Usage

Rules

Shisen is a Japanese puzzle game, which is played with the Chinese Mahjongg tiles. Similar to the Mahjongg Solitaire games your objective is to remove all the pieces on the board as quick as possible.
Only two matching tiles can be removed at a time.

Tiles can be removed only when both of the following conditions are true:

The 2 tiles have the same symbol.
The 2 tiles can be connected with up to 3 lines which do not go over other pieces. The lines can be horizontal or vertical but not diagonal and they may cross the empty border

Gameplay

In order to start the game, the stones must be mixed first by clicking "New Game". At the first mouse-click on a tile the clock will start. From now on it's your task to remove all tiles from the board - as fast as possible.

If you select "Solvable Games Only" in the "Settings" dialog, the games will be solvable in most cases. But there's some chance that a game marked as solvable may prove unsolvable dependant on the sequence of your moves. Similar a game the computer judges as unsolvable, may be indeed solvable.

The lines are drawn automatically by the game, if they find an appropriate pair according to the rules. Though the rules are quite simple, it might happen that you won't find any corresponding tiles. By clicking "Is this Game Solvable ?" you can examine whether there are still pairs of tiles left which could be removed.

If you should not find a further pair, there are two game functions that will help you:

Just "right-click" a tile - and all tiles with corresponding symbols in the current game are marked.
By clicking "Show Possible Moves" all pairs which can be removed from the board according to the rules are shown in sequence.

Moreover your last move can be undone with "Undo". If you want to replay the current game right from the start, click on "Restart".

Tilesets

From the menu "Options->Load Tileset" you can change the appearance and playability of Shisen for Java. You have the choice of several tilesets. The uppermost tilesets ("modern" and "american") are hand-designed plain tiles recommended for larger boardsizes.
The "plastic", "traditional" and "chinese" tilesets are "real" photographed tiles suitable for smaller boardsizes.

To optimize the display quality the tiles are interpolated once according to the adjusted window size. After changing the window size tiles are interpolated anew. This can lead to a short delay when the screen is refreshed.

You can also load tilesets whilst the game is running. In this case the tiles will not be mixed again.

Background

From the menu "Background" in the dialog "Settings" the background look of the gameboard can be changed.

Apart from a single color and color gradient you can also select a bitmap in JPEG, GIF or PNG format as background image. The bitmap is scaled automatically to the actual window size. By selecting "Tile" smaller bitmaps are displayed in a repetitive manner to fill out the entire window area. If "Interpolate" is activated the loaded image is interpolated to provide a better rendering quality.

Keys

N	New Game
R	Restart Game
U	Undo
S	Is this Game Solvable?
F	Show Possible Moves
H	Hall of Fame
F1	Rules
Strg-L	Load Tileset
Strg S	Settings
Strg-1	Boardsize 14 x 6
Strg-2	Boardsize 18 x 8
Strg-3	Boardsize 21 x 10
Strg-4	Boardsize 24 x 12
Strg-5	Boardsize 27 x 14
Strg-6	Boardsize 31 x 16
Alt-F4	Exit

License

Shisen for Java END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

IMPORTANT-READ CAREFULLY:
This Shisen for Java End-User License Agreement ("EULA") is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and the Author of the SOFTWARE identified above.

1. GRANT OF LICENSE.
The Author grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use the executable code of the SOFTWARE on your computer as long as the terms of this agreement are respected.

2. DISTRIBUTION.
You are hereby licensed to make copies of the SOFTWARE as you wish; give exact copies of the original SOFTWARE to anyone; and distribute the SOFTWARE in its unmodified form via electronic means (Internet, BBS's, Shareware distribution libraries, CD-ROMs, etc.). You may charge a distribution fee for the package, but you must not represent in any way that you are selling the SOFTWARE itself. Your distribution of the SOFTWARE will not entitle you to any compensation from the Author. You must distribute a copy of this EULA with any copy of the SOFTWARE and anyone to whom you distribute the SOFTWARE is subject to this EULA.

3. MAINTENANCE.
The Author is not obligated to provide maintenance or updates for the SOFTWARE. However, any maintenance or updates provided by The Author shall be covered by this Agreement.

4. TERMINATION.
Without prejudice to any other rights, the Auhtor may terminate this EULA if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this EULA. In such event, you must destroy all copies of the SOFTWARE.

5. COPYRIGHT.
The SOFTWARE is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the SOFTWARE is transferred to you. You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the SOFTWARE will remain the exclusive property of the Auhtor and you will not acquire any rights to the SOFTWARE except as expressly set forth in this license. You agree that any copies of the SOFTWARE will contain the same proprietary notices which appear on and in the SOFTWARE.

6. WARRANTIES.
THE AUTHOR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE. THE SOFTWARE AND ANY RELATED DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.