Games

Mahjong solitaire

Mahjong solitaire with the full set of 144 tiles, laid out as the Turtle, a Pyramid or a Fortress: take the tiles away two at a time - a free tile and another free tile with the same face; any flower goes with any flower and any season with any season. A tile is free when nothing lies on it and its left or its right side is open. Every deal can be cleared to the last tile. Take moves back, ask for a hint - it looks for a way to clear the whole table - have the free tiles marked, shuffle what is left when no pair is open, or watch the computer solve a deal.

By Mykhailo Makarov

Actual application image

What happens

144 tiles lie in layers. Take away two free tiles with the same face; the four flowers go with one another, and so do the four seasons. A tile is free when no tile lies on it, even partly, and its left or its right side touches no tile. The game is won when the table is clear. When no two free tiles go together, shuffle the tiles left on the table or take moves back. The small numbers and letters in the corners name the characters from one to nine, the winds - east, south, west, north - and the flowers and the seasons.

Try this

Click a free tile, then another free tile with the same face. The right mouse button turns the view, the wheel zooms.

Related experiments

Back to catalogue

Games

Darts

Darts at a clock board: 301, 501 or 701, taken down to exactly nothing, three darts a turn. Played to a double, the last dart has to land in the double ring or the bull, and a dart that takes the score past nothing, or to one, is a bust: the turn is over and the score goes back. The sight sways about the pointer like a hand that will not keep still - let the dart go when it crosses the bed you want. The computer's darts scatter about the point it aims at, less at each of its five levels, and it aims where its own hand does best: a beginner at the fat part of the board, a master at the treble twenty and the shortest way out. Play the computer or a friend, practise alone or watch a demo game; a hint shows where a hand like yours should aim.

Games

Fifteen puzzle

The fifteen puzzle: a tray of numbered ivory tiles with one cell empty - slide them until they stand in order. Play the classic 4 by 4 with fifteen tiles, the small 3 by 3 with eight or the large 5 by 5 with twenty-four; every shuffle can be solved. Click a tile to push it, and the tiles between, toward the gap, or use the arrow keys. The moves and the time are counted. Ask for a hint - the solver finds the shortest way on the small board and a short one on the larger - take moves back, or let the computer put the tiles in order.

Games

Reversi

The classic game of discs that change colour: bracket a row of your opponent’s discs and they all turn to yours. Play the computer at five levels, from a beginner who blunders corners to a master that solves the last twenty moves exactly, play a friend at the same table, or watch the computer play itself.