Mahjong Connect

What it is

A calm, single-player Mahjong puzzle: link two matching tiles with a path that bends at most twice, and clear the board. The tiles lie in a grid. You tap one tile and then the matching tile, and if a line of at most two turns can join them through empty cells, the pair is taken away. Take every pair and the board is cleared.

The line may run round the outside of the board, so tiles on the edge reach each other easily, and as the board empties, longer paths open up. The line you made shows for a moment, so you can see why a pair was allowed. If two matching tiles cannot be joined, the game tells you with a small shake and keeps your first tile in hand.

Boards are dealt so they can be solved. You can still box yourself in by taking pairs in a poor order; undo and shuffle are there for that. Use a hint or a shuffle when you want a little help.

The tiles are the traditional mahjong pictures: dots, bamboo, characters, winds and dragons, drawn for the game. Each kind has its own shape as well as its own colour, and a setting adds a number to every tile.

A round takes about three to six minutes. There are five boards, called Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert and Master, from 6 by 8 tiles up to 10 by 12. Your board is saved after every pair, so it is as you left it when you come back.

How to play

1. Tap a tile. It lights up.
2. Tap a tile with the same picture. If a line of no more than two turns joins them, a line is drawn and both tiles go.
3. If the two do not match, or no line joins them, nothing is taken. Tap again to try another.
4. Clear every pair to win. The clock shows your time, and your best time for each board is kept.

The tools are free:

• Hint shows a pair that can be taken, and the line between them. It lowers your star rating.
• Undo puts back your last pair. There is no limit.
• Shuffle deals the tiles that are left again, in a way that still leaves a way to clear the board. The first one on each board is free. When no pair can be joined, you get a shuffle whenever you need it.

On a keyboard, the arrow keys move between tiles, and Enter or Space picks one. H is hint, U is undo and S is shuffle.

Modes and options

• Levels. Open the menu and choose Levels to see the boards, your stars and your best times. The game suggests a board that fits your screen.
• Daily board. One board a day, the same for everyone, picked by the date in UTC, on Medium or Hard. Clearing it builds your daily streak.
• Stars. Three stars for a clear with no hint and no shuffle, two for one of them, and one for both.
• Best time. Only a clear without a hint and with at most the free shuffle can set a best time.
• High-contrast tiles and tile numbers. Two switches in Settings to make the tiles easier to tell apart.
• Sound and vibration. Soft sounds and a small buzz on phones that support it, both optional.
• Statistics. Boards started and cleared, win rate, perfect clears, pairs matched, levels cleared, time played and your daily streak.

Tips

• Start at the edges. A line can run round the outside of the board, so edge tiles are the easiest to join.
• Think about the pairs that are hardest to reach and take them while the board still has room.
• Look for a pair that opens a row or a column; it makes the paths for the others.
• When two tiles look alike, check the picture and the number: the tile numbers switch helps.
• Use undo freely. Trying a pair to see where it leads is part of the game.
• For three stars, clear a board without a hint and without a shuffle.

Questions people ask

Can every board be finished? Boards are dealt so they can be solved. You can still end up with a position that cannot be cleared if you take pairs in a poor order. When the game sees that no pair can be joined, it offers a free shuffle, and undo is there too.

What is the line with two turns? The line between two tiles may bend at most twice, and it may only cross empty cells. It can also run in the empty space around the board.

Is there a timer I have to beat? No. The clock only records your time for your own best. There are no lives, no energy and no limits on undo.

Is the daily board the same for everyone? Yes. It is picked from the date in UTC, so everyone gets the same board on the same day.

Do I need to sign up? No. Your progress, settings and statistics are kept in your browser on this device.

Does it work in other languages? Yes, in 20 languages, including right-to-left ones such as Arabic and Urdu.