Visually, Mahjong 88 is quite traditional and has a Chinese feel – played on an 8 by 8 grid, the symbols are show in grid formation where matching symbols appear in a cluster to give you winning combinations. Tiles on the grid include tiles from the bams and dots suit as well as 4 flowers and 4 wilds (winter, autumn, summer and spring). The lotus flower tile is the most rewarding with 12 or more giving you 500 times your stake.

Clusters can form horizontally or vertically adjacent to the same symbol. If you get a winning combination, the contributing symbols are removed and then replaced by new symbols – this allows you to win again and again from each spin.

You’ll also see concealed tiles which are blank – these rotate to be revealed as a secret adjacent symbol. All winning combinations contribute to increasing the Fortune Frog meter. Known as the Fortune Frog feature, you can fully charge the meter with 33 winning symbols. When no wins are formed, 1 of the effects will be triggered:

• Croak – 1 symbol set is chosen to pay scatter style rather than in adjacent positions
• Spawn – 1 symbol set is chosen to transfer to another symbol
• Tongue – 2 edges are chosen with symbols between transforming to another symbol
• Hope – 1 symbol is chosen which transforms and destroys adjacent symbols

When you overcharge the Fortune Frog meter with 88 or more winning symbols, the Super Charge feature is triggered. All winning combinations here are subject to a 5x multiplier. Either the Fortune Frog and Super Charge features can only be charged once per spin.

Mahjong 88 comes with 4 seasons – spring, summer, autumn or winter. Each season features its own wild which are triggered randomly when you don’t get a winning combination. Wilds perform the usual replacing duties and will be removed if part of a win or the Fortune Frog feature is activated:

• Spring – up to 12 wilds can appear randomly on the grid
• Summer – up to 5 wilds can appear with adjacent symbols destroyed
• Autumn – up to 11 wilds can appear with symbols turning wild or destroyed from edges
• Winter – up to 4 wilds can appear which remain on the reels even if you get a winning combination

The season can change after every spin - the minimum number of spins in a season is 25 and the maximum is 99. It will go from the spring to summer to autumn and finally winter. All winning combinations will contribute to increasing the Season Bonus – this is won when the season changes. You will see the amount in the top right-hand corner of the screen – it grows by 10% of the symbol win amounts.

Mahjong 88 is an unconventional slot and will take some getting used to – it’s all about forming cluster. You can benefit from 4 effects but it’s all about the randomly triggered extras from each of the seasons. The biggest wins will come from the Super Charge feature as a 5x multiplier is applied.

Highly volatile, you can win 5,000 times your stake on each spin – if you want something more traditional, you cannot go wrong with Play ‘N Go’s Book of Dead. If you like grid slots, Contact (by Play ‘N Go) is my pick.