more»

Mahjong games make for perfect time-wasters: they're easy to learn, relaxing, and can be played for five minutes or five hours. And so it's no surprise casual game makers are seeking to create the ultimate time-matching experience; some add new twists such as 3-D graphics, power-up tiles and a countdown timer, while others fold in themes, such as the Caribbean, deep space or ancient Chinese history. Read more»

You probably didn't know China and the Bahamas have a lot in common. But after clicking around with Caribbean Mah Jong for a few hours, you'll quickly realize the two gel well together. Read more»

As someone who reviewed the first Mahjong computer game in the mid-1980s, when most people had never even heard of mahjong, I never imagined I'd be reviewing another one 20 years later. Obviously, these ancient tile-matching games, also referred to as Shanghai, fares well in an electronic realm, but with the introduction of Oberon's Mahjong Match, it's not the same old, same old. Read more»

If you think "T'ang" is an orange drink and "Zhou" is where animals are put on display, you obviously aren't too familiar with Ancient China. No worries - play a few rounds of Mahjong Escape, and while you won't turn into Confucius overnight, you'll learn a thing or two about Chinese history and be entertained with some relaxing game-play at the same time. Read more»