Mahjong solitaire, also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, MahJong solitaire, solitaire Mahjong and, wrongly, as mahjong, is a solitaire tile matching game that uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards. The 144 tiles are arranged in a special four-layer grid with their faces upwards. A tile that can be moved left or right without disturbing other tiles is said to be exposed. Exposed pairs of identical tiles (Flower tiles in the same group being considered identical) are removed from the grid one at a time, gradually exposing the lower layers to play. The aim of the game is to clear the grid by pairing up all the tiles. The game is finished when either the grid is empty, or there are no exposed pairs remaining.

While Shanghai solitaire can be played using genuine tiles and a special wooden frame for set-up, it is usually played in an electronic form as a computer game. This removes the tedium of the set-up process and the temptation to cheat. Some electronic Mahjong solitaire games offer extra options, such as the ability to change the tile set and patterns from the traditional tiles to flowers, jewels or some other item that may be easier to match up at a glance, to play a series of different layouts with increasing levels of difficulty (usually given Chinese names such as 'the ox' or 'the snake'), or "wildcard tiles" and other tiles that have special functions. These games also have an optional time limit, and offer hints/cheat options such as the ability to have a match found for you, or to backtrack and undo already made moves. Additionally, most implementations of the game arrange the tiles in such a way that the game is solvable in at least one way.

Mahjong solitaire can be played either solo, or with a partner in which case the aim is either to accumulate the most pairs, or to be the last one to match a pair.

Players should open up new tiles with every pair they eliminate. Haphazardly choosing obvious pairs, such as those from the top levels, will often end the game prematurely (i.e. lose) by leaving essential tiles under cover.

History

The computer game was originally created by Brodie Lockard in 1981 on the PLATO computer and named Mah-Jongg. It was released for free and was played using a CDC-721 touch screen terminal. Control Data Corporation released a new version as a paid online game in 1983. The first version remained available for free.

Mahjongg on Ubuntu Linux (GNOME.)However, it was not until Activision released Shanghai in 1986 for the Macintosh and Apple IIgs that the game gathered momentum. Again created by Brodie Lockard (programming and graphics) while Brad Fregger was the producer. The game became very successful, and around 10 million copies were sold. It has been ported to many different platforms.

The name "Shanghai" was trademarked by Activision. As the game is based on mahjong tiles, some confusion arose with the 4 player mahjong game with the search for a new name. Although mahjong solitaire is generally accepted, other names include The Turtle and Shanghai Solitaire. Other known brandnames of mahjong solitaire include Taipei, Kyodai, and Moraff's. Taipei, originally written by David Norris in 1986, was so named as it was a "cheap clone" of Shanghai.

Microsoft TaipeiSome have suggested that "Shanghai" may be based on 'The Turtle', a Chinese game several centuries old. According to Brad Fregger's book Lucky That Way, this story rests upon no less an authority than Brodie Lockard, the original programmer; discussion on the question, however, continues to this day.

A game called Ac Chen was released for the NeXTStep system, which was basically mahjong solitaire with pop culture symbols on the pieces instead of traditional Chinese pictures.

A version of this game was also included in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows 3.x in 1990 and went by the name Taipei. It was subsequently included in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack.

It is now also available on the Nintendo DS, on the Clubhouse Games games compilation (known as "42 All Time Classics" in Europe).

Premium editions of the Windows Vista operating system include a version of the game known as Mahjong Titans.

Versions simply labelled Mahjong are available in various Linux desktops.

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