Mahjong Tower HD

Egyptian pyramids, small-town castles and I Ching Tai Chi diagrams are the shapes on offer in Mahjong Tower HD. The developer builds each layout out of mahjong tiles and your job is to take it apart again, a pair at a time.

The rule itself is the familiar one. Every tile has a partner carrying the same symbol, you remove them in twos, and a layout is done once the board is empty. What sets this version apart on paper is its keyboard support. Besides playing with the left mouse button, there are single-key shortcuts for restarting, asking for a hint, shuffling, pausing and opening the layout panel, while the arrow keys step through the layout choices. None of the other mahjong games on this site lists keyboard controls.

Choose a layout first: press S for the layout panel and use the arrow keys to pick one. Then click tiles with the left mouse button, pairing each with another that shows the same symbol. Matched pairs come off the board. Clear every tile to finish the layout. P pauses, R starts again, H asks for a hint and X shuffles the tiles.

The shortcuts are the quickest help available. If you cannot spot a pair, press H for a hint before reaching for X, which shuffles the tiles. R restarts the current layout if things have gone wrong early on. Trying a different shape from the S panel is another way to change things up when one layout has you stuck.

A pair-matching mahjong solitaire game in a landscape frame, with several named layout shapes to choose from. You play with the left mouse button, and the developer lists keyboard shortcuts for every other function. A level total is not mentioned.

Mahjong Bird Tiles stacks its boards in layers and only allows tiles that nothing covers. Sorcerer Mahjong Marvels sets 60 levels against time limits, with a hint button and extra time when needed.