Mahjongg Artifacts Review

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Game Description

Mahjongg fans take a look at this game

Mahjongg Artifacts is a striking new entry in the fiercely competitive Mahjongg category of casual games. The new fan-favorite comes with three innovative game modes, including a Story Mode featuring an epic quest for lost relics, a Classic mode in which you choose the layout you want to play and Endless mode in which you remove tiles from an ever-rising tower of game pieces.

Mahjongg Artifacts also contains special tiles that allow you to use new strategies to clear layouts. Power Tiles, for example, can be paired with any other tile within the same suit. Mighty Tiles can be matched with any tile of any suit. In addition, expert players can rack up a high score by earning bonuses for skillful gameplay and collect trophies for special accomplishments.

The wealth of gameplay options, elegant new tile sets and easy-to-learn gameplay will earn Mahjongg Artifacts a permanent place on your desktop, so download your free trial version today!

Mahjongg Artifacts Review

Mahjong Artifacts, a take on the classic Chinese tile matching game, is a fun mahjong game that incorporates an adventuresome quest mode.

In this game you help Mark Hawk, an archeologist exploring ancient China, complete mahjong puzzles in an attempt to uncover ancient artifacts. Through pairing quickly and efficiently you can earn a huge score, while discovering lost treasures of the ancient Chinese world.

Mahjong Basics and Beyond

Mahjong for those of you unfamiliar with the game, is a Chinese tile pairing game. In it you match like tiles. Eligible tiles have a free side (left or right) and are not under any tiles. In this particular game there are tools at your disposal that help with accomplishing the puzzles. There is an eye in the corner of the screen that if open, illuminates eligible tiles. This makes it easier to find pairs and is great for speeding up your matching.

Other perks of this game are power tiles, mighty tiles, and great tiles, as well as the ability to shuffle your layout and undo previous moves. Playing with strategy is essential for success. You might want to get rid of as many tiles as you can early and then slow down and strategically eliminate pieces that will help you in the long run.

Bonus Tiles Are a Nice Strategic Addition

The bonus tiles (power, mighty, and great) are crucial for quickly clearing your board. Power tiles are trump pieces of a suit. They can be matched with any of the tiles in their particular theme. For example, a shiny “M” can be played to remove any of the Roman numeral tiles. Mighty tiles can be paired with any piece regardless of the theme. This allows for cross over of themes and is crucial for making pairs.

The final of bonus tiles are called Great tiles. These can also be paired with anything and they remove all instances of the tile with which you pair it from the layout.

Shuffling and undo are also great options for finishing puzzles. Shuffling costs but rearranges the board, making finishing puzzles possible when previously no moves were available. Undo is also beneficial if you make a mistake.

Three Game Modes Add Variety

There are three modes in Mahjong Artifacts. The main is a quest mode which has you playing to uncover artifacts. After playing a few levels in quest you unlock the other modes. Those are Endless and Classic. Both of these modes allow you to choose the layout you'd like to play. They are independent of the storyline, focusing more on the mahjong. In Classic mode you play mahjong without the power tiles or other perks. This is solely focused on mahjong. Endless on the other hand is similar to the quest mode, however, like mentioned above you get to choose your layout and play as you like.

Drawbacks

As far as drawbacks, this game has a few that might take away from the enjoyment. Like in many mahjong games boredom resulting from the game's monotony is a feeling you may likely experience. This is hard to avoid in casual games like mahjong. Typically having multiple modes helps supplement this, however, the little variation between the modes doesn't fix the problem.

Also, this game is ordinary. It essentially has the same themes and objectives as most mahjong games. The storyline and theme seem to be identical to other games, only varying slightly.

Conclusion - Good But Not a Standout Mahjong Option

Overall, Mahjong Artifacts is an alright game in a congested mahjong genre. The game play and incorporation of bonus tiles and perks is engaging, however, the overall gameplay does little to separate itself from others. Like in most mahjong games you may experience boredom from the game's monotony. Though this symptom is hard to overcome, playing in short stints rather than for hours at a time, helps alleviate this problem.

Though this game varies little from the competition, it's enjoyable and will provide hours of mahjong fun. If an engaging quest mode is something you are looking for, give this a try.

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