Sparrow Trails

Sparrow Trails is a Chinese-style strategy roguelite built around mahjong hand-building, path-drawing puzzles, score chasing and buildcrafting. You take over a long-forgotten mahjong hall and trace routes across an ever-changing table, connecting tiles to complete scoring patterns, stack multipliers and reach a target score within a limited number of moves. Rivals constantly change the rules. This is not traditional four-player mahjong: play has no long waits between turns, and each decision centers on routes, hands, positioning and your evolving build.

Trace the board

Each move gives you a newly laid 7x5 board. You connect adjacent mahjong tiles by tracing a route that can start in any direction. Sequences, triplets, pairs, quads and special scoring patterns each contribute different base scores and multipliers. The number of tiles you select is not the only consideration: the spaces your route crosses, the hands you complete, and the enchantments and upgrades you trigger all affect the result.

Each standard round allows three tracing attempts. You can secure the target score or risk your progress to pursue a stronger hand and a True Yakuman.

Shape your build

Choose characters with distinct tile-pool tendencies and abilities. You can acquire passive upgrades, buy emergency items and bind enchantments to specific board spaces. Enchantments stay in place when the tiles are replaced, making your route part of your build.

You can strengthen sequences, triplets, pairs, specific suits, economy effects, positional triggers or high-risk multipliers. A real-time preview shows the hands, multipliers and estimated score formed by your current route, helping you learn the system as you play. Start with simple sequences and triplets, then discover more complex patterns and build interactions. Fulfilling the strict conditions for a True Yakuman triggers a unique presentation.

Face rival encounters

Every stage ends with a special rival encounter. Rivals can raise the target score, freeze or conceal spaces, restrict your route, inject special tiles or change how the whole board is generated. Scoring power alone is not enough: you need to study each rival’s rules, adapt your build and keep the right tools in reserve.

Restore the mahjong hall

Rewards from each run let you renovate the hall, restore inherited manuscripts and unlock new characters and collections. As you progress, dusty tables, a silent counter and sealed records gradually return to life. The hall records the challenges you have overcome.

The world and its features

The game’s Chinese-inspired setting features wood, jade-green tables, vermilion seals and mystical sparrow motifs. Its features include path-drawing puzzles based on mahjong hands and scoring patterns, a shifting 7x5 board with three tracing attempts per round, layered builds combining characters, upgrades, items and board-space enchantments, and rival encounters that can transform the board. Long-term progression centers on restoring the hall.