Where is my mahjong minigame in Mists of Pandaria?
During Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard gave us the Peggle and Bejeweled addons. In Cataclysm, we got an amazing in-game version of Plants vs. Zombies (which rewarded a Singing Sunflower pet that actually sang). Now in Mists of Pandaria, the latest addition to the growing collection of games within the game is the new pet battle system which is reminiscent of the beloved Pokémon series.
Well, beloved to everyone else anyway. See, Pokémon and I have a bitter past. It started when I was 12, and I told my mother the only thing I wanted for Christmas was a Gameboy and a copy of Pokémon Blue. It was an expensive gift to ask for from a single parent working two jobs, but I was desperate. In the months prior, all my friends at school had ceased socializing about comics and fantasy novels in favor of playing Pokémon. Every day at lunch they'd scarf down their meals then whip out their link cables and start dueling. Not having a Gameboy myself though, I was completely left out.
Sadly, when Christmas came there was no Gameboy. Instead I received a Pocket Pikachu, which was a weird toy pedometer crossed with a Tamagotchi. The idea was that you'd keep it in your pocket and as you took steps you'd earn currency to buy presents for Pikachu, who would then be your friend. The problem was the pedometer wasn't very sensitive to normal steps, so you were better off shaking it over and over. So for the next few months, while my friends continued to ignore me to play Pokémon, I shook a stupid, yellow pedometer up and down.
Anyway, long story short, I'm not too crazy about a pet battle system. And while I appreciate that Blizzard has made great efforts to integrate such an indepth feature into the game, I feel like they've missed out on the perfect opportunity to add a minigame to the game that would fit perfectly into Mists of Pandaria: mahjong.
If you're not familiar, mahjong is a 4-player tile game that originates from China. It a lot like the card game rummy, or the game Rummikub, but faster and more complex (check out the video below to see what I mean). The 4-player version would be quite difficult to integrate into WoW, but fortunately, there is a popular solitaire version which is much easier to play and, despite its name, can be played between two people. You could play against friends, or if Blizzard wanted to add an RP element to it, against NPCs.
How cool would that be if you could travel around Pandaria, facing off against innkeepers or notable NPCs like Lorewalker Cho or Taran Zhu? It'd be like dice poker in The Witcher or triple triad in Final Fantasy VIII. There could be several opponents in a zone, with achievements for defeating an entire zone, and a big meta-achievement after that.
For your final game you'd be summoned to Valley of the Four Winds to face Pandaria's greatest mahjong player ... Farmer Yoon! What? I figure the poor guy has to be good at something. OK, fine, it could be Gina Mudclaw or something, but it has to be in Valley of the Four Winds. Why? Because there are four different wind tiles in mahjong: east, west, north, and south.
Once you defeated Yoon or whoever, they could give you some snazzy title, or pet, or something. Honestly, it doesn't really matter because playing mahjong would be its own reward, people. Unlike Pocket Pikachu, who rewards your efforts by ignoring you. Stupid, little temperamental pokémon ...
Anyway, please Blizzard! Please give us mahjong! Pleeeease!
