In Smack Mahjong, you click matching pairs of tiles to make them disappear.

Solitaire and killing time go hand in hand, but we're looking for a new game to help pass those last minutes before quittin' time. We think we found it with Smack Mahjong. The goal is to click on pairs of matching tiles and eliminate them from the board, but you can only select tiles that are free on the left or right. A clock keeps track of your time, so you'll want to work as quickly as possible, but the game doesn't have any sort of leaderboard for bragging rights.

You can choose from three types of tiles and more than 50 layouts, including classic, pyramid, and star. You can also create your own layout if you've got your mahjong mojo working. As for tiles, you have your pick of a classic mahjong set, a beautiful black set, or giant Roman letters and numbers—great for kids but annoying for anyone who's made it past kindergarten.

Because the tiles are stacked, even the eagle-eyed will find it hard to see the tiles in play. Luckily, you can set the game to highlight the tiles that can be matched. This works well with the classic set, but the highlighting is barely visible with the black tiles. Out of frustration, we stuck with the regular set, but experienced players might want a challenge.

The game informs you when you've run out of matching pairs, and if you're stuck, you can click the Hint button. Doing so quickly flashes a matching pair but penalizes you 30 seconds.

The bottom line. Smack Mahjong isn't flashy, but it's a faithful interpretation of a classic game.

COMPANY: Midori
CONTACT: www.midoritech.com
PRICE: $19.95
REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS X
Three tile sets and tons of layouts.
Highlighted tiles can be hard to see. No fastest-time board.