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iPhone Game Review: 2010 Mahjong

The first thing to notice is that 2010 Mahjong is not that common solitaire version that you have to find matches no matter where the tiles are. The main approach is to find matches that are not blocked and are linked by at most 3 (imaginary) lines. This variation is also known as Rivers or Shisen-Sho.

Load time is short (iPhone 3GS) and the interface is animated and well organized.

Help provides the basic rules so you?ll be playing the game in no time.

Along with the so called Original Mode (that is Rivers) the game also has a 7Block Mode (remove tiles in numerical order) and a Survival one (limited time and new tiles are randomly added).

Gameplay

As noticed the game is a Rivers solitaire where you have to match tiles that are not blocked and that are connected by, at most, 3 imaginary lines.

There are 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Normal and Hard). Each difficulty has 30 layouts that are locked. Once you win the current opened one you unlock the next and so on.

To help you solve a level the game provides limited Hints and Shuffles.

The control works very well. If you tap a tile and hold you can see a bigger tile (preview) and if you move your finger you can see the next one making it very easy to get the tile you want.

Finally, the game provides 9 different backgrounds and 9 tile sets that you have to unlock along the game.

Graphics

2010 Mahjong has a good interface and graphics.

Tiles are easy to read but, unfortunately, the game only works in Landscape mode. Some layouts would play better in Portrait.

Sound

Background music is very repetitive (you can disable it though) and the game does not support iPOD music.

Sound effects are OK.

Pros

Rivers with 3 modes
A good set of layouts, backgrounds and tiles
Easy to read tiles
Controls make easy to select the tile you want

Cons

Help is illustrated but incomplete
Background music is repetitive
It does not support resume
It does not support iPOD music

Conclusion

2010 Mahjong is a good version of Rivers with layouts, backgrounds and tiles to unlock, feature that increases the game value making it more interesting than the plain solitaire itself.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: -4- good graphics
Sound: -2- repetitive background music and it does not support iPOD music
Controls: -4- easy to select tiles
Gameplay: -4- Rivers solitaire with things to unlock

Playing Hints and Tips:

?New Game? means game data reset so always use continue if you have already started it
Tap, hold and move your finger to browse tiles

Game Facts:
Developer: Nate Games
Release Date: Sep 22, 2009
Genre: Puzzle
Price: $2.99
Size: 7.2 MB
Buy Game: iTunes App Store