So, full confession: I had no idea how to play Mahjong. I always thought it was that loud tile-slamming game in movies, usually played by grandmas in Chinatown. But when I stumbled upon Mahjong Titans, it looked calm and pretty, so I clicked “Play” out of curiosity.

At first, I had no clue what I was doing. There were dozens of little tiles with flowers, circles, and weird characters on them. I clicked randomly. Tiles disappeared. I felt powerful. I kept going. Then I got stuck and stared at the screen wondering if I had broken it.

Turns out, Mahjong Titans is all about matching identical tiles that aren’t blocked by others. So basically, you’re solving a kind of tile-based puzzle. Once I figured that out (thank you, Google), things started to click. I was making combos, clearing layers, and even strategizing which tiles to prioritize. Read More