Dragon's Bane Review Copyright (c) 1995, Joe DeRouen All rights reserved Dragon's Bane: Mah Jongg II by Joe DeRouen Several years ago, Nels Anderson's Arcanum Computing successfully converted the ancient Chinese tile-matching game of Mah Jongg to the computer screen. His game quickly became one of the hottest shareware downloads, finding its way onto the hard drives of tens of thousands of people across the United States and the world. Players created and traded tile sets for the game, (there are literally hundreds of them floating around out there!) held tournaments, swapped strategies, and, of course, registered the game. All told, Mah Jongg was one of the most successful shareware solitaire games of all time. Along came SuperVga graphics and Sound Blasters, Castle Wolfenstein and Doom; Mah Jongg had to change, to keep up with the times. DRAGON'S BANE: MAH JONGG II is the result. Every bit as addictive and fun to play as the original, this version of Mah Jongg is based around a beautifully rendered Medieval tile set. Much as in Anderson's SECOND GUESS game (reviewed in the June issue of Computer Currents) a player must match tiles in order to remove them from the screen. The tiles are set up in a random pattern within the Mah Jongg board. They're layered atop one another, and a tile must be free on at least the left or right side (with none on top) in order to use it. There are four of each tile, and when you make a successful match (two matching tiles) they disappear with a satisfying "swoosh". The key to winning not only involves keeping a keen eye on which tiles are open but also in choosing which sets to remove first and which tiles to take when more than two of a set of four are open. There's a certain amount of luck in Mahjongg insofar as what tiles are put where in the random set up, but strategy is the true key to defeating the evil dragon that lies in waiting behind the screen and winning the game. The game is over when you've successfully managed to remove all of the tiles (something I haven't quite been able to do yet) or when you can no longer make a legal move. When that happens, a dragon's head holding the limp body of an armored knight appears on top of the tiles, telling you that your game is over. Options for gameplay include changing tiles, changing the layout of the board, changing backgrounds, getting a hint on what your next move should be, playing against the clock, turning the sound on or off, setting up stats to record the games you've played, and playing in tournament mode against one or more other human players. Dragon's Bane also includes a tile editor for making your own tiles. I prefer to use the cups tiles simply because they're the easiest to see and discern from one another. All the cups - from the delicate little chinese tea cups to the tall NFL football mugs - are drawn perfectly, and are fairly distinct in comparison to the rest of the tiles. The game comes with several tile sets and you can download or order more. You can also use the tiles that came with Second Guess, a nice bonus if you happen to own that game as well. The digitized sound effects (for SoundBlaster and compatibles) are very well done and add a nice touch to the overall look and feel of the game. You can also turn the sound off if you get tired of it or if you're trying to play without attracting the attention of the kids or your boss. The game offers over a dozen different board layouts for varying degrees of difficulty. I prefer the regular Mahjongg set up myself, but you can also choose from horseshoe, pyramid, hollow, or any of the others. Each is different and challenging in it's own way. The hint option is really nice when you're stuck but you know there's a move somewhere that you could make. You can stop at the first one or let the game keep giving you more hints. This option has more than once saved my bacon from the ire of the dragon. The stats option is interesting and could be useful in improving your game. You can set it up to record your stats in basic or detailed mode. It records how many games you've won, what board you've done best at, how fast you've completed a game, percentage of games won, and more. A tile and layout editor is also included, potentially making your supply of tiles and layouts limitless. The directions and controls for using the editor are clear and concise, and even someone who has never used a drawing program should be able to come up with something interesting without too much of a problem. Dragon's Bane is one of those rare games which a reviewer has to actually look hard for something negative to say about it to balance out the review. About the only thing I can say in that respect, aside from wishing that the delay waiting for the Arcanum Computing logo to go away and get to the game would be shorter, is that some of the tile sets are too sharp for the eyes. Some of the tiles are so intricately drawn that it strains the eyes to stare at them to find a match. Also, if you choose a background, the screen seems too cluttered. I avoid the backgrounds entirely and stick with the stock black that the game loads up with. Anything more than that and what is a virtual feast for the eyes with the tiles alone becomes a cluttered screen of images with any of the SVGA backgrounds. For variety's sake, you can also change from a stark black background to nearly any other color you can think of. Still, for those that like a bit of clutter in their Mah Jongg, there are several nice 640x480 SVGA PCX backgrounds. You can also use virtually any 640X480 PCX you might create or find on a BBS as a background. For $6.00, Arcanum will also create a custom background for you using any photograph (8x11 inch maximum) you send them. All in all, Dragon's Bane: Mah Jongg II is a worthy addition to anyone's registered shareware library. Check it out. Dragon's Bane: Mah Jongg II requires an IBM compatible computer with 530k free conventional memory and 1 meg free expanded/extended memory. It also requires a VGA or SuperVGA graphics card (VESA 1.2 and many others supported) and monitor. It optionally supports a SoundBlaster compatible sound card and a mouse. The shareware version (DRGNBN10.ZIP) can be downloaded from Xevious BBS (508-788-6951) and your better BBS's around the country. You should also look for extra tile sets on the systems you frequent. A few to start out with include TLS000.ZIP, TLS010.ZIP, TLS020.ZIP, TLS030.ZIP, and TLS040.ZIP. To purchase the registered version ($16.00 for just the disk, $24.00 for the disk, binder, and printed materials) FAX Arcanum Computing at 508-788-1363 or write to: Arcanum Computing, 585 Edmands Road, Framingham, MA. 01701. Specify 3.5" or 5.25" high density floppy when ordering. (c) 1995 Joe DeRouen. All rights reserved.