Game Reviews

Aki Mahjong

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Aki Mahjong
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| Aki Mahjong

Mahjong solitaire has experienced a renaissance of sorts on iPhone, where the touchscreen enables intuitive tile manipulation. With so many games offering their own unique interpretation, competition is stiff. Aki Mahjong manages to stay in the game thanks to simple, satisfying design.

Although the game of mahjong itself is Chinese in origin, here you'll find it inspired by notable landmarks across Japan. A dozen main levels, plus twice that number in bonus levels, give you a lengthy mahjong solitaire tour of the island nation. A photographic background accompanies each board, as well as an informative description of the location's significance. Of course, a bit of Japanese folk music helps put you in the mood too.

All of this is really just embellishment. Despite its pleasant Japanese styling, the objective remains the same here as in other mahjong solitaire games: clear the board by creating pairs of identical tiles. In order to select tiles for pairing, they must be open; in other words, not sandwiched by other pieces or covered. Whenever you can't find a tile pairing, you can bring up a hint by swiping your finger horizontally across the screen. Should you run out of moves, you can shuffle the board by shaking your iPhone.

Landscape play ensures a full view of each board; in fact, you're required to play the game this way. Even with the added horizontal space, tiles are still crammed onto the screen. Tiles appear rather small, which often makes it difficult to select pairs properly. Aki Mahjong works around this issue by incorporating multi-touch zoom and the ability to move about the camera. The zoom function works in the same manner as any other iPhone application, which is to say it's totally responsive.

Swiping your finger across the screen to move the camera, however, sometimes triggers a hint. It's best to be deliberate with your finger when positioning the view, as you'll end up unintentionally activating hints. Since each hint knocks off a bit of time, you can quickly whittle away your limit by means of sloppy camera movements.

Aki Mahjong doesn't distinguish itself from other mahjong solitaire games by means of surprising mechanics or a wealth of features. Rather, it hones in on the simplicity of the game and combines it with an appealing aesthetic for a worthwhile casual experience. Just the right number of levels combined with the necessary features make it a solid effort.

[Version reviewed: 1.0.2]

Aki Mahjong

Soothing sounds and pleasing visuals make this simple mahjong solitaire game a worthy purchase
Score
Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.