A-BUNNY AND IVORY – LC Plays Bunny Mahjo

Ever since I read the The Joy Luck Club, I had a desire to play mahjong, the Chinese tile game that is central to the story.  I believe it may have been the way that author Amy Tan described the look, feel, and sound of the (presumably ivory) tiles that had a bit to do with this.

So when the opportunity to play mahjong on my beloved Xbox One came up, I was more than happy to try it out.  And not only play mahjong, but play with an adorable cartoon rabbit.  Welcome to BUNNY MAHJO!

The premise of the game is easy, play mahjong by controlling an animated rabbit to hop on the tiles.  Since I had never learned the rules of the game I didn’t think there’d be any problem learning as most video games have a tutorial of sorts.  Unfortunately there were no instructions on how to play in this game’s options, so I ended up having a forlorn and lost looking bunny (well, in my head anyway) as I didn’t have a clue what to do with it.  Off to the internet for some mahjong lessons I went.

The rules as it turns out are pretty easy – match tiles in pairs to clear a board.  With this newfound knowledge I smugly went back to the console intending to conquer this game with Mr Bunny.

So, we make the bunny hop across the many Chinese-symbolled tiles to find the ones that light up pale green.  But wait, I have to remember where I saw that other lit tile with the 3 lines.  Where was it?  This is a new dimension, I have to use my memory to master this game!

And what’s that at the top of the screen?  A timer.  Okay, I have to make the bunny hop around finding lit up tiles, I have to remember which ones match, and I have a timer recording how long this whole process is taking.

Once you clear a board, a new one unlocks, with a higher difficulty.  This continues until you unlock all the boards.  Then you can play against your own time.

I notice that there are ‘Hint’ and ‘Shuffle’ buttons on screen in case I get stuck.  Which did happen a few times.  I never used the former, however I did use the latter an average of 5 times during games.  Because the lit up tiles are set by location – I presumed those on the edges and those underneath other tiles get the literal green light – sometimes you get to a point where you can’t match anymore and a shuffle is needed to progress.  But of course, both these help buttons end up adding time to your game, so if you’re of the competitive mindset, it’s best not to use these unless absolutely necessary.

Because, yes, there is an element of competition with this sweet little game.  It actually has global Leaderboards.  Now I’m not sure how those top players solved the puzzles in the times stated, but if you do want to compete against them there is certainly the opportunity.

I myself am quite happy to compete with myself, bettering my time can be quite satisfying (note: there is also a 2-person local co-op mode).  But really, I just enjoy the feeling of clearing the board regardless of how long it takes.  I expect nothing less than an element of Feng shui in an ancient Chinese game.

One nice little touch which may or may not appeal is the ability to change your rabbit’s colouring.  And it’s done in a completely simple way, too.  Just hop your little friend into the room at the back and you’ll see a myriad of coloured tiles on the floor.  And just hop onto your chosen colour, your bunny instantly matches it.  No complicated colour wheel to navigate, so ‘Are you sure you want to save this?’ button, he changes instantly with no fuss.

Although lacking instructions on how to play, Bunny Mahjo is a nice little title to keep in your library when you just want a relaxing game to play by yourself.  Harmony achieved in a simple but satisfying way.

Bunny Mahjo is available now on Xbox One and PC.  Developed and published by Dilly Frame Games.