''Shanghai'' is a computerized version of

mahjong solitaire Mahjong solitaire (also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, solitaire mahjong or simply mahjong) is a single-player matching game that uses a set of mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is more commonly played on a c ...

published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

in 1986 for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first per ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness W ...

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST ...

and

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 an ...

. ''Shanghai'' was originally programmed by Brodie Lockard. It was released as an

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...

Sunsoft , stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Sunsoft is the video games division of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sun Corporation. Its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sun Corporation of America, though, a ...

in 1988.

Gameplay

The game uses a full set of 144 mahjong tiles, divided as follows: * Dots (1 through 9) * Bamboos (1 through 9) * Characters (1 through 9) * Winds (north, east, south, west) * Dragons (red, green, white) * Seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) * Flowers (bamboo, plum, orchid, chrysanthemum) There are four of every tile except for the seasons and flowers, which have only one tile each. The object of the game is to remove all the tiles from the board by matching pairs. However, only tiles with at least one free vertical edge may be matched on a turn. Any two seasons can form a pair, as can any two flowers. The game ends if no legal moves can be made. After winning a game, a portion of the screen collapses to reveal the blinking eye of a dragon. The Macintosh and Master System versions show an animated dragon spitting fire.

Reception

''Shanghai'' sold more than 500,000 copies by 1991. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed Sunsoft's version of ''Shanghai'' on their May 1, 1988, issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month; it ended the year as Japan's ninth highest-grossing arcade conversion kit of 1988. In 1996, ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly throug ...

'' declared ''Shanghai'' the 146th-best computer game ever released.

Reviews

'' in December 1986 published varying opinions. Gregg Williams stated, "I couldn't believe ctivisionhad wasted their resources on putting it out", while

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employe ...

called it "probably the best game of the year". Roy Wagner reviewed the game for ''Computer Gaming World'', and stated that "On the C64, the patterns and stacks are hard to discern (soon your eyes match the screen). On the Amiga the display is outstanding with the pieces actually looking very much like colorful, ivory tiles." ''

Info Info is shorthand for "information". It may also refer to: Computing * .info, a generic top-level domain * info:, a URI scheme for information assets with identifiers in public namespaces * info (Unix), a command used to view documentation produc ...

'' gave the Amiga version four-plus stars out of five, stating "This program ought to be illegal. It is impossible to play 'just one game'". Describing gameplay as "swift and deceptively simple", the magazine warned "Plan on spending a LOT of time with this one". It gave the Commodore 64 version three-plus stars out of five, describing ''Shanghai'' as "fanatically addictive". While criticizing the user interface and graphics, the magazine concluded that "you'll find it hard to quit". ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET ...

'' reviewed the game favorably, reporting that "our ''Shanghai'' mania is of such proportions that I am beginning to fear for our health". In 1988, ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

'' gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.

Atari Lynx

'' magazine gave the

Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal disp ...

version 5 stars in their May 1992 issue. Robert Jung of '' IGN'' gave the game a score of 10 out of 10 in his review. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...

'' magazine reviewed the game in their March 1991 issue giving an 84% score.

Legacy

A sequel, ''Shanghai II'', was released by Sun Electronics (

) for Japanese arcades in March 1989. It was Japan's twelfth highest-grossing

arcade conversion In video gaming parlance, a conversion is the production of a game on one computer or console that was originally written for another system. Over the years, video game conversion has taken form in a number of different ways, both in their style a ...

kit of 1992. '' Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye'' was published in 1990 for MS-DOS. Ports were released for Macintosh, Apple IIGS, FM Towns, MSX, PC-98, Sharp X68000, Windows, Sega Genesis, and Super NES. The Genesis version was re-released on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

in the PAL regions on November 27, 2009, and in North America on January 11, 2010, which was later delisted at the end of 2013. Other sequels include: *''Shanghai III'' – Released by

for arcades in 1993. In Japan, it was the fifth highest-grossing arcade

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich str ...

(PCB) software in 1994, and sixth in 1995. *'' Shanghai: Triple-Threat'' *'' Shanghai: Great Moments'' *'' Shanghai: True Valor''

References

{{reflist

External links

''Shanghai''
for the Atari ST at Atari Mania
''Shanghai''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

Review
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in '' Antic''
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in '' The Rainbow''
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