''Microsoft Mahjong'' (formerly ''Mahjong Titans'', ''Shanghai Solitaire'' and ''Taipei'') is a computer game version of

mahjong solitaire Mahjong solitaire (also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, solitaire mahjong or simply mahjong) is a single-player matching game that uses a set of mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is more commonly played on a c ...

published by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

. The version titled ''Mahjong Titans'' was developed by Oberon Games and included in

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

and

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

(except Starter and Home Basic editions). It takes advantage of the new

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...

(GUI) of Windows Vista, and includes features such as tile set and background choices. (In Windows Vista builds 5219 up to 5259, the game was known as ''Shanghai Solitaire''.) The game did not make it to

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, and later to ...

; however, a standalone version, developed by Arkadium and published by

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

, can be downloaded from the

Windows Store Microsoft Store (formerly known as Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It started as an app store for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform app ...

free of charge The English adjective ''free'' is commonly used in one of two meanings: "at no monetary cost" (''gratis'') and "with little or no restriction" (''libre''). This ambiguity of ''free'' can cause issues where the distinction is important, as it ...

and played without download on the web. An older version of the game was known as ''Taipei'' and was bundled in Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 and Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack. That version included 32,767 possible configurations.

Features

The player has a choice of six tile layouts - Cat, Turtle, Crab, Dragon, Fortress and Spider, each a stylized portrayal of the respective object or animal. The background image can be chosen from five different options and there are four tile sets, including traditional

Mahjong tiles Mahjong tiles () are tiles of Chinese origin that are used to play mahjong as well as mahjong solitaire and other games. Although they are most commonly tiles, they may refer to playing cards with similar contents as well. Development The ...

, variations with fuller coloring or larger print, and an alternative pastel tile set with an entirely different picture theme. Games are not entirely random. There is always at least one pair within five tiles of the topmost five tiles in the turtle layout and often two pairs. The

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

for tile organization positions tiles such that they can mostly be paired on the same level, or otherwise a matching tile is available in an accessible position one level down. It does not check to ensure that the matching tile is not positioned beneath its partner. Since every tile has 3 partners this is not enough, by itself, to prove the game is impossible to solve. The newer version of ''Microsoft Mahjong'' has numerous further layouts, improved graphics and sound, Internet features such as a set of daily challenges that reward the user with "badges" when completed, and Xbox Live integration.

References

External links

Oberon Games
{{Windows Components 2012 video games Microsoft games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games Windows Vista Mahjong video games Casual games Single-player video games Oberon Media games

Features

See also

References

External links