Chinese mahjong has been around for thousands of years without much change to its play and look until now. Changing a classic game is a tricky and not always a successful transition, however Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe has updated this ancient game without losing its’ addictive appeal, calming effect and beautiful tiles. Its improvement of the 3D twist and cubed tiles are interesting additions to a play that has been done on a flat surface with flat tiles for ages.

The first difference you notice about this game is that the tiles are cubes and you can rotate the blocks so you can see from different angles. By pressing the arrows on either side of the screen, you are able to see behind or the sides of the cubes. You need to do so because you get more options for matches. The rotating mechanisms will get easier as you use them. You need to match 2 of the similar cubes to clear them from the board. The cubes you click on must have 3 sides free to make a match. After clearing your board, you proceed to the next puzzle.
There are many power ups to be found among the cubes and blocks. If you match 2 red gems, the entire board will be changed to blue blocks for a few seconds so you can easily match 2 cubes quickly to gain a lot of points. If you are fast when matching the cubes, you will get a bonus multiplier to increase your score. There are other bonuses like the slowdown tiles, freeze blocks and bomb blocks.

You can view your completed levels at the bottom of the screen. From the map you can view the available puzzles you can replay for a faster time and increase your medals. There are 2 modes of play: Normal and Hard. In addition, you can play this game either timed or untimed for either exciting or relaxing play.

Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe is a beautifully drawn game and with its relaxing music and untimed play can be almost Zen like game for anyone wanting to take it easy while enjoying a pleasant game. Of course, if you are in search of an exciting, fast paced play, you can do that also by playing it in the timed mode and seeing how high your score can go. Overall this is an enjoyable, fun game to spend an afternoon or evening playing. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an awesome time.

Features of Mahjongg Dimensions Deluxe:
-3D Twist
-Over 60 Levels
-Achievement Awards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Mahjong Adventures has 3 modes you can choose from and play the way you want. In Classic you customize features to play what you like, Layout you can design your own game and in Adventure you play the story. The story is about an eccentric uncle’s prized treasure. If you go to each of the 18 sites and uncover two golden tiles buried in each puzzle, you can reveal the treasure.

There’s a journal full of fun facts about each location. You travel to each place to collect all the golden tiles. The map will show you where you will go next. Starting from Hawaii go to each exotic isle and play with tiles with pineapples, dolphins, palm trees and more. My favorite tiles are the yoga poses in San Francisco. I bet you can find your favorite spot with their own original tiles. In New York City it will take you to the subways and the Statue of Liberty.

The play is simple. Match 2 identical or similar themed tiles such as winter and summer to clear the board. If a tile is playable, when you place your cursor over the tile, it will have a yellow frame around it making matches easy and simple to do. Once you uncover the golden tiles, you can match the 2 and the level is complete. If you have problems making a good match, there’s an Undo, Hint, Restart, Shuffle button at the bottom to use. It’ll give you stats on how you do but it is not timed. The only time you’ll get is how long it takes you to complete the level.

Mahjong Adventures is an addictive and relaxing matching game with colorful tiles specific to each location like the New York tiles with taxis and subway signs to San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge. Also included at every site is your journal with facts about each place. There are many Mahjong games to choose from and many use the Chinese characters that you must decipher. The play is about the same so why not choose Mahjong Adventures with its fantastic tiles you can relate to with its many location specific tiles? Play Mahjong Adventures and get uncle’s treasure!

Features of Mahjong Adventures:
-Original Fun Tiles
-World Locations
-Interesting Facts about each Site
-Find the Fantastic Treasure

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

To answer the inevitable question, yes. As the name may suggest, this game is indeed epic. From the constant and never-ceasing Enya-style music to the over one hundred unique levels, this game has a feel that can only be matched by its lofty name. Mahjong Epic is very straightforward. It is a mahjong game and that is all. The screen opens to the main screen which only holds the game, high score, options and other basic information. From there the game goes to the main board screen, which shows you all the boards you are capable of playing. Like I said before, there are over one hundred different titles, so the game has all kinds of replayability.

In addition, there is a custom board mode where you can create your own epic mahjong boards. This is actually a lot of fun and allows you to really let your creativity show. The creator mode is very user friendly and easy to use, just point and click where you want to tiles to appear on the board (there is a grid that helps you organize the board).

The only "special option" that the game has is the the sidebar that lets you see the solution to the board. Even though this was a good thought, it goes so quick no one could duplicate the solution. It flies by. The other in-game option on the sidebar include a shuffle option, a hide hint, and a save game. Each of these do exactly what they say and are not really needed, but are definitely handy.

With this game being so straightforward, it is difficult to write a lengthy review, but this is really what makes Mahjong Epic so good. Because it focused on the fundamental game and not special or flashy extras, the creators were able to create a game true to the ancient Chinese classic. The only problems I had with the game was the music, which was on repeat and needed to have some sort of diversity, and the backgrounds, which should have either stayed the same or changed more frequently. I would give Mahjong Epic three and a half stars out of five.

Features of Mahjong Epic:
- Over 100 different boards
- Custom levels
- Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- Watch the solution to any level

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Cornelia is the star pupil of the Chief Imperial Architect, Sancho, who must restore the many floating kingdoms in the empire. You, as Cornelia, must produce, harvest, gather resources and feed the villagers in each floating island through games and puzzles in Mac sim game Floating Kingdoms.

Each individual kingdom is different. Some have more buildings and resources than others. The different structures will help obtain the needed resources to rebuild your island village. The first puzzle to complete is mahjong. Here you can match the tiles to earn resources like lumber and stone. Be sure to quickly finish the tile game since it is timed. Click on one of the farms and pack the produce in boxes. The vegetables and fruits will come down the conveyor belt and you click on the item and then click on the outlined form to place in the crates. The mill will grind down the grains for the people to make food from and feed the masses. The mini game here is to place the correct grain on the stone with the outline of the plant. Another game is to feed the people by making pizzas for the long line of villagers.

Afterwards, you are ready to build the palace. This is the last activity for each island. However, the castle goes up by itself or I should say, the villagers build the palace while you watch. You continue on to the next floating island to help the people there.

Each floating island has similar mini games to improve each situation. This becomes a little repetitive after awhile. The tutorial is quite extensive even though the play is easy enough the timed factor will make you go back and redo puzzles. I like to do mahjong leisurely and not have to worry about finishing quickly. Floating Kingdoms with its adventure and many puzzles is not my cup of tea, but may be for some casual gamers. The artwork is distinctly drawn and vibrant. Get busy building the palaces and watch out for the pirates!

Features of Floating Kingdoms:
-Adventure Story
-Many Different Mini Games
-Sim Time Management

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Whether you are a classic or adventure (story) player, you will not be disappointed with Mahjongg – Ancient Mayas Mac game. From choosing your tiles and background scenes, the game brings a relaxing and enjoyable play to your day.

The story starts dramatically with Dr. Deanfield’s recent Mayan discovery dropped to the floor by accident and revealing one of the reputed tiles of insight. There are 30 tiles in all and the professor and his colleague are immediately assigned to an expedition to recover the other tiles. This begins your exciting journey through the dense jungles of Central America from the famed Tikal temples and beyond.

The play is to click on 2 free tiles. Tiles are free when there is no tile to the right or left. It also will be lit up with the unavailable tiles in the shadows. The object is to remove the tile that will reveal the most covered tiles. This will give you more options to match your tiles. The faster you play the more points you will garner so it behooves you to look ahead of each play to advance quickly. An addition to this game is you can match family tiles and not just identical ones. This mahjong game is a little different from many others because of its power-ups and bonus tiles assisting your play.

There is a joker tile where you are able to match it with any tile. An interesting bonus is the swapping tile where you can swap any 2 tiles’ positions. In swapping the tiles you must figure out the most strategic possible move to your advantage. The best tiles to use are the ones with the lightning bolts. When you match these 2 tiles the level is complete. However most of the time these tiles are buried underneath all the other tiles and are unavailable until near the end of the level. There are many other pluses in this game and it is fun to discover all of them. The only minus I found with the power-up tiles is that it takes a while before you remember what each symbol represents and how to use them appropriately.

Mahjongg – Ancient Mayas is a good way to spend some relaxing time. Once you get into this play you want to continue, and if you play the adventure mode, you want to find out if Dr. Deanfield and his lovely assistant find all 30 insight tiles and how they use them. The music is appropriate to the Mayan theme and the graphics are good. Take some time and have fun with this mahjong game.

Features of Mahjongg – Ancient Mayas
--11 Variations
-3 Difficulty Settings
-Create Own Levels
-300 Layouts
-Choose Tile Sets and Music

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Hidden Wonders of the Depths 2 is the little improved sequel to the first Mac game. If you played the first version, you know what you are in for in the second game. It’s a little more interesting to play, a little better color with similar artwork and exactly the same music.

This time the mermaid wants the crab to build her a ship. The main game is the match 3 or more similar items to destroy the glass tiles and traverse the crab or crabs (he has a friend) to the treasure chests. The play is to swap positions of objects to make 3 in a row either vertically or horizontally. A few of the match plays involve grouping 3 or more objects and click once on the batch of similar items to destroy. You can choose to play either Relaxed or Standard mode depending on how motivated you are. The match games are not that difficult and would be good for kids to play. The crabs will go into their funny dance or give you a raspberry when you take too long to match.

There are a lot of mini games but it does get a little repetitive when you play the memory game a half a dozen times. The hidden object is not a challenge at all. The only thing I could say about it is that the scene is very pretty. You may skip these games when the skip buttons fills up. Other side games include mahjong and sliding picture puzzles. These mini games helped break up the match 3 plays. Even though I like match games, sometimes it gets boring. Building the ship for the mermaid is another diversion from the main game.

Okay, this is my take on this sequel Hidden Wonders of the Depths 2: this game is so similar to the first that you really don’t need to play it. If you liked it, knock yourself out, but like the first, the play is simple and not very challenging. If you want a relaxing game, this is the one. If you didn’t play the first game, play the second., and lastly, if you are a kid, it’s fun and cute. That’s it. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Features of Hidden Wonders of the Depths 2:
-Underwater Match plays
-Lots of Mini Puzzles
-Build a Ship for the Mermaid

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars