Mahjong Titans Game History

Based on a game created in the mid-1800s, the Mahjong Titans game history cuts closer to the present, a popular digital tile-matching game included in the Microsoft Windows game package. This guide will walk you through the history, development, and lasting impression this game has been able to maintain through the years.

Creation and Development

When the “Titans” rendition of Mahjong Tiles was created, it was initially called Shanghai Solitaire. It maintained this name until its inclusion into MS Vista, which introduced the game calling it Mahjong Titans.

Development by Microsoft

In 2002, Mahjong Titans were created by Oberon Games (or Oberon Media), a multi-platform casual games company, by a man named Petr Mizerov. Initially, the game was designed to operate using Adobe Flash. It was later included in Microsoft’s Windows Vista and the following versions of Windows.

Release Date

Microsoft released Mahjong Titans in its Windows game package in 2006. However, Shanghai Solitaire was released separately in stand-alone game packs after being adopted into Microsoft before its inclusion into Windows between 2002 and 2006.

Features at Launch

Because of its game-pack inclusion, Mahjong Titans was developed to utilize Vista’s graphical interface. The tile layout was unique, featuring the standard turtle and the Dragon, Cat, Crab, Fortress, and Spider. Tile sets and backgrounds also came with multiple options. There were four options for tile sets: traditional, large print, alternative pastel, and an enhanced color option.

Gameplay Features

One of the biggest differences between Mahjong Tiles and Mahjong Titans is the player count. Mahjong is historically a multi-player game. Titans is a single-player game and has never been a video game.

Time Matching Mechanics

The idea is simple. Find matching tiles until all of the tiles have been removed from the pattern (typically the turtle layout). To be able to remove tiles, they must first be “open,” meaning that there are no tiles along the edge or sitting atop the tile you want to remove.

The player continues to remove pairs of tiles while scoring extra points when pairs are speedily removed one after the other. Matches are removed until there are none left or until there are no more moves left to be played.

Visual and Audio Design

Being simpler times that appreciated simpler games, the graphics and sound design contributed to the game’s overall appeal when compared to other Flash or HTML games of the time.

Impact and Popularity

A quick Google search of Mahjong games will reveal how influential this game was and remains, as page after page of tile-matching games unveil as a result.

Accessibility

Its inclusion into Microsoft Vista caused the game to become extremely popular, as it was presented to millions of new customers (potential new players). As it was included in corresponding versions of Windows, the Titans game became a staple, a standard Windows game that someone could select and play at their leisure without having to purchase separately. Mahjong Titans can be found in the Google Play store as an app for mobile devices, or other versions of the game can be found ready to play as a browser game.

Influence

Mahjong Titans would eventually have its sequels and spinoffs as time passed, and, just like the original game of Mahjong, has contributed to all sorts of similar tile-matching games. Mahjong has evolved into its own game style or genre, which wouldn’t have happened so readily were it not for the popularity of Titans.