prMac: SillyTale MahJong – Stacked Tiles

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Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation – Silly Tale Studio today is pleased to introduce SillyTale MahJong 1.0 for iOS, their new single-player MahJong, which offers the maximum complexity of the solitaire version of the game as originally created by Brodie Lockard in 1981. Featuring authentic, 3D, Chinese playing tiles and restful music, the game uses the standard, MahJong set of 144 stones or tiles. The goal is to clear the board by removing all the tiles from one of many layouts, which differ in pattern, size, and height. Tiles can only be removed two at a time, they must be identical matches, and they must be “free” (capable of sliding right or left, and without any tiles covering them).

Unlike other single-player MahJong games, this one includes unprecedented ergonomics, levels of difficulty, gameplay action, photo-realistic tiles, and optional hints. The innovative design features of SillyTale MahJong for iOS allow users to enjoy gameplay on any iDevice, including the iPhone. In order to arrange a large number of tiles so that they can be easily read by the player, the developers have temporarily hidden all of the interface elements, such as buttons and indicators. In addition, the game incorporates smooth, high-magnification pinch gestures to quickly zoom in and out.

Feature Highlights:
* Favorite layout “The Turtle,” and more
* Hard classic game
* Increasing levels of difficulty
* Pinch-to-Zoom the layout view
* Increased field of view
* Hidden control panel
* Hint and Undo
* Music and sound control
* Saves when exiting and goes to background
* Unique scoring

A SillyTale MahJong position initially consists of a pile of 144 stones/tiles. The goal of the game is to remove all the tiles from the screen. A solved position is one where all the tiles are removed, and each puzzle has multiple solutions (matches and the order of removing tiles). Each of the 144 stones in the game has a face, and there are 36 distinct faces. Per face, there are four stones with that face (two pair), and they must be removed in matching pairs. Stones picturing a Flower (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo) or a Season (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) are bonus tiles, not requiring an identical match. Any Season or Flower combination counts as a pair because there is only one of each tile.

A MahJong position is a pile of stones, all face up. In some cases, a tile’s face may be obscured by one or more others above it. A stone can be removed only when it is possible to “slide it” to the left (west) or right (east), with no other stone covering it (fully or partially). A tile cannot be removed when it is touched by others on the left and on the right, even when it is not touched by tiles to the north or south. A stone that can be removed is called a free stone. Unlike Solitaire MahJong played with real tiles, SillyTale MahJong does not allow the player to see the tiles as they are stacked, providing a pure challenge to the virtual, iOS player.

On launch in landscape orientation, the game allows the user to choose from 12 different symmetrical, tile-stacking designs for the puzzle they want to solve. All initial position, geometrically stacked piles of stones consist of all 144 tiles, and each is rated from two to five stars in difficulty. The app includes integrated Facebook and Twitter connectivity for sharing games, free hints after 60 seconds without a move, continuing paused games, and soothing Chinese music. Two players can collaborate on a single puzzle or compete against each other.

“Start your new adventure, solving puzzles with gradually increasing complexity,” stated Petr Mizerov of Silly Tale Studio. “On your way, you can expect the mysterious pyramids and altars. At the end of the path awaits the Temple with an increased level of difficulty. But to get to it, you’ll need to overcome the Pyramid, so you will require persistence and patience. Good luck in your adventures, you’ll need it!”

Source [prMac]