| Product: |
Kyodai Mahjongg (PC) |
| Date: |
01/07/08 (217 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: fun and enjoyable
Disadvantages: highly addictive
For years I have loved playing mahjongg games on the computer and do find these sorts of games very addictive. It's easy to while a couple of hours away removing tiles and trying to beat one's time without even realising that so much time has passed. I'm always looking for games which have a slightly different slant or provide a greater challenge in order for them not to always feel too samey!
About a year ago whilst browing on a site called boonty.com I didcovered Kyodai mahjongg. It's described as a 3D mahjongg game with music and graphics that won't disappoint and it only costs £12.95 to download which I thought was a very good price for hours of addictive pleasure!
The main game is the traditional solitaire version of mahjongg where single players have to remove matching tiles as quickly as possible in order to clear the whole board. The tiles are set out in layouts of varying complexity and the player can decide how easy or difficult they want the layout to be. This is good because it means that players of all levels can have a go. The fastest scores are put on a leader board but at the end of the day I tend to feel that you are always playing against yourself trying to beat your own previous high score. There are 23 different sets of tiles and these can be arranged in a choice of 100 different layouts against any of nineteen different backgrounds. You can also vary the speed and change the background music so as you can see there is a huge amount of variation that one can bring in and there is always something to suit everything.
I love the slow haunting background music and some of the tilesets and backgrounds are really beautiful although there are others I do not like so much. It's all a question of taste but I prefer the slightly older more traditional styles and I don't like the modern looking ones so much.
When you go to the kyodai site you first arrive at a welcome page which tells you all the different gmes that you can play. I have already mentioned the solitaire game which is likely to be the most popular but there are a number of other options too. Two other gmes which a lot of people might know are Rivers and Memory.
Memory is just like the traditional card game where all cards are turned face down and you have to find the pairs by remembering where all the different values are. This is exactly the same only using the mahjongg tiles instead. This one has two levels of difficulty with the higher level having more playing tiles and more choices.
In Rivers you have to connect free matching tiles but only by making two or less turns. The effect is to look like you are making rivers through the tilesets. There are also two levels of difficulties and as with all these games you play against the clock.
There are four other games which were all new to me but all (except one which I have yet to fathom out how it works) are highly addictive.
In Clicks the aim is to remove interlinking sets of the same tiles with a single click. The effect is a bit like waterfalls with all the remaining tiles dropping down to fill in the gaps. You can play this game and enjoy it without giving it too much thought but in order to be very good at it you really do need to work out moves in advance and try to be strategic.
Hashira is a game where you need to remove columns of three or more matching tiles as they drop down from the top. You can move them about using tha arrow keys and you have to be quick and be ready to pre-empt the next likely move too.
In Kumika, you can flip adjacent tiles which then help you to remove rows or columns of matching tiles. It took a while to master this one, but once I had, I found it very enjoyable and addictive. However, I do think there is a flaw with this one as there does not seem to be any apparent end to the game so there is the potential for it just to go on and on which is no real challenge to anyone. All of the other games are either completed by clearing the board or you are deemed out because you fail to do something.
The final game is Sliders which I'm afraid I can tell you very little about because no matter how often I read the instructions I cannot fathom out what to do at all. (If anyone else knows this game and can explain it to me I would be very grateful!)
All the games do come with instructions and, apart from Sliders, these are all very helpful and easy to follow. You also have the options to choose to play in either 2D or 3D. I have to say that I always choose 2D but that is just my personal preference. Also, although most of the games are for individuals which does not make it the most sociable game ever, there is the opportunity to play solitaire in two player mode which can be both fun and competitive.
Overall there is a lot for me to recommend in this game. Visually it is quite stunning and the music is a little wistful but nonetheless quite beautiful. There is such a good variety within the games and the different levels of challenge means that there is something there for almost anyone. I hope I have managed to give at least a flavour of all the different games. And at a cost of only £12.95 it's not going to be too costly on your pocket. Be warned though - it is likely to be more costly on your time because it's very hard to stop once you have started!
Summary: some different slants on a traditional game.
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