More iPad games! Mahjongg Artifacts 2: HD

OK, I'll admit it -- until I downloaded Mahjongg Artifacts 2: HD, I'd never played a Mahjongg tile game. Strolling around Chinatown in San Francisco, I've been tempted to pick up a real (non-virtual) set of Mahjongg tiles, but figured it would be too complicated. Or boring.

If the real game is as fun as Mahjongg Artifacts 2: HD for the iPad, I'm sorry i didn't pick this game up earlier. The premise is simple: match similar tiles, slide them around until they are all but gone. Sort of akin to solitaire, you're playing against yourself and a ticking clock. Special tile sets and tools like magnets add additional play angles, and the iPad's touch screen makes for a super intuitive and precise interface for tapping and matching tiles.

There's a comic-book like story line in the "Quest mode" that has you traveling the globe looking for someone or something, but quite frankly, I didn't really pay attention to this. It's just a pre-roll to the real action of the game-- and there are 99 increasingly challenging levels to play.

So now I'm addicted to Mahjongg. Aside from Words With Friends (sort of an asynchronous multi-player Scrabble), Mahjongg Artifacts 2: HD is my favorite iPad game of the moment. It sells for $4.99 in the iTunes store, so it won't set you back that much. Game on!