Mahjong Crimes

About Mahjong Crimes

Based on the famous book, Murder on the Orient Express, by world famous author Agatha Christie, the player joins Hercule Poirot in a murder mystery which takes place on the famous Orient Express.
In this free to play mobile game, players will match tiles in Mahjong levels to find clues to solve crimes and mysteries. The game is developed and published by the very talented team at Spil Games

Image Gallery

Below are some images of the game.

Core Game Play

The core of the game is based on the popular Mahjong Solitaire game mechanic. Players must match pairs of tiles to clear a board and beat the level. Sometimes there are timers and other challenging or rewarding tiles with special functions such as frozen tiles, hidden tiles and timer bonus tiles.
There are a variety of different level types and objectives, such as reveal the photo, collect the letters, and even some boss sequences where players must rescue victims from traps or defeat thugs in combat.

Progression

The game is presented in cases. Each case is divided into chapters, and there are a number of levels in each chapter. Each case has a single linear standalone story with a solvable mystery or crime to solve.
Players play levels in a linear sequence on a trail map. As they progress, the story is revealed on the map and clues are discovered in the Mahjong levels. The story is presented also in character dialogues , cut scenes and cinematic sequences in between levels.

My Role

I was the Lead Game Designer and Producer on this project. Here is a list of the things I was responsible for.

  • Co-wrote the original game design documents and pitch presentations
  • Created an original narrative detective story series, Kate Blackwood. Worked with the writer to craft the dialogues and game plot.
  • Worked with the writer to adapt Murder on the Orient Express into the game format.
  • Reviewing and contributing to game design documents and presentations.
  • Communicating the game design vision to management.
  • Managing and briefing the outsourced development teams in Russia and Thailand.
  • Co-coordinating within Spil publishing, Live Opps, QA and Marketing.
  • Co-ordination and scoping out features and planning with the production team.
  • Arranging user play tests in house to test the game.

All intellectual property rights to Mahjong Cimes belong to Spil Games. Images and videos only appear here with permission from the company for the purposes of showcasing a design portfolio.