Shanghai mahjong free online game for free#
Shanghai mahjong free online game series#

The game became very successful, and around 10 million copies were sold. The Macintosh version was created by Brodie Lockard (programming and graphics) and the Apple IIGS version was ported from the Macintosh by Ivan Manley with Brad Fregger as the producer. However, it was Activision's release of Shanghai in 1986 for the IBM Personal Computer, Commodore Amiga, Macintosh, Atari ST and Apple IIgs that popularised the game. The first version remained available for free. Control Data Corporation released a new version as a paid online game in 1983.

Shanghai mahjong free online game for free#

The computer game was released for free and was played using a CDC-721 touch screen terminal. There is a children's game in China named 拆牌龜 ('Demolish the Tile Turtle') of unknown age. Lockard claims that it was based on a centuries-old Chinese game called 'the Turtle'.

The computer game was originally created by Brodie Lockard in 1981 on the PLATO system and named Mah-Jongg after the game that uses the same tiles for play. Some implementations offer to shuffle the tiles when there are no exposed pairs remaining, making it almost always possible for the player to complete the game. With the advent of online gaming, some computer mahjong games offer 'clash' style player vs player challenges where each opponent solves the same board and shuffle, and the best score wins. The winds are usually worth the most bonus points when paired individually, but the most bonus points are achieved by matching all of the seasons followed by all of the flowers (or vice versa). Using traditional mahjong tiles, the sets include the dragons, the flowers, the seasons, and the winds. Points are gained for each pair removed, with bonus points for removing matched pairs in sequence or removing pairs in sequence that are parts of sets. Mahjong solitaire can be played either solo or with a partner, in which case the aim is to accumulate the most pairs, to be the last one to match a pair, or to score the most points. Additionally, most implementations of the game arrange the tiles in such a way that the game is solvable in at least one way. Most also offer hints or undo options which provides the ability to have a match found for the player or to backtrack and undo already made moves. These games often have a time limit which is sometimes optional.

Adding 'wildcard tiles' and other tiles that have special functions.

Shanghai mahjong free online game series#

Playing a series of different layouts with varying levels of difficulty (usually given Chinese-looking names such as 'the ox' or 'the snake').Changing the tile set and patterns from the traditional tiles to flowers, jewels or other items that may be easier to match up at a glance.Some electronic Mahjong solitaire games offer extra options, such as: This removes the tedium of set-up and the temptation to cheat. Usually though, it is played in an electronic form as a computer game. Mahjong solitaire can be played using genuine tiles and a special wooden frame for set-up. It has been proven that it is PSPACE-hard to approximate the maximum probability of removing all tiles within a factor of n ϵ games with the default layout, 'the turtle', revealed that between 2.95 and 2.96 percent of the turtles cannot be solved even if looking below tiles is allowed. Playing Mahjong solitaire optimally in the sense to maximize the probability of removing all tiles is PSPACE-complete, and the game gets NP-complete when looking below tiles is allowed. Sometimes, tiles are only partially covered by other tiles, and the extent to which such tiles can be distinguished depends on the actual tile set. But by repeated undos or restarts which some programs offer, one gradually gets more and more information. Tiles that are below other tiles cannot be seen. The game is finished when all pairs of tiles have been removed from the board or when there are no exposed pairs remaining. The goal is to match open pairs of identical tiles and remove them from the board, exposing the tiles under them for play. A tile is said to be open or exposed if it can be moved either left or right without disturbing other tiles. The 144 tiles are arranged in a special four-layer pattern with their faces upwards. An untouched turtle formation, with exposed 'free' tiles highlighted in blue