Play Shanghai III online
2 players online · versus · everyone on their own device How online multiplayer works
Matching mahjong tiles against the clock, as a team or racing to clear your own stack first.
Free, right in your browser, nothing to install.
- Year
- 1993
- Manufacturer
- Sunsoft
- Players
- 2 players at once
- Genres
- Puzzle games
- Decade
- '90s arcade games
On UsuArcade, Shanghai III is played online with a friend: each of you on your own phone or PC, in real time. You can clear tiles from the same stack, each with your own hand, or go head-to-head with a stack apiece and see who clears theirs first.
It's the classic mahjong tile solitaire, matching free pairs, but with a clock, arcade sound and a hand that glides across the stack. Now you can play two-player just like at the arcade, each from your own couch.
History
Shanghai started out in 1986 as an Activision computer game created by Brodie Lockard, and Sunsoft brought it to the arcades. Shanghai III is its third arcade game, from 1993, and the title screen still credits Activision for the original.
This third entry introduced simultaneous two-player modes, the «V.S. MODE» its title screen brags about. The version on UsuArcade is the World release, with English text.
How to play
Move the hand with the joystick and press the button on two matching tiles to clear them. Only free tiles count: nothing on top and one side open. The second button drops the tile you picked. If you're stuck, move the hand to HELP to see a pair, to PEEP to look underneath or to TIME for extra time.
To play two-player, invite your buddy before you start and pick from the menu: 2P JOINT, both on the same stack, or 2P CHALLENGER, each with your own. A two-player game costs just one credit, and if time runs out, START lets you keep going.
Fun facts
- The title screen reads «Original game designed by Activision, Inc.» and «Shanghai III WITH V.S. MODE».
- Before each game you pick one of three tile sets and a layout from a wheel with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
- In CHALLENGER mode, if you both run out of time you get a «DRAW» and play another round.
- The board is Sunsoft's (Sun Electronics), with a 68000 CPU and a custom chip to draw the tiles.
In the arcade
Just like the arcade, but from home: grab a seat at the Shanghai III cabinet in the puzzle row, invite your buddy when they show up in the arcade and pick the mode together. Nothing to install: it runs in the browser, on your phone or PC, gamepad included, and every game starts with INSERT COIN, for free.
Everyone else in the arcade can drop in to watch, and your scores go on the arcade's leaderboards. Tetris, Puzzle Bobble, Pang and Arkanoid are waiting in the same row.
Arcade high scores for Shanghai III
- solidario 300 points
- kei 200 points
FAQ
When did Shanghai III come out?
In 1993, from Sunsoft. The original Shanghai is a 1986 Activision game.
How many players is Shanghai III?
One or two at once. Two players can share the same stack, each with their own hand, or go head-to-head with a stack apiece.
Can I play Shanghai III online with friends?
Yes. On UsuArcade it's played online with a friend: each of you on your own phone or PC, in the same game, in real time. Grab a seat at the cabinet and invite your buddy before you start.
Is it real mahjong?
No: it's the solitaire played with mahjong tiles. You clear matching pairs of free tiles until the stack is empty, with none of the table game's rules.
Do I have to pay to play?
No. Every game starts with INSERT COIN, but it's free and there are no payments.
