3D Mahjong

Genre: Card Game / Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

3D Mahjong (not to be confused with the Nintendo 3DS game 3D Mahjongg) is a version of solitaire Mahjong released on Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2010 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released. This game includes 50 different tile layouts.

When it comes to the presentation, the game is presented in a simple fashion, with 2D visuals on the bottom screen for the tiles, and a simple 3D version of that on the top screen showing the tiles you’ve already removed. Interestingly, players can tap an on-screen button to flip the two, making the bottom display 3D and the top display 2D. This is a nice option, but personally I felt that the 2D visuals were easier to see, especially with the lower-resolution 3D imagery of the Nintendo DSi. You’re also given multiple options for both tile sets and backgrounds to choose from, which is nice. These visuals are all backed by plucky, low-key music that works well enough, but isn’t particularly great or inspiring. All in all, the presentation here is surprisingly good given the limitations of the original platform.

The controls here are decent, but nothing extraordinary. Players can use the touchscreen to make selections, or they can alternately use the D-Pad or Circle Pad and buttons, though this seems a little clunky. There are also on-screen buttons to undo a move, get a hint, or use the in-game menu, as well as to control the angle and rotation of the camera of whatever screen is in 3D. Unfortunately, there’s no interactive tutorial here, but otherwise there are a decent selection of options.

This game also includes bonus “Memory” and “Matching” games, which play like the classic “Win, Lose, & Draw” style card-matching game, as well as a speed variant where you can see all of the tiles/cards revealed at once. This is a nice addition, but nothing that you’re likely to spend a lot of tim with.

While the price tag of $5 seems a little high for what is in the end just Solitaire Mahjong, and the number of tile layouts is limited, this is a good selection of options for Mahjong, and I tend to think this is one of the better versions of this style of game on Nintendo 3DS. If you’re a fan of Mahjong, this may be worth picking up.

tl;dr – 3D MahJong is a version of solitaire Mahjong that has a good presentation, a decent selection of options, and sufficient controls. This game doesn’t do anything truly extraordinary, but for $5 it’s a perfectly decent version of Mahjong.

Grade: C+

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