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Introduction

Welcome to another one of my FAQs. This particular FAQ covers Mahjong Trap. Mahjong Trap is based off of the popular solitaire-type game of Mahjong Tiles, a game adapted by Joseph Babcock to America around the end of World War I. Mahjong originated in China, however, but its adaptation in the 1920s spread like wildfire through Great Britain, the U.S., and Australia, among other countries. While it no longer has the gathering it did back then, Mahjong and Mahjong Tiles are still regarded as some of the greatest video games of all time.

Over twenty-five years have passed since its release. Like many hundreds of NES games, it was uncovered. However, the NES FAQ Completion Project was started several years ago to FAQ all of the games for the NES console, and, so far, all of the North American games are covered. Now it's mostly down to Japanese games like this.

And so, that is how I came upon this game. Thanks for listening to my ramblin'; hope you enjoy!

Basics of the Game

Game Controls

Button	Resultant Effects
D-Pad	Move cursors.
A Button	Select tiles.
B Button	Execute valid move if possible.
Start Button	Move from title screen.
	Select game settings.
Select Button	Swap from single- to two-player games.

How to Play

This game does not seem to exactly rely on the basic rules of true Mahjong Tiles, or as far as I am able to see from how the Hoyle series of games and board games on the PC emulates it. Either way, you may want to look at the Example Game section after or alongside this.

Whenever you begin the game and see the title screen, press the Start Button. You will get a number of options. The top six describe level sets - as all games in Mahjong Trap are randomized to some extent, it matters not what round number (R1, R2, ... R6) you pick. You can also press the Select Button to swap between a one- and two-player game at the bottom. Note that you will be required to have two NES controllers for multiplayer gameplay.

In your basic version of this game, and Mahjong Tiles, your goal is simple - remove all of the tiles on the board by matching up free tiles. The definition of a "free tile" is a bit different than what is typically used, but my experimentation seems to confirm the following:

^s1|Straight-line matching.

• Firstly, the two tiles must match. There are a number of ways for tiles to match.
  • The tiles based on numbers expressed in numbers of circles or Roman numerals must match up with tiles of the same value and suit. For example, a "OOO" tile can only go for a "OOO" tile, not a "III" tile or a "OO" tile.
  • Tiles with Chinese symbols on them also must match perfectly.
  • Empty tiles match with empty tiles.
  • Tiles of pictures usually must match perfectly...
  • ... except in the cases of tiles with background colors. This tends to be tough to describe, but, kind of like the Seasons/Flowers set in Mahjong Tiles, these groups usually can match with others within that subgroup. You'll notice usually that there are odd (1, 3, 5...) numbers of the individual tiles type on-field. That typically means that it is one of these tiles. For these, you may have to use trial-and-error to find out which works with which.

• Freedom is not entirely based on having one side free like in Mahjong Tiles. Rather, if you can draw one, two, or three straight lines (only going left/right or up/down) from one tile to its mate, without crossing another tile, or seemingly crossing a line, then it usually will work.
  • This therefore allows you to make matches in the middle of the tile pile unlike you should be able to in a real game. However, that's only for tiles that are right next to each other.
  • Look at the image to the right for a visual idea of this. In the image, squares are tiles that can be paired; the lines between them can be of any length so long as they number one, two, or three and do not cross other lines or tiles.

That's the simple description of the goal of the game - eliminate all tiles through a moderately-complex system of matching. To select tiles to match, go to a tile, press the A Button, then do the same for its mate. Once both are selected (they'll flash pink), press the A Button once more. If you do make a pair, a star will go by to eliminate the two and you'll earn 20 points.

However, note that you are on a timer. There are two timers in the game. One is like the "shot clock" of basketball - you must make a legitimate pairing every ten (sometimes twenty) seconds or you lose one point of health. Three points of health lost equates to a game over, although you can sometimes get health back with enough points. You can also attain a game over by running out of time on the overall counter between the data for the two players, or by creating a situation in which there is no possible move.

Your health is represented by the hearts beneath your score. Below that are the number of free moves remaining. If you press the B Button, the game will automatically execute a legitimate move for you. As a tip, only do this when your "shot clock" timer next to the player number is around "1".

Also, a note on two-player mode. It operates on the same concepts as the single-player mode. However, this now becomes moreso a race to survive or to count points. The game never officially declares a winner beyond stating who reaches a game over first. The timer is shared between the two players and the timer-based game over goes to whoever the clock is running on when it hits zero.

All right so far? That's the basic details on how to play Mahjong Trap. To summarize:

• Remove tiles by matching free tiles in pairs under certain aforementioned conditions.
• Remove every tile in a level to proceed to a next, harder one.
• The game ends if you run out of time, run out of health, or create an unwinnable situation.
• Two-player mode is a survival mode.

Example Game

The purpose of this section is to give an example-based version of how you can play a game of Mahjong Trap. This does abide by all of the rules previously mentioned in the How to Play section so, if you're a visual-oriented person, here you go. It may help to copy this into a picture-editing program (Microsoft Paint, for example) so you can keep track of the moves as I go. And remember the line-matching rules mentioned earlier.

^l2|The game board.

My move order would probably be this:

• Match the 3-dot in red with the one two to the left.
• Match the two 4-dots with the slashes near said 3-dots.
• Match the blue jewel in the lower-left with the one directly right of it.
• Match the blue jewel in the top-left with the one directly right of it.
• Match the 9-dot tiles on the second column that are next to each other.
• Match the leftmost 5-dot and the rightmost 5-dot.
• Match the two 2-dot tiles that are next to each other in the lower-right.
• Match the two bumpy tiles left and right of the purple Chinese symbol.
• Match the 4-dot tile below the purple Chinese symbol with the 4-dot right one and up two.
• Match the nearby 3-dot tiles that are next to each other.
• Match the leftmost 4-dot tile with the rightmost one.
• Match the leftmost 6-dot with the rightmost 6-dot.
• Repeat the previous step using the new tileset.
• Match the green and purple Chinese symbols.
• Match the orange and blue Chinese symbols.
• From this point onward, you can match every tile with its lone, other mate.

Version History

• Final:
  • First, and likely only, version of this FAQ completed.
  • Time: 12:21 AM 2/12/2013.

Legalities

This FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

ｩ 2013 Daniel Chaviers (a.k.a. KeyBlade999).

If you would wish to contact me concerning this or my other FAQs, use this e-mail: keyblade999.faqs@gmail.com, or PM (Private Message) me on the GameFAQs message boards.

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