Cooking Mahjong Game Review

Cooking Mahjong Game Background

Cooking Mahjong plays with the Mahjong Solitaire formula by matching related tiles to clear the stack. Instead of matching identical tiles, however, you must select each individual ingredient that forms the finished dish. Finish each level by cooking up the required number of dishes before the timer expires.

This game was published by Zygomatic. For a similar game experience from the same developer, check out Transport Mahjong.

How to Play Cooking Mahjong

Select by left clicking with your mouse or tapping on the touchscreen with your fingers. On the welcome screen, select Play below the game’s title near the top center to begin.

To clear tiles, select one tile, then select two others that are related. The tiles must be free to be selectable.

Basic Gameplay Advice

Basic Rules

Match groups of free or open tiles to clear them from the stack. Unlike in other Mahjong Solitaire games, you match tiles in themed groups rather than identical pairs. Each themed group is a recipe for a specific dish (e.g. spaghetti with meatballs), with each tile representing its components. Free tiles have no tile above them and at least one horizontal side open. The game helpfully grays out non-free tiles.

You begin each level with a target number of each available recipe to make. Each time you clear a group of ingredients, the number of that specific recipe goes down by one. Reduce all the recipes down to zero to before the timer runs out to finish the level.

Levels & Timer

The game has 25 levels, which are unlocked sequentially. You cannot replay any previously beaten levels; each time you reload the game, you have the choice to continue your previous session or start a new one. Your web browser automatically saves your game progress.

The amount of time you’re given to finish each level varies with the level’s complexity. Unlike in other games, you can only click the end level to finish the game. You can replay the level by refreshing your web browser and then selecting Continue Previous Game.

Scoring

Your score is cumulative through every level you’ve played. You earn 100 points for every recipe you finish. You’ll also earn at least 30 points for every remaining second on the timer. When you finish the game or end with a game over, you have the option of saving your score to the leaderboard. You can view the leaderboard by selecting the High Scores button on the welcome screen.

Assistance

The game offers two help options to assist you whenever you feel stuck. You can use these as many times as you need to, but they will cost you points. Select the question mark button to use a hint. This costs 300 points and will highlight a valid group of tiles you can select. Select the circular arrow button to shuffle the tiles for 500 points. This will change the position of every tile in the screen.

If no matches remain, the game will automatically shuffle the tiles without a point penalty. If no more pairs can be made and shuffling cannot resolve it, the game will end with a victory for you regardless.

Advanced Playing Tips & Strategy

The thing you must remember in this game is that each set of tiles form a dish. Look closely at the dishes and examine their components. There can be several free tiles that match a recipe, so feel free to select any of them.

Try not to select the shuffle button until you really need to. In most cases, you can get a shuffle for free when no other pairs are available. Shuffle manually only when time is of the essence.

Educational Aspects

The game hones a player’s visual searching and logical thinking skills.

Player Age Recommendations

This game is suitable for players school-aged and above. We recommend this for gamers who like Mahjong Solitaire games.