HOW TO PLAY

This is a demonstration version of Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye.  You are free to distribute it as long as you don't modify it in any way.  For a complete version, see your dealer or contact Mediagenic at (415) 617-8161.

In this version, you are allowed to remove only 24 tiles in any game.  Dragon's Eye and Tournament games are disabled, there is no music, you cannot save or open games, and only the Mahjongg and Animals tilesets are available.  All other features are fully functional, including creating, saving and opening layouts.

Shanghai
Shanghai is a game of strategy, memory, and luck.  There are 144 tiles, arranged in one of thirteen layouts based on the Chinese lunar calendar, or other layouts you can create.

The object of Shanghai is to remove all the tiles from the layout, one pair at a time.  To be removed, the tiles must match, and they must both be free.  A tile is considered free if there’s nothing on top of it, and if it can slide out to the left, to the right, or both.  A tile which can only slide toward the top or bottom of the screen is not free.

There are usually four of each tile, which can be removed as two matching pairs.  In some tile sets, there are four unique tiles.  Each of these tiles matches any other similar tile.  For example, in the Fantasy tile set, the Court tiles consist of the King, Queen, Princess, and Jester; any Court tile matches any other Court tile.  “Guide to These Tiles” in the Help menu shows which tiles match in a set.

To remove a pair of tiles, click the first one, and double-click the second one.  If a tile isn’t free, or the second tile you choose doesn’t match the first, it will be highlighted briefly, and then unhighlighted.

If you change your mind about selecting a tile, just select it again, or click on the playing board, and it will be unhighlighted.

As you remove tile pairs, the game tells you how many tiles still remain in the layout.  Thus, if you see “32” in the upper left corner of the game board, you know that there are still 32 tiles (16 pairs) to be removed.

You can play Shanghai with any of thirteen layouts and any of eight tilesets.  To change layouts or tilesets, choose the one you want from the Layout or Tiles menus.

The File menu lets you save a game, open a saved game, or save the current game under a different name (via “Save As...”).

Use the Settings menu to turn music, sound effects, and tile animations on and off.  Check “Look for Moves” if you want to be notified when there are no more moves.

Dragon’s Eye
On the left side of the screen is the Dragon display.  When you start a game, eight tiles appear on the board.  The six face-up tiles are the Dragon’s “limbs,” and the two face-down tiles are the Dragon’s “heart.”  Should they later become cleared, you’ll see that the spaces beneath the limbs are light gray and the spaces beneath the heart are dark gray.

On the right side of the screen, at the bottom, are five tiles.  These form the Dragon Slayer’s hand.  There are three tiles to the right at the top of the screen.  These form the Dragon Master’s hand.

The object for the Dragon Master is to build the Dragon to full strength by filling all spaces on the display one level high, and all spaces on the Dragon’s heart and limbs two levels high.  The Dragon Slayer, on the other hand, tries to remove all tiles from the “heart” and “limb” spaces.  The player who accomplishes her goal automatically wins.

The Dragon Master places tiles on the Dragon display to fill it up.  The Dragon Slayer tries to remove matching tile pairs from the display to empty it, but she must place a tile on the display if she can’t find a match.  A tile becomes blocked when tiles are placed adjacent to it on both sides, and cannot be removed until it is unblocked.  Blocked tiles are inverted.  When the Dragon Slayer removes a tile that blocks others, the newly unblocked tiles turn face up and are available to be removed.

Second-level tiles are placed only on the face-down tiles of the heart and limbs.  These tiles have light-colored backs.

As soon as the entire board is filled (including the second level heart and limb spaces), and the Dragon Slayer can’t make any more moves, the game ends in a victory for the Dragon Master.  If all tiles are removed from the heart and limb spaces, the game ends in a victory for the Dragon Slayer.  If all 144 tiles have been drawn, the Dragon display is not completed, and the Dragon Slayer cannot find a match, the game ends; in this case, the winner is the player with the higher score.

When you play Solitaire against the computer, you see the tile played by the computer if it’s placed face up on the Dragon, but not if it’s placed face down.  The tiles in your hand are always face up.

In Challenge (two-player) mode, players alternate turns as usual.  Both hands are face down.  When your turn comes, have the other player look away and click “Flip” to turn your hand face up.  When you finish your turn by clicking “Done” or moving a tile to the board, your hand automatically flips face down.

The Dragon Slayer’s Turn
The Dragon Slayer always goes first.  If you are playing against another player, click “Flip” to turn the tiles in your hand face up.  Note that there is a finger pointing to your score when it is your turn.

You have five tiles in your hand when you start.  As your turn begins, a sixth tile is automatically drawn for you.

You now try to remove matching tile pairs from the Dragon display.  Removing tiles is the same as in Shanghai.  Click a tile in your hand or on the board and then double-click a matching tile (at least one tile of each pair must be on the board).  You may remove as many tiles as you can or wish to.

Whenever you have fewer than five tiles in your hand, you can immediately draw new tiles, using the “Draw” button.  Then continue to match tiles until you no longer can or wish to.

If you have six tiles and can make no matches with any of them, you must discard one of the tiles in your hand onto the Dragon display.  Select the tile you wish to discard and then the space on the display where the tile is to go.  At the end of your turn, you can have a maximum of five tiles in your hand.

Once you’ve completed all available actions for a turn, click “Done” to end your turn; in Challenge mode, your tiles will flip over.  The finger now points at the Dragon Master’s score.

The Dragon Master’s Turn
The Dragon Master always goes second.  When the finger points at your score, it’s your turn.  You start the game with three tiles.  In a two-player game, click “Flip” to turn your tiles face up.

In your turn, you place one of these tiles on the board.

You face only one restriction when placing tiles.  If any Dragon heart or limb space is open (they are the light and dark gray spaces in the center of the display), you must fill this space, with a heart space having precedence over a limb.  If the heart and limb spaces are all filled, you can place the tile anywhere.

Try to place tiles to block as many spaces as possible.

After you place a tile, the computer draws a replacement for you, and your turn ends automatically.  In Challenge mode, your tiles will flip over.  You can never have more than three tiles in your hand.