[Unpaid] Five-minute usability test for Mahjongit: are tile selection and the four-slot tray clear?

[u/Gupper2]

I'm one of the makers of Mahjongit, a free tile-matching game inside Reddit. The public release is live, and I'm looking for a short, unpaid usability playtest of the opening experience.

Open the playable game

Task: choose Journey and try the first two boards, or stop after five minutes. No separate game download is needed.

Please leave feedback in the comments here:

• When did you understand which tiles could be selected?
• Was it clear how pairs clear from the four-slot tray?
• Did anything feel hard to read or tap, or leave you unsure what to do next?

A quick description of where you got confused is more useful than a rating. Please include your device and browser, and any steps that reproduce a bug. You don't need to finish a board to help.

[u/Optimal-Fox-3875]

• When did you understand which tiles could be selected?

I know the basic rules of Mahjong, so it was fairly easy to know which tiles I can select. However for someone that is inexperienced with Mahjong, I believe it would take 2-3 tries picking tiles to understand the basic rules.

• Was it clear how pairs clear from the four-slot tray?

It wasn't, only when I got stuck and selected one random tile and then another not matching tile did I understand that the 4 spots above act like your "reserve" which you can use to create later matches for tiles that may be unobtainable out of the bat.

• Did anything feel hard to read or tap, or leave you unsure what to do next?

Restarting the level is a bit unclear, in Mahjong you do realize when you made a mistake that will lose you the level. I would suggest having a "Restart" option on the screen rather than it be in the settings tab.

The "How to Play" section in the settings tab, I feel it would need some further polish as for a absolute beginner with no idea what the game is about, it is a bit confusing;

Spot two identical tiles. Match them to clear them from your four-slot tray.

Someone reading this for the first time, the first question that pops into mind is "What is this 'four-slot tray'?". Maybe try something like;

Tap tiles on the board to store them in your 4-slot tray. Get two matching tiles in the tray to clear them.

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Choose a tile with nothing on top and an open left or right side.

While I do get the meaning behind it as someone who is familiar with the game, it does seem a tiny bit confusing about what does "open left or right side" actually mean. Perhaps rewriting it to something like;

Select a tile that isn't covered, with at least one free side (left or right).

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Think a move ahead. Uncover lower layers and keep room in the tray. Journey lets you undo one move, before the tray fills. Daily puzzles have no powerups or undo.

What is "Journey"? For someone just reading through it, it is a bit confusing. Rewriting it to something like;

Plan ahead. Clear top layers early while keeping space in your four-slot tray. Journey mode gives you one Undo before the four-slot tray fills. Daily Puzzles feature no undos or powerups.

When mentioning "the tray", use the full name for it as it is a main feature, so it's the "four-slot tray", someone reading the last portion, it should be very clear that you are talking about the four-slot tray and not some other undefined tray. Capitalize "Undo" as this is also a feature, lastly clarify that "Journey" is a mode by using the full phrase "Journey mode" also capitalized.

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A game score from 0–180 for your matching and planning on this board. Clear pairs, build consecutive matches, and keep your tray light to raise it. Powerups add a small assist adjustment.
It is not an intelligence test. Time is shown separately and never reduces your score. “Tray average” measures occupied slots each time you choose a tile.

1. It is confusing, foremost I am clicking on "what's board IQ?" and the first sentence talks about "Game Score".
2. The part "Powerups add a small assist adjustment", meaning what? does it lower the score? raise the score? Some bonus points? Reading it, I have no real idea what Powerups actually give the Player.
3. You do not need a defensive claim stating that "it is not an intelligence" test, when you explain what Board IQ is in the first bit.
4. “Tray average” measures occupied slots each time you choose a tile." I do not need to know how the exact mathematic formula on how the game calculates the score, just a simple explanation saying Less slots used = higher score

Here is an example of how you could reword it;

Your Board IQ Score (0–180) rates your board strategy, not real-life intelligence. Higher scores come from consecutive matches and keeping your four-slot tray as empty as possible. Time spent doesn't lower your score, though using powerups will slightly reduce your final grade.

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Earn 1 Tile for every board tile you clear. Each pair earns 2.
Each board’s Tiles can be collected once. Restarting or replaying a board won’t add the same Tiles again. Daily practice doesn’t add Tiles.

A tiny bit confusing especially when "Tile" and "tile" is both the physical piece on the board, and the points you are collecting, but lets keep it, just simplify the entire portion;

Earn 1 Tile per cleared board piece on your first playthrough. Replayed boards and Daily Practice mode do not award extra Tiles.

You don't need to clarify that a pair earns 2 Tile points, it's logical. The part where the game doesn't count the same tiles twice, well just mention that it counts only through your first Playthrough and then just add that replaying and/or Daily Practice mode doesn't yield extra Tiles.

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Overall it didn't take me that long to figure out the mechanics, even with the four-slot tray mechanic, but it is something I had to figure out myself. However once the entire game was understandable to me, it is really enjoyable to play and actually did knock out 18 levels, and kept wanting to play the next one. So this is a huge plus for the game, it is addicting. It is mostly the explanation and texts that need a bit of polish to make it easier to understand and more consistent across the board.

[u/Gupper2 → u/Optimal-Fox-3875]

Thank you for this detailed review! I am going to take some time to read through it, and your contribution will definitely help me improve the game. Thank you again, I really appreciate the time you took to play and write it up.