Copyright: Copyright © 1997 Cypress Lane Diversions, All Rights Reserved.
Citation: Copyright © 1997 Cypress Lane Diversions, All Rights Reserved.


Contents
Mah Jongg Wall

Contents

Overview of Play

Game Pieces

Objective & Preliminaries

Rules of Play

Special Moves

Game Notes

Strategies

Menus

How to Register

Support & FAQs


Game Notes
Mah Jongg Wall

Game Notes

In keeping with Mah Jongg tradition, this game has East to the left and West to the right.  This is opposite of normal  compass markings.

When finishing the Wall, always select the Joker first, (because if you are changing your mind about the first selection) selecting the Joker with the wrong partner highlighted will cost you a Pardon or mandatory forfeiture!

The larger area of the matting above each menu's oriental painting is sometimes thought to represent heaven and the lower one earth; with the two occasionally referred to as the jade pools.

The oriental mat Babcock Blue is named for Joseph P. Babcock, who imported Mah Jongg sets from China into the United States in 1920.

If you have all three Special Moves left after winning a game, that is known as a Perfect Game.  If the Dead Tile is a Dragon then it is known as a More Than Perfect Game because an extra pair will remain in the Mountain!

On the Final Cast of the dice in the Preliminaries, double ones is a Sleeping Dragon, considered good luck.

A one and a four on the Final Cast is a Winking Dragon.  The kind of luck this brings is left to the heavens!

The One of Bamboo, being the first tile of all the suits, is akin to a deck of cards' Ace of Spades.

Whenever you start a game over, shuffle Mountain tiles, forfeit to look under tiles, undo moves, or show any tiles or free pairs, that game becomes a Casual, or unofficial, game.  Also, the unregistered version saves games as Casual.

Games won by Casual play are not worthy of Master Chen Hai Yang's congratulations, nor his ancient and enlightening Chinese proverbs!

I hope you enjoy Mah Jongg Wall as much as I did creating it!

Russell Wilson

Cypress Lane Diversions

November 1997

Strategies next...


Game Pieces
Mah Jongg Wall

Game Pieces

The game pieces consist of ancient Chinese Mah Jongg tiles with engraved bone faces dovetailed into bamboo backs, four thin Wind Discs, several long Bone Counters, and two small Chinese dice.

The Tiles

There are four duplicates of each tile, except for the Season tiles which only have two duplicates each, and the one and only Joker used to finish the Wall.

The three suits are Bamboo, Circle, and Wan. Each suit is numbered from One to Nine, inclusive.

The four Winds are East, South, West, and North.

The four Seasons are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.  Each Season is associated with a different Wind as follows (their letter coloring matches) :  Spring - East, Summer - South, Autumn - West, and Winter - North.

The three Dragons are Green, White, and Red.

The Wind Discs

The four Wind Discs represent the directions East, South, West, and North.

Note that East is left and West is right during play of Mah Jongg Wall.  This is opposite of normal  compass markings. This is in keeping with the traditional orientations in Mah Jongg.  During a game the lone face-up disc denotes the Prevailing Wind.

The Bone Counters

There are several long bone sticks used to keep track of the current Season, remaining Special Moves, and Pardons.  Others denote a Casual, unofficial game and a Forfeited game which allows looking under tiles.

The Chinese Dice

Two small Chinese dice are used only during the Preliminaries to determine the Prevailing Wind, the Dead Tile, and the Loose Tiles.

Objective & Preliminaries next...


How to Register
Mah Jongg Wall

How to Register - US$29.95

Current registration options are at (or via the www menu):

http://www.cypresslane.com/mahjongg/register.html.

You must have a web browser and Internet connection to use the http:// links.

Give a key/code as a Gift Certificate! (see order forms - Internet or below)

Cypress Lane Diversions uses the registration services of setSystems.  You will receive a key/code after your payment has been authorized.  Users registering via the Internet should receive their key/code via email in two business days or less, others could take longer.  If days go by and you don't receive your key/code then contact sales@setsystems.com (or phone them) and include your order number.

After you receive your key/code, click Register in the Register or Popup menus, About or Nag boxes, or opening title screen.  Then click the Register button on the form that comes up to enter your name and key/code.

setSystems accepts several different payment methods for the services it offers.  All payments made to setSystems must be made in U.S. Dollars drawn from U.S. Banks.  Payments made to setSystems with a credit card will appear on your statement based on your bank's payment cycle, and will appear on your statement as originating from setSystems.

You may order by credit card in any of the following ways.  You can also use a personal check, money order, or cashier's check via postal ordering.

1. On the Internet:

https://www.setsystems.com/cgi-bin/buy-mahjonggwall

(if this secure link causes an error message, then use

http://www.setsystems.com/cgi-bin/buy-mahjonggwall,

and click the secure version link at the top of its page)

You can order with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover/Novus card over the World Wide Web using a secured form.  All information sent this way is encrypted using SSL technology for your protection.  This is the fastest way to order.  You will know within two minutes whether the order was approved.

2. Telephone:  REGISTER or KEY/CODE INQUIRY ONLY!

Please, do not contact setSystems for support of this software.  They will not be able to help you.  Please see the Tech Support & FAQs page in this Help file.  Thanks!

North America:  Toll Free 1-888-201-7131

International: 1-801-943-7848

The toll-free phone line is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Eastern time), Monday through Saturday.  Outside of those hours, you may leave a message and a customer service representative will contact you the next business day.  If you are calling from North America, leave your name and a phone number, and your call will be returned.  If you are calling from outside of North America, leave your name and email address, and someone will respond by email to your message.

Please have all information requested by the registration form available so that we may expedite your order.  See the registration form below.  Orders placed by phone may take up to one business day to be processed.

3. FAX:  1-801-942-3396

When ordering by FAX, please provide the information requested below.  Orders placed by FAX may take up to one business day to be processed.

4. Email:  sales@setsystems.com

When ordering by email, please provide the information requested on the form below.  Orders placed by email may take up to one business day to be processed.

If you are familiar with PGP, you may encrypt and send your credit card order to us using our PGP Public Key.  We will then decrypt the order and process it manually.  If you prefer to order via email, this is the method that we recommend.  Our PGP Public Key is shown below.

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

Version: 2.6.2

mQCNAzP7oK0AAAEEAMptpLWI7AhaZXI80SihnLkSnboaFlB/a2gyfAgIrCI6w5qr

AftV4Om5/2TJYGKUXEiYzjyhSf6VcPbrqc+F+FWQpyqBxpZXdETIUmxM3HBGpD3W

YnJwjE6Z5jQAKWZp3DKLglPM/fhPGGPVZZerRL28pTeiHKw396Mzx62ZjzR5AAUR

tCVzZXRTeXN0ZW1zIDxrZXltYXN0ZXJAc2V0c3lzdGVtcy5jb20+

=aG44

-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

5. Postal Ordering:

Please include the complete payment in the form of a personal check, money order, or cashier's check.  Do not send cash.  Payments made by personal check will be held until the check clears.  Payments made with money orders or cashier's checks will be immediately fulfilled.

(Notepad should open 'OrderForm.txt' so you can fill it out and print/fax it.  You can copy & paste to your email software from here or Notepad.)

------------------ copy everything below this line ------------------

setSystems

P.O. Box 386

Sandy, UT  84091-0386   USA

Mah Jongg Wall ORDER FORM -- for phone, fax, email, or postal orders

[ ] Personal code US$29.95

[ ] Gift Certificate code US$29.95 (enter recipient's name below)

[ ] Both for special price of US$49.95

Recipient's Name:

Your Name:

Email Address:

Billing Address (the address your credit card bill is sent to)

  Street:

  City:

  State/Province:

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Mailing Address (if different than billing address)

  Street:

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Home Phone Number:                  Work Phone Number:

Credit Card Information

  Type (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover):

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Software to Order

  Title:  Mah Jongg Wall - registration key/code

  Price:  US$29.95 (or US$49.95 personal & gift certificate)

  AL residents add 4% sales tax:  $1.20 ( or $2.00)

  Total Dollar Amount:  US$

Where did you hear about "Mah Jongg Wall"?:

If payment is by credit card, please include the following

language (and sign unless emailed):

I authorize setSystems(TM) to bill my credit card and agree to

pay the total dollar amount according to card issuer agreement.

Signature _____________________________    Date _____________


Menus
Mah Jongg Wall

Menus

The oriental paintings at the bottom of each menu are for ornamentation purposes only.

File menu

 Open - load saved games

 Open Sample Endings - load & try to finish these games which show off some of the other mats (unregistered version)

 Save - save current game with same name as opened or last save

 Save As - save current game with a new name

 Exit - close program

Game menu

 New Game - start a new game

 Shuffle Mountain Tiles - tiles randomly exchange positions

 Start All Over - start current game over

 Forfeit & Look Under Tiles - give up and look under tiles

Options menu (checkmarks mean you want that option)

 Witness The Preliminaries - watch each cast of dice

 Oriental Playing Mats submenu - several mats (3 if unregistered)

 Random Mat Each Game - a different mat each new game

 Music and Sound Effects submenu (change volume with Windows 95 taskbar's speaker icon)

  Startup & Winning Themes - oriental music during startup and for winner

  Queries, Notice, & Warning Gongs - gong alert for queries, etc.

  Tile Clicks & Thumps, or

  Background Music - select either or neither (uncheck both)

  Change Background Music - play next oriental music track

 Queries, etc. submenu

  "Do you really..." Queries - prevent unintended exit, new game, etc. mistakes

  "No More Moves!" Notice - notifies you of no more moves (see note below)

  "Begin Casual Play?" Warning - entering casual play warning

 New Game At Startup - new game when starting program

 Fortune Cookie With Exit - fortune cookie when closing program

Show menu

 E-W Free Pairs - free pairs to the left and right highlighted

 N-S Free Pairs - free pairs toward top and bottom of screen highlighted

 Restackable Tiles - highlights restackable tiles

 Dragon Tiles - highlights Dragon tiles

Undo menu

 Undo Last Move - backup one move

 Set Undo Mark - mark current game position

 Goto Undo Mark - backup to marked game position

www menu (if online, your web browser will goto these web pages)

 Cypress Lane logo - home page

 Mah Jongg Wall Page - home page of this game

 Current Registration Options - how to register page might be more current than this Help's How to Register page

 Tech Support & FAQs - ask questions and read frequent answers

 Bug Reporting & Notices - report bugs and find out about any

Register menu

 Register (Thank You!) - dialog box with all registration options (or a Thank You! message)

 Why Register? - brings up nag box with registration benefits

 How To Register - brings up the How to Register page in this Help file

Help menu

 Help Topics - Help's table of contents (or index of keywords)

 Game Pieces - all the game's equipment

 How To Play - complete rules of the game

 Game Notes - extra details about the game from the author

 Strategies - learn how to win from Master Chen Hai Yang

 About - credits and other information about the program

Popup menu (click right mouse button in game window for this menu)

 Register - same as above, only in unregistered version

 Undo Last Move - same as above

 Save - same as above

 (Change) Background Music - start (or change) background music

 Center Me - centers game's window

 Hide Me Now! - minimizes game's window, closes Help window, and mutes background music

 About - same as above

How to Register next...

Note:  If you get the "No More Moves!" notice but you know there are more moves then click Proceed.  Also, when this notice appears the current game is automatically saved as 'bug-notice.mjw' in the folder where the game (MahJonggWall.exe) is installed.  So, if you get the notice but there are more moves then, if possible, email it (as a file attachment with your email software) to bugs@cypresslane.com so we can fix the program and notify all registered users of the free upgrade.


Objective & Preliminaries
Mah Jongg Wall

Objective & Preliminaries

Objective

The main objective of the game is to complete the Mah Jongg Wall, henceforth the Wall.

You must also, not necessarily in this order, remove all Dragon tiles from the Mountain, and determine the identity of the Dead Tile.

Preliminaries

Two casts of the dice determine how each new game is setup.  But first, a preliminary wall of randomly selected tiles is built, and the Wind Discs are placed face up in their proper positions.

The one Joker and all eight Season tiles are omitted from this part and always begin in the Mountain.

First Cast

The First Cast determines the Prevailing Wind.  Starting with the East side of the wall, remember East is to your left in this game, each side is counted, anti-clockwise, up to the dice total.

The Prevailing Wind

The Wind Disc on the side where the count stops remains face up and denotes the Prevailing Wind.  All the other discs are turned face down.  Tiles are removed from the Mountain in the direction represented by the Prevailing Wind or its opposite.

If the Prevailing Wind is East, or West, then tiles must slide toward the left or right.  If the Prevailing Wind is North, or South, then tiles must slide toward the top or bottom of the screen.

Final Cast

The Final Cast determines the Dead Tile and the Loose Tiles.  Starting with the leftmost tile (as viewed from the side) on the side of the wall with the face up Wind Disc, each tile is counted, anti-clockwise, up to the total of both the First and Final Casts' totals.  The count continues around corners if necessary.

The Dead Tile, Dead End, and Live End

The tile where this count stops is the Dead Tile and remains face down throughout the entire game.  One of its three remaining duplicates must be paired with the Joker to finish the Wall and win the game.

The Dead Tile is also the Dead End of the Wall.  The Live End starts adjacent to the Dead End and continues around, anti-clockwise, with each tile added to the Wall.

The Loose Tiles

The four tiles before and the four after the Dead Tile are stacked face up, in two stacks, inside the preliminary wall.  These are the Loose Tiles and are used to replace, or change, the Season tiles in the Mountain.

The Mountain

The remaining tiles in the preliminary wall are shuffled along with the other unused tiles and then stacked, one to four tiles high and two to ten stacks wide, symmetrically, to form a Mountain of tiles.

Tiananmen Square

There is one exception, the Joker is always randomly placed as one of the 16 tiles in Tiananmen Square, the center  4x4 square of tiles in the Mountain's bottom layer.

Rules of Play next...


Overview of Play
Mah Jongg Wall

Overview of Play

The object of play is to build and finish the Mah Jongg Wall, from here on known as the Wall.  You must also remove all Dragon pairs and determine the identity of the Dead Tile.  The Wall is finished only with the special pair of the Joker and one of the three duplicates of the face down Dead Tile (identity is usually deduced near the end of the game).

The Preliminaries determine the Prevailing Wind, the Dead Tile, and the Loose Tiles from the temporary wall which does not include the Joker nor any of the Season tiles.  The temporary wall's tiles are picked up, shuffled with all remaining tiles, and then stacked to form the Mountain.

The Wall is built with one tile from each free matching pair removed from the Mountain, except for Dragons which can only be added to the Wall with Special Moves.  The finished Wall will consist of two, except in the corners where there are only one, adjacent face up tiles between 16 Towers.  Towers are stacks of two tiles with the top one face down.

The Prevailing Wind (lone face up disc) denotes which directions you must remove free matching pairs.  If it's North or South you remove pairs toward the top and bottom of the screen.  If it's East or West you remove toward the left and right.  Notice that East is left and West is right in this game to continue the traditional orientations of the Chinese game of Mah Jongg.

A free tile is on top of a stack and can slide out of the Mountain only in the direction of the Prevailing Wind or its opposite without being blocked by stacks of equal or greater height.  Just click the tiles to highlight them.  If they are free and match they will be removed.

The Dead Tile is the first tile in the Wall and remains face down for the entire game.  This is also the Dead End of the Wall.  The Live End continues anti-clockwise in a square like pattern.

The Loose Tiles (two stacks inside the Wall) are used to change, or replace, the Season tiles in the Mountain.  Click on the Season tile and then click on a Loose tile to change the Season.  The first Season changed is your choice, but thereafter they must be changed in the natural order of the seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, ...).  Changing all Seasons may not be necessary.  Any Loose Tile stacks remaining when the Joker is revealed are turned face down and are therefore reversed in order from top to bottom.

If you run out of free matching pairs (or at anytime) you can use Special Moves.  The red pipped bone counters above the Loose Tile stacks denote how many Special Moves remain.  One is Changing the Prevailing Wind - click on a Wind tile in the Wall (as if first selection of a pair) that has not already been the Prevailing Wind.  Another Special Move is Restacking a Tile - click on a free Mountain tile and then click on its face up duplicate in the Wall, then click on one of the valid directions to move it on top of an adjacent (and lower) stack.

If the Special Move's tile in the Wall is not the Live End tile then you must Mend the Wall - fill in the gap by using the Live End tile or a tile from the next pair removed from the Mountain.  If the next pair is Dragons then you Earn a Pardon which lets you wrongly select (once) the Joker's partner.

Game Pieces next...


Rules of Play
Mah Jongg Wall

Rules of Play

Removing Tiles

Only free tiles are removed from the Mountain in matching pairs.  Matching pairs must be identical tiles except for the pair used to finish the Wall, which will be the Joker and any one of the three duplicates of the face down Dead Tile.

Free tiles are those on tops of stacks that can slide away from the Mountain without being blocked by other stacks of equal (or greater) height in its same row (East and West) or column (North and South) according to the directions denoted by the Prevailing Wind.

The Joker is only selectable when the Wall needs one more tile to finish it.

Select tiles by clicking on them with the mouse.  If a tile can slide out it will be highlighted.  Selecting the second matching tile will remove the pair.  To unhighlight a tile if you change your mind, select the same tile again or select a different tile (warning:  highlighting the Joker and then selecting another tile that is not the Joker's partner will cost you a Pardon or mandatory forfeiture as explained later).

Building the Wall

As matching pairs are removed, one of their tiles is added to the Wall's Live End in an anti-clockwise direction.  The other tile is discarded for the remainder of the game.

Dragon tiles are not added to the Wall, except with a Special Move (explained later), both tiles of a Dragon pair are discarded for the remainder of the game.

Tiles added to the Wall are layed face up unless they are the top tile of a Tower, these are layed face down.  There are two face up, side by side, tiles between Towers, except at the corners, where there is only one, and whenever the Dead Tile is between Towers.

The completed Wall requires a total of 60 tiles.  This includes 16 Towers (32 tiles) and 28 face up tiles, or 27 if the face down Dead Tile is between Towers.

Changing Seasons

Season tiles are not removed as matching pairs.  You must change, or replace, a Season tile with the top tile from one of the Loose Tile stacks.

Changes must be made in the natural repeating order of seasons:  Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.  But, the first Season changed is your choice.  For example, if the first Season you change is Summer then the order of changing Seasons is Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, and then repeat.

To change Seasons, select the current Season tile and then select the top tile of a Loose Tile stack.  The current Season tile does not have to be free to select it, and is discarded for the remainder of the game after it's changed.

A counter above the Loose Tiles denotes the current Season.  The ANY SEASON bone counter means the current

Season is your choice of any of the visible Season tiles.  Changing all Season tiles may not be necessary.

Turning the Loose Tile Stacks

The Loose Tiles are face up at the start of a game.  But, whenever the Joker in Tiananmen Square is revealed, each Loose Tile stack, if any, is turned face down.  Each stack remains in its original location, but its tiles will be in reverse order from top to bottom.

Special Moves next...


Special Moves
Mah Jongg Wall

Special Moves

Changing the Prevailing Wind and Restacking a Tile are special moves which require use of a face up tile in the Wall.  After a special move is completed, the tile in the Wall is discarded for the remainder of the game.  If the tile leaves a gap in the Wall then you must Mend the Wall (explained below).

Mending the Wall causes an additional pair to be needed in the Mountain in order to complete the Wall.  With each new game, the Mountain contains three pairs more than necessary to complete the Wall.  This allows three Special Moves, denoted by the three red pipped Bone Counters above the Loose Tiles.

Changing the Prevailing Wind

This special move enables you to change the directions of removing tiles, the Prevailing Wind.  Changing to its opposite will not change the directions of removing tiles, but it will affect restacking Wind tiles (explained below).

To change the Prevailing Wind, select a face up Wind tile in the Wall as the first selection (no other tiles highlighted).  The Wind selected cannot already have been the Prevailing Wind.  The Wind Disc for the new Prevailing Wind will be turned face up.  The disc denoting the previous Prevailing Wind and the Wind tile in the Wall are discarded for the remainder of the game.

Restacking  a Tile

This special move enables you to move a tile from one stack to another adjacent stack in the Mountain.  The tile to be restacked must be free and the adjacent stack must have fewer tiles (or none).

To restack a tile, select first the tile in the Mountain to be restacked, then select its face up duplicate in the Wall.  A dialog box will appear with buttons for valid directions.  After clicking on the desired button, the Mountain tile will be moved to the adjacent stack in the direction selected and the tile in the Wall will be discarded for the remainder of the game.

Special conditions exist for restacking Wind and Season tiles.  A Wind tile can only be restacked in the direction it represents or in the direction of the Prevailing Wind.  Each Season is associated with a different Wind:  Spring with East, Summer with South, Autumn with West, and Winter with North (these tiles have lettering of matching color).  The conditions for restacking a Season tile are the same as for its associated Wind tile.

Mending the Wall

Whenever a special move leaves a gap in the Wall you must Mend the Wall.  Obviously, no gap is left if the Live End's tile is selected when making a special move.

The Wall is mended by placing a tile into the gap either from the Live End or from the next pair removed from the Mountain.  A dialog box will appear with buttons for these options.  Sometimes there will be no free pairs, so only the Live End will be available to Mend the Wall.

If the next pair mends the Wall, one of its tiles fills the gap and the other is discarded for the remainder of the game as usual.  Seasons may be changed before removing the next pair.

Earning a Pardon

Near the end of a game, you may have to decide between multiple choices as to the identity of the Dead Tile (with only one being correct) if remaining stacks are not reduced to one tile.  Unless you have earned a Pardon, selecting the wrong tile to pair with the Joker when attempting to finish the Wall results in mandatory forfeiture of the game!

You earn a Pardon by mending the Wall with a Dragon tile.  Mending the Wall with the next pair (of Dragons) is the only time when a Dragon's tile can be added to the Wall!  This will cause an extra pair to remain in the Mountain if and when the Wall is completed (hint:  same is true if the Dead Tile is a Dragon!).

This extra pair could cause difficulties in deducing the identity of the Dead Tile and, therefore, earns a Pardon for you.  A bone counter with PARDON on it will be placed with the other bone counters, if any, to signify this.  Each wrong selection of the Joker's partner costs you one Pardon.

Game Notes next...


Strategies
Mah Jongg Wall

Strategies of Master Chen Hai Yang

Remember forever, young one:

Teachers open the door...
You enter by yourself.

The Early Game
As early as possible, remove Winds that are not the same as the Prevailing Wind so they are between Towers.

If both tiles of the current Season are visible at the same time, change the one that will gain the most advantageous moves.

Removing a lot of the tiles on top of Tiananmen Square too early could reveal the Joker, resulting in a lot of the Loose Tiles being turned face down.

The Middle Game

If any Winds were placed between Towers during the early game, remove their duplicates into Towers now and later.

Remove almost all of the Dragon pairs, if possible.  You should leave one or two pairs until you know if you might need to earn a Pardon, or not, late in the game.

The Late Game

Although you may have to change the Prevailing Wind sooner, almost always wait until late in a game to restack a tile.

If the Joker is not free, try to remove those tiles that are blocking it.  If you know the Joker's partner and it is not free, try to remove those tiles blocking it also.

Try to reduce any stacks down to one tile so you can easily deduce the Dead Tile's identity, and therefore, match one of its duplicates with the Joker to finish the Wall!

The Entire Game

Whenever all four duplicates are free at the same time, remove them into a Tower (or Towers) as soon as possible.

Whenever a free pair's duplicate is in the Wall, face up or known to be in a Tower, remove that pair into a Tower.

When Changing Seasons

The first Season changed should leave the most consecutive (visible) Seasons in order.

Try to leave two Loose Tile stacks, because when only one remains you have no choice when changing the current Season.

Changing all the Seasons may not be necessary if you don't use all three Special Moves.

When Mending the Wall

Select Live End to mend with if it's the bottom, or top, tile of a Tower and you want, or need, to save it for a possible Special Move later in the game.

Select Next Pair if the Live End tile is the top, or bottom, of a Tower and you do not want, or need, to save that tile for later in the game.

If there is a pair of Dragons free and you think you might need a Pardon, then select Next Pair and remove the Dragons.

May you play amidst sleeping dragons, young one...

Menus next...


Support & FAQs
Mah Jongg Wall

Tech Support & FAQs

Please, do not contact setSystems (or any other registration services) for support of this software.  They will not be able to help you.  Thanks!

You must have a web browser and Internet connection to use the http:// links.

Please read these FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) before you email or snail mail tech support.

You should also check out the Bug Reporting & Notices web page at (or via the www menu):

http://www.cypresslane.com/mahjongg/bug-report.html

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is shareware and how do I register this shareware program?

A: Shareware is a distribution method for software.  It allows you to try-it-before-you-buy-it, usually with nag boxes and/or some features crippled as an incentive for you to register (pay for) it if you continue to use it.  See How to Register in this Help file.

Q: Why does the game crash (freeze up) my computer when background/startup/etc. music is playing?

A: Your computer may be too slow and/or have an old motherboard (Pentiums are best).  If the background/startup/etc. music consistantly crashes/freezes your PC then you should just checkmark "Tile Clicks & Thumps."

Q: What should I do when the background/startup/etc. music messes up and continues to do so?

A: Select "Change Background Music" from the Options or popup menus.  If it is the startup music then uncheck "Startup & Winning Themes" in the Options menu and then checkmark it again (startup music will not restart).

Q: Why do I not hear any music at startup or in the background?

A1: The wave (music-#.wav) files may be missing from the game's folder. If so, you can download this game's zip file again, unzip to a temporary folder, and then move the .wav files to the folder where this game is on your hard drive.

A2: You may need more free RAM (quit other programs or add more memory).

A3: Your computer's volume may be muted (click on the speaker icon in the Windows 95 taskbar to see if Mute is checkmarked).

Q: Why does "Hide Me Now!" not turn off the background music in 256 color mode (on a 486)?

A: We haven't found the answer to this one yet, sorry!  :-)

Q: Sometimes "Hide Me Now!" does not close the game's Help window, why?

A: If another program brought up the Help window then it may not allow the Help window to be closed, even if it is displaying the game's Help file.

Q: Sometimes the Help window stays on top of the game window, why?

A: Another program may have the Help Option "Stay On Top" checkmarked.  Click the Help's Options menu, then "Keep Help On Top," then "Not On Top" to make it go behind the game's window (after clicking game window again).

Q: How do I get the Windows 95 taskbar off the game screen in 640x480 mode?

A: In the Windows 95 Start Menu, select Settings/Taskbar, then click the Options tab, then checkmark 'Always on top' and 'Auto hide' and click OK.  To get to the taskbar after this, move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen where the taskbar used to be and it will pop up. (By the way, the game looks much better in 800x600 mode, though the game window is still 640x480.)

Q: When I select one of the www menu items nothing happens or I get an out of memory error message, why?

A: You must have an installed web browser and be connected to the Internet to be able to use the www menu's items. You also need 8MB of RAM to play the game plus however much your web browser needs (check its requirements).

Q: Why is the splash screen (Cypress Lane logo at startup) shown for so long in 256 color mode?

A: Some video drivers may be to blame, but we honestly don't know why this is.

Q: Why are there weird colored patches here and there in the game's window?

A: If your Windows 95 system colors (in 256 mode) are not the standard, you may experience this.

For more current FAQs please check the Tech Support & FAQs web page at (or via the www menu):

http://www.cypresslane.com/mahjongg/support-faq.html

If your question is not answered there or above, then send it to tech support via:

Email:

support@cypresslane.com

Snail mail:

Tech Support

Cypress Lane Diversions

624 County Road 16

Fayette, AL  35555   USA

Except for downloading, installing, and registering problems, only registered users receive personal feedback.  Other users should check back later at the Tech Support & FAQs web page above.