Quest for Cathay Kingdom Mah Jong

disclaimer: I helped with testing off-steam builds before release but bought my own copy when it came out.
quest for cathay kingdom is a unique take on the usual mahjong formula. it's based on the rivers variant, something shisensho solitaire does exceptionally well on steam, but in this game only the top tiles are available. you can, however, switch adjacent tiles (right click), and match-3 elements let you remove 3 or 4 tiles in a straight line even if they're not on top, as long as they're the same suit, in sequence, etc. double-click the first and the last to do so, possible combinations are described in the menu.
levels start with a limited number of moves, running out means game over, but only switching tiles counts and extra moves are awarded for certain things. the goal is to have fewer tiles left than the number of columns, so if the board is 9x6, the level ends once you have 8 tiles left. there's a counter for remaining pieces, but the game doesn't indicate if there are no valid moves, you have to 'declare defeat' when you reach this conclusion by yourself.
no hint, undo or shuffle buttons either, but other mechanics include betting coins earned from levels. it's only possible during the first 90 seconds after starting a level, that's the only time the clock is relevant and you can click it anytime to turn it off. coins are used to buy specials (joker tiles) and moves and betting can increase your money faster. moves can also be sold for coins and all this and more is explained before certain levels.
4 game modes are available. the cathay variant with all the bells and whistles can be played with or without a story (cutscenes are skippable), waterfall does away with everything but switching tiles, so just match tiles from the top, and match & sequence only allows removing a sequence of tiles next to each other, but has coins and specials.
the story consists of 16 levels, increasing in size and difficulty. doesn't sound like much but you probably won't breeze through all of them on the first try. the other game modes have 10 levels each, but of course tile placement is random and level select lets you replay unlocked stages, so it acts more like a size setting than anything. the game also creates save files to go back to, which I find completely unnecessary, that's what the level select screen is for.
graphics are fine, there's a light and dark mode for the tiles, audio is fitting, some really nice tracks to listen to, but the tutorial font is a bit hard to read and the pop-ups for the dev's previous game and newsletter are really annoying. they should put both images in the corner instead of constantly moving them on and off the screen. further settings include separate volumes, windowed mode with a resizable window, some languages and story text size.
I like mahjong (the matching variety anyway, never played the more social variant) and I like how this game mixes things up and provides a unique but often frustratingly difficult experience at a low price. worth checking out if you're not looking for something casual, though nothing's stopping anybody from playing easier early levels over and over.

This is a very complete Mah-jong like game! it's uses combinations of Mah Jong board game with puzzle match-3, bets and wildcards with a rich focus on story! Recommended for the fans of the genre!