I have tried many types of Mahjong but for me this has got to be the best at variety and the best visually. I'm really enjoying it

win 7 64 bit, home built computer... works great, easy install and quick play, wish all the games would quit asking for a name as I am the only one on this system but I do understand why they do it.

Hi, Have the same little problem as #4 Barbara, cannot get out of full screen, [still XP,SP3], do not think has anything to do with resolution- just no effect if in options "Full screen"is unchecked, also no response to toggle F 11 or ESC, otherwise game fine, just in general I prefer windowed mode, these big cursors are also not my style!- thanks for good game

I have the same problem as poster #7, Swampy. I got up excited to see what the game giveaway was, and there was no game. But I am having fun with today's game. It's something to do while I think of articles to write. This game has something different on every level. I like that.

Thank you for the wonderful games.

This is a good game. Not like other Mahjong games. This ones a little bit different, and I mean that in a good way. Didn't get it at first, but once I got the hang of it, could play for hours. Nice soundtrack, real escapism and nice graphics. Plays well, I like it. Thanks Game GOTD and Playrix Entertainment.

Second level, Dominoes. Last 2 tiles are piled. Shuffle, Still piled. Did undos and shuffles til I was blue in the face.
Quit game and DELETED it...

Too bad. Looked good til then

#10: "... it has a .zip.part on the end of the file name..."

As a file is downloading the filename can have a ".part" appended to the end of it -- once the download completes that ".part" goes away.

My guess is the download never completed.

This is the best Mahjong game I have ever seen!! I love Mahjong, but they tend to get boring after awhile, even with different tile sets and board choices. But I love that every level of this one is a totally different game! Thank you GOTD!


.........................Moderator comment...........................

:)

Nice game, installed fine on Win 7/64 Home Premium, but required a couple of restarts to get it to work on my dual monitor set-up (and BTW, it only works in landscape mode).

Game itself is great, although some of the levels are more tiresome than fun. When you can see lots of matches, but you can only make matches with 5 tiles shown at the bottom, you have to go back and forth, it does get old. But other levels are nice variants on the basic matching game. Making poker hands was my favorite one.

A keeper, and sure to be a big time-waster I mean favorite around our household!


..........................Moderator comment...........................

Thanks for your feedback Rickety

I have directX v11 installed

........................Moderator comment..............................

DX 11 isn't backwards compatible so you may need to install DX 9 as well.

Such a beautiful game! Thanks to you both for the opportunity!

Twice the program started with black (full) screen then gave "Failed creating the Direct3D Device".
Graphics card is an ATI Radeon HD 5450
Direct X version is up-to-date - Version 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904) and Direct Draw & Direct3D tests completed OK.
On the third attempt, the game started. Changed screen to smaller version but cursor staggers across the playing area as if arthritic. Makes the game unpleasant to play. Tried other Playrix games already on PC - cursor behaves normally on all.


..................................Moderator comment..............................


Hi TomDickHarri,

Try disabl;ing some of the graphics via compatibility mode. that may help to stop the poor mouse movement. do you have plenty of RAM? Game booster (linked to it in a previous comment above) may also help if RAM is low.

Hello Stephen,

Thank you for the review.

Have a nice Sunday!


………………………………………Moderator comment………………………………

A pleasure :)

Plays fine Windows 8 x64 Pro. Sliders, full screen. Attractive graphics. 9/10 for fans. Keeper for me. Good one for Fall/Winter to play now & then for tickling gray cells.
Glad things coming togethere Whiterabbit. Thanks guys.


………………………………………Moderator comment………………………………

Thanks sludgehound :)

This is a great game as Playrix games usually are. The only problem/complaint I have is the cursor, for some reason all these special game-related cursors bog my machine down. Is there a legal way to use the plain system cursor? Thanks again Playrix and GGOTD!


.............................................Moderator comment....................................


Hi Cat, try using the free game booster from Razer. It turns off unnecessary system processes when you turn it on and frees up some memory, which may help towards the cursor problem. You can also configure the program to turn off non system programs that run in the background that aren't needed while you play your games. The beauty of using Game booster is you can then return your system to normal at the click of a single button. I think the latest version may even do it automatically once you close the game down. I don't use the program as I have loads of system memory (16GB of sys RAM and 6GB of gRAM):


http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/gamebooster

Very pretty game, thanks.

File will not open after download.. it has a .zip.part on the end of the file name. Not sure what program I am suppose to use to open it..


.........................Moderator comment.......................

Hello Emmy, Right click on the zip file and select 'extract to World'GreatestTemplesMahjong/'. That will extract the zip file into a folder named 'World'GreatestTemplesMahjong' in the same location as the zip file. Open up the folder and click on the setup file (the orange icon with the key symbol).

If you don't see the words extract to ..... in the drop down menu I suggest you install 7 Zip which is free:


http://www.7-zip.org/

I keep getting an error saying there are no compatable 3d devices. I have installed on my computer a very popular gaming card.



.........................Moderator comment.......................


Try updating your direct X. for XP use Direct X v9.0c, for Vista use Direct X v10, for Win 7 use Direct X v11 and for Win 8 use Direct X v11.1. Also install Direct X 9.0c whichever OPS you are using.

I'd also update your graphics drivers to the most recent version.

Installs and runs fine on Windows 8 Professional x64. Nice implementation of a classic - well worth the download. Thanks to Playrix and GOTD for another great freebie.




.........................Moderator comment.......................

Thanks for the update on Win 8.

I get up on Saturday mornings all excited about the free game I might get that day. It's the very very very first thing I do when I get on the computer!

Imagine my disappointment the last two Saturdays! I get up all excited, go to GAME GIVEAWAY OF THE DAY and...and there...there isn't a game. NO!

Are we officially GAME GIVEAWAY ON SUNDAY now?

I like today's game. It's FUN FUN FUN (til my daddy takes my T-Bird away) Mahjong is like my favorite type of game (other than FISHDOM (!)) and "Great Cities" is one of my favorite. It's not quite as good as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" but I do like it better than "Around the World in 80 Days (there was one level in THAT game I could never get pass.)

I like the "Power Ups" and "Game Modes" described by WHITE RABBIT in his NEW HOUSE!

I'm going to download this game and play it today.



.........................Moderator comment.......................


Hi Swampy, I don't know why we've only been getting one game over the last few weeks because there's several in the listings ready to be given away.

This game is very, very good.
Thank you.

Windows Vista 32 bits - (ok).

Thanks for your solid reviews here always appreciated whether I download them or not :)

Nice game, a couple of twists from the usual mahjong game.
I can turn off the sound & effects (otherwise I would not have kept the game) but the game stays full screen even when button is unselected.



.........................Moderator comment.......................

Hi Barbara; the window toggle works for me. It could be that you have your screen selection set for a low resolution image. If that's the case changing to windowed mode may not be as obvious. Sorry for the very late moderation. After i'd posted this mornings review I went back to bed and slept for another 6 hours.

Of course i'm going to dnld this "Playrix" product. Regretably i can not fully test it (or to be quite honest) or any of the other Playrix games. Nevertheless, my experience with a couple of their products convinced me to grab everyone of them as them come along. As a rule, per se, i seldom play any games (nevermind why) and, also as a rule, only those on http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/ (4 us old timers) AND, since Whiterabbit got me started - these irresistable Playrix goodies... If, in the future, my circumstances change (and i have a ridiculous amount of free time - and money) i will get the advanced versions and give them all a workout...

Regards to the 'game-chooser' (for not offering a lame-o today...)



.........................Moderator comment.......................

:)

From review seems like great game - got dial up and will know in several hours! Seems no game past 2 saturdays related to 50 tall giant rabbit roaming uk and causing terror to population!
Free Mafia II or Sid Meier’s Civilization V computer game download
https://goldenjoysticks.greenmangaming.com/
Thanks gotd and Playix. Eternally by Swallows http://archive.org/download/TheSwallows-01-05/TheSwallows-Eternally1951.mp3

.........................Moderator comment.......................

Thanks Wot, forgot to mention those free games from the GMG deal. I got a spare copy of Mafia II to give to a friend sometime later. :)

There's also two free arcade games from Playrix if you accept their newsletter.

World's Greatest Temples Mahjong:



In Brief:

A decent looking easy to play Mahjong game. One of three in this series of games, all of which we've now been given via the game giveaway of the day.

If you want to check the game out first before downloading the game from the game giveaway site you can play the World's Greatest Temples Mahjong online for free HERE

Installation:

World's Greatest Temples Mahjong downloads as a 57.8 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked (because the previous giveaway system was easily cracked). This file may case some security software to alert the user to a possible malware attack, but it will be a false positive.

The game giveaway team check all game giveaways for malware using several well known anti -malware suites. There has never been a game giveaway infected with malware since the project started back in Dec 2006. (The owners know that allowing such things would compromise their buisness, so they make sure all software given away via the giveaway and gamegiveaway sites are throughly checked for all types of malware before allowing community members to download any files.

Some community members have been having problems installing games since the security software was added. It's been found that turning off your security temporarily or configuring it to accept the setup.cgd file usually sorts the problem out.

To register and install the game click on the orange colored icon. The installed game is 59.2 MB in size and installs to the following path by default:

C:\Program Files\Playrix Entertainment\World's Greatest Temples Mahjong\GreatestTemples.exe (If the install path shows the last game giveaway installed you need to clear your internet cache)






The path can be changed to suit whatever your wishes are. Once the game is installed you can delete the giveaway setup files. The game installs 2 shortcuts to the desktop (a shortcut to the game and a shortcut to Playrix). You'll also find a shortcut in the Start Menu for an uninstaller.

World's Greatest Temples Mahjong works on my Win 7 (64 bit) computer. My Win 8 machine hasn't been unpacked yet and I've not reinstalled Vista or XP yet.

If you miss today's giveaway you can get one of the sister games Worlds Greatest Places Mahjong free 24/7 from MyPlayCity (MPC) or from Gametop , but do bear in mind the potential for toolbars and home page changes everytime you boot up an MPC game or wheh you install a Gametop game.

There's also several other Mahjong games you can get from MPC HERE or around 15 games over at Jenkat HERE . Alternately you'll find loads of Mahjong games over in the game discussion forums via the Good Games to grab project (originally called the free game of the day) or elsewhere in the game discussion forums. There's loads of free mahjong games available online or for download (for example check Caimans)

Introduction:

Embark on a beautiful journey across the globe in World's Greatest Temples Mahjong, a wonderful game of tile matching. Learn about the great temples of the world as you play through impressive Mahjong levels! Try seven different game modes and explore fascinating facts about beautiful temples. Put your mahjong skills to the test and use special abilities to clear the screen in this gorgeous Mahjong puzzle game!

Reference accessed HERE 12th Oct 2013

The Game:




You can turn off the music and sound effects via the sliders located in the options menu; you can also play the game in windowed or full screen mode. There is a help menu that details all of the modes you'll be introduced to (see below for the various modes).

At the bottom of the playing field there are three buttons which allow you to shuffle, get a hint or undo your last move; you can undo as many previous moves as you wish.

Once you've completed a level you can be awarded either one, two or three stars, and your score is shown. You can at this point select to replay the game, go to the main menu or start the next level. Each level gives you a different mode, so you don't play the same mode each time. Before you can move on to the next temple you have to complete all levels in the temple your are playing. Each temple has 20 levels to complete. there are 140 levels in total, which makes seven different locations to visit. Once a level and location is unlocked you can return to it by selecting the main menu option at the end of a levl then select play. From there you can select the temple you wish to play and the level (so long as they have already been unlocked)

The beauty about this game is that every time you play the same level again, the tiles are set differently, so you can replay the game and have a totally different experience each time.

There are seven different modes detailed below. You will also find four different power ups:

1) ... A tile with a green question mark. This reveals all the matches for a selected tile for 30 seconds

2) ... The electric bolt removes all instances of any tile you choose

3) ... The swap tile (Yellow/orange with three squares). will swap two selected tiles. You don't have to select a free tile to use this power up.

4) ... The change tile (two opposing arrows), will give you more matches when you only have a few . Select two tiles and all instances of the second tile will be changed to match the first tile.



Modes:

Mahjong Game Type:


select two matching tiles to remove them. You can also select a combination of tiles marked with an 'F' or 'S'. Matching tiles have to be free to be selected. Tiles are free when there are no tiles to the left or to the right of them. Each level has special tiles. Remove them to complete the level.

Bottom Tiles Game Type:

You have to remove tiles one by one. Click any free tile on the board that is identical to one of the tiles in the frame at the bottom of the board. All tiles must be removed to complete a level. In order to remove tiles , they must have either the left or right edge free and have no tiles placed on top.

Domino Game Type:

Select tiles that match in color and the amount of points on them is equal to seven. Matching tiles have to be free to be selected. tiles are free when there are no tiles to the left or the right of them. Remove all tiles to complete the level.

Poker Game Type:
Collect a combination of poker by selecting pairs of identical tiles. Matching tiles have to be free to be selected. tiles are free when there are no tiles to the left or the right of them. Remove all tiles to complete the level.

Logical GameType:

Take off two logically matching tiles that lie on opposite sides of the wall. In order to remove it, a tile must have a left or right edge completely free and cannot have tiles covering it. Remove all tiles to complete the level.

Memory Game Type:

Click on a tile to see its picture. If you open two tiles one by one and their pictures match with the tile in the frame below tiles will disappear. Remove all tiles to complete the level.

Rainbow Game Type:

Remove all coloured tiles in order of sequence of colors of the rainbow. Click on the tile to mark it in the frame below. Select two matching tiles to remove them. you can also select from a combination of tiles marked with an 'F' or 'S'.

Matching tiles have to be free to be selected. tiles are free when there are no tiles to the left or the right of them. Remove all the colored tiles and all the usual tiles to complete a level.

Suggestions to the developer:


1) ... Include several skins for different style tiles

2) ... Enable more backgrounds to be imported into the game

3) ... Be able to access all stages so that you can play all the levels of any mode you wish, rather than have to complete each stage before you progress


4) ... Include a levels editor so that you can create your own levels


5) ... Include modes from the other world games for example the non pairs game, logical triple, 5 Seconds and Great Wall game (found in the World’s Greatest Cities Mahjong game) and four rivers game, (found in the World’s Greatest Places Mahjong game)

6) ... Include a timed and untimed mode

7) ... Include a straightforwards matching pairs mode where you can play just the main mahjong game

8) include the traditional four player game as an option.

Summary of Features:


* 7 mahjong game types

* 140 different layouts

* Reasonable music (quite restful)

* 4 Special power-up tiles

* 7 stages



Video:


You can see a couple of videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE







Music:

There's no way of editing the music content for this game. you can turn the music off via the options menu and play your own. :)

Minimum System Specifications:

Windows 98/ 2000/ XP/ Vista/ 7
CPU: 800 MHz
System RAM: 256 MB
DirectX: 7 or higher
Video RAM: 16 MB

Conclusion:

This is another nice addition to the World series of Mahjong games. Overall World's Greatest Temples Mahjong is a pleasant game of mah-jong with a variety of modes to play from the traditional matching pairs solitaire to several alternative methods of playing which are detailed above. The addition of these extra modes with power ups included makes the game much easier to play than a traditional game;
Despite World's Greatest Temples Mahjong being an easier Mah-jong game I've scored it an excellent 8 out of 10 because of the variety of modes available.



Score:

Overall I'd give this game the the same score as I gave the World's Greatest Cities Mahjong game back in June of this year (despite some aspects of that game missing from this version):

Gameplay - 8

Graphics - 8

Replayability - 9

Originality - 7

Instructions/help - 8


Totals 40 out of 50 which is equivalent to 8 out of 10


Problems with the game?:

If you have any problems installing or playing today's game please go to the game discussion forums where you'll find a FAQ's section HERE.

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Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:


If you're looking for something other than today's game check the didimatic site via THIS link for some brilliant deals.

Steam weekend deals include 50 to 75% off CapCom titles, plus 75% off the Crysis franchise and 40% off Divinity Dragon Commander. There's over 100 titles on sale at the moment via Steam including the 24hr sale, which is 33% off Space Hulk

You can find details of all these deals by following THIS link; then click on the specials tab.


There are plenty of deals over on the Green Man Gaming site plus 25% off selected titles. You'll find the deals HERE.


You'll find many more game deals from Gamersgate, Gamestop, and GOG; all of which you can find via the Didimatic site, which I've linked to above.

To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price.


Check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games, either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles, (there's a brilliant one over on the Groupees site with around 30 games for only $12 as well as the Indie Gala and Humble Bundle Weekly sales or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand.


The latest IndieGameStand game is Six Sided Sanctuary a puzzle game where you attach panels with special properties to the sides of a cube. Depending on the orientation of the panels they can help or hinder your progress to the finish line. If you pay more than the average (which stood at £1.75 at the time of writing this) you'll also get the sound track. The game comes with a a DRM free download link. You can also vote for the game to be Greenlit on Steam. If it does get Greenlit you'll get a Steam key. (Anyone who purchased the first IGS games 'Escape Goat' you'll find you now have a Steam key to add to your Steam library). You'll find the deal HERE. This deal ends on Tue 8th Oct around 5am GMT.

There are small indie bundles available over at Indiebundle.org. Each bundle has three games and costs $5 each for the basic bundle plus a few dollars more for extra games. Check the Indie bundles HERE

There's also more Indie bundles available such as the Humble Bundle weekly sale, Indie Gala and Groupees bundles. You can find them all via the Game Discussion forums. All bundles are excellent value for money :). For most of these bundles you need not pay more than $5 for several games that would usually cost you a lot more. You'll find links to all of these bundles in the Game discussion forums HERE

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A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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