Shanghai (video game)


Shanghai is a computerized version of mahjong solitaire published by Activision in 1986 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Macintosh, Apple IIGS and Master System. Shanghai was originally programmed by Brodie Lockard.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is to remove all the tiles from the board by matching pairs. However, only tiles that have one or more free edge can are available for claiming.
After winning a game, the tiles reveal the three-dimensional blinking eye of a dragon behind the game screen. The Macintosh and Master System versions show an animated dragon spitting fire.

Reception

Shanghai sold more than 500,000 copies by 1991. Computer Gaming World in December 1986 published varying opinions. Gregg Williams stated, "I couldn't believe had wasted their resources on putting it out", while Charles Ardai called it "probably the best game of the year". Info gave the Amiga version four-plus stars out of five, stating "This program ought to be illegal. It is impossible to play 'just one game'". Describing gameplay as "swift and deceptively simple", the magazine warned "Plan on spending a LOT of time with this one". It gave the Commodore 64 version three-plus stars out of five, describing Shanghai as "fanatically addictive". While criticizing the user interface and graphics, the magazine concluded that "you'll find it hard to quit". Compute! reviewed the game favorably, reporting that "our Shanghai mania is of such proportions that I am beginning to fear for our health". In 1988, Dragon gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.
In Japan, Game Machine listed Shanghai on their May 1, 1988 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the year.
In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Shanghai the 146th-best computer game ever released.

Atari Lynx

Dragon Magazine also gave the Atari Lynx version 5 stars in their May 1992 issue. Robert Jung of IGN gave the game a score of 10 out of 10 in his review. CVG Magazine reviewed the game in their March 1991 issue giving a score of 84 out of 100.

Reviews

A sequel, Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye, was published in 1990 for MS-DOS. Ports were released for Macintosh, FM Towns, MSX, PC-98, Sharp X68000, Windows, Sega Genesis, and Super NES. The Genesis version was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in the PAL regions on November 27, 2009 and in North America on January 11, 2010, which was later delisted at the end of 2013.

Sequels