If you have ever wanted to try out Mahjong, the popular tile matching game from the global east, then Kemono Mahjong will be your best guide! From developer and publisher CyberDog Software, Kemono Mahjong is a beginner and western-friendly Mahjong software specifically geared towards Japanese style Mahjong, currently being sold for $4.99 USD on Steam, and $2.99 via the Google Play Store and the App Store.
A Game for the Ages
I started my journey down the Mahjong path like, I imagine, many other unfamiliar people have–aware of the tabletop version with all of its domino-looking plastic blocks and intimidated by all the symbols. In reality, Mahjong plays quite similar to many other tile-matching, set-making, run-making games like Rummy or Poker.
Without getting too deep into the rules, the main idea in Kemono Mahjong is making your hand of 14 tiles into 4 sets and a pair. A set can be three-of-a-kind or it can be a run of three numbers in a row of the same suit, and a pair can be any double of any tile. Players, on their turn, take 1 tile from the “break” in the communal wall and discard 1 out of their hand into the middle where others are allowed to complete their sets with your discarded tile.
It became quickly apparent how beautiful and complex of a puzzle Mahjong is, especially when I learned enough to start trying to enact strategies out of my opening hand. When a game has layer upon layer of strategy unfolding at every step in the ladder of mastery, then that game can rightfully own the title of “hard to master.”
The raw mechanics of Mahjong are the reason it has been so popular for so long–it demands players make small but meaningful choices every turn, keeps personal and public information well-balanced, makes every player care about what other people are doing on their turns, and never overloads with too much information or choice. In terms of board game design Mahjong checks every important box.
Kemono Mahjong as a Learning Scaffold
Bridging the gap between the cultural significance of Mahjong in East Asia to the western gaming market is no small task, and Kemono Mahjong does its part well in this endeavor.
Tabletop games converted to a digital space, many times, offer a smoother experience. Instead of having to shuffle decks or tiles, the digital shuffler does it for you! And on top of that, digital versions ensure the rules are being played correctly. This is absolutely the case with Kemono Mahjong, there are a ton of extra rules you would need to learn about where tiles are drawn, how the complex scoring system works, or how to even set everything up. All of those worries are put to rest, because Kemono Mahjong does all the unsexy work for you.
The tutorials present in Kemono Mahjong are short, to the point, and effective at communicating the basics of play. Beyond that I would advise looking to YouTube or Google for more advanced and comprehensive strategy guides. In short, don’t buy Kemono Mahjong for its tutorials, rather buy it for its readability and accessibility while looking to other free sources for strategy.
One of the most intimidating factors of Mahjong are the Asian characters and variance in symbols on the sets of tiles, but Kemono Mahjong allows players to choose more western/beginner-friendly tiles that communicate the important information without any artistic fluff. Likewise, another smoothed-out rough edge is the Paku scoring guide built into the game client. Without the guide, I would be forced to tab out of my game every time I’m trying to figure out whether to play an open or closed hand.
However, all is not perfect with Kemono Mahjong as a game client. Most annoying is the inability to swap around tiles in hand into whatever organization. In a game designed around tile organization, one would imagine the game would allow you to organize your hand as you please. When watching in-person Mahjong, players are constantly shuffling and reorganizing their hands as their strategies shift on the fly. Personal organization would be much better than the auto-organization provided by Kemono Mahjong.
Conclusion
All things considered, Kemono Mahjong does a good job making available the basic rules of Mahjong, uniquely offering western-friendly options, and working out all the nitty-gritty information for the player. Overall, Mahjong is a fantastic game that deserves more traction in the Western gaming sphere, and I hope Kemono Mahjong can serve as part of the bridge.
Score: 8/10
(My given score for Kemono Mahjong is reflective of the game client and not of the game Mahjong itself)
Check Out the Kemono Mahjong Steam Trailer:
Kemono Mahjong is currently being sold for $4.99 USD on Steam, and $2.99 via the Google Play Store and the App Store.
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Recent Michigan State University grad and current Game Studies researcher who plays fantasy RPG's to escape, Smash to compete, and Stardew to chill. Also have a +1 to rage/toxicity resistance due to the many hours sunk into WoW, R6, and LoL.
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