Microsoft Mahjong Achievement Guide & Road Map

Microsoft Mahjong
Microsoft Mahjong Achievement Guide

Overview
-Estimated achievement difficulty: 2/10
-Offline: 20 [200]
-Online: 0 [0]
-Approximate amount of time to 200: Varies (depends on Windows 8 version statistics; skill and luck based)
-Minimum number of playthroughs needed: Varies (depends on Windows 8 version statistics; skill and luck based)
-Number of missable achievements: 0
-Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No cheats
-Does difficulty affect achievements?: No
-Glitchy achievements: Gaining Recognition, Matchmaking Legend
-Unobtainable achievements: None
-Extra equipment needed?: Windows Phone 8 (Windows 8 strongly recommended)

Introduction
Microsoft Mahjong for Windows Phone 8, unlike the same game for Windows 8, requires much more work to unlock all the achievements, if you start fresh and have not accumulated game plays on Windows 8. However, if you already played a lot on Windows 8 and already met the requirements, you can just unlock many of the achievements, including all of the most time-consuming ones, as you run the game on the phone for the first time.

Walkthrough
All the achievements in this game are loosely connected and let's pick them one by one!

General suggestions if you feel this game complicated in any means: turn on "Show available tiles" (won't affect any achievement, and even required by the achievement Highlighter), "Large print tiles" if you find it difficult to distinguish tiles in Chinese characters, use undo whenever you need except you are trying to unlock Smooth Sailing, use a lot of "hint" option, and do a reshuffle if you only have a few tiles left but cannot solve the puzzle.

Conclusion
Windows 8 version of this game had been released for more than one year. During this long period of time, I believe many people already accumulated enough gameplay statistics to unlock many of the achievement of this mobile version at once. You need to do some clean-up for the special achievements which are required to be done on the phone for the full 200 achievement. Besides these special ones, if you didn't played much before, just play on your computer and your phone whenever and wherever possible.

[XBA would like to thank BoomerCE for this roadmap]

Smooth Sailing

10
Complete any puzzle without using Undo.
Do not use Undo while try to solve a puzzle. Recommend to unlock this on easy difficulty. Reshuffle won't disable this achievement, so if you are just a few steps to victory, just use the reshuffle to have one more chance.
The Fun Begins

10
Complete your first puzzle on your phone.
Simply complete any game on your phone and the achievement will unlock once the game has been won.
The Spice Of Life

10
Match 20 pairs of tiles in a row where all 20 pairs are unique.
Play a game and try to match 20 different pairs of tiles in a row.
Mahjong Pro

10
Complete your first hard puzzle on your phone.
As it required, you must solve a hard puzzle on the phone.
A Fresh Coat of Paint

5
Try out a different theme on your phone.
In the main menu, choose a theme other than the one currently used. The achievement will unlock instantly as you change the theme.
Force of Habit

10
Complete the same puzzle 20 times.
The counter shares with Windows 8 version of this game. If you already accumulated this number of victory on Windows 8, just win one more game to make it unlock.
Speed Player

10
Complete an expert puzzle in five minutes or less.
Follow the requirement and it will unlock. If you have trouble to meet the requirement, see Finished Already?! for help.
High Five

10
Win 10 games of Mahjong in a row.
(2)
This must be done on the phone. Recommend to unlock this on easy difficulty. Also, you must complete the winning streak without quitting the game, or the progress tracker will be reset to zero. (Credits to SIMPLYMIDGET)
On Second Thought...

10
After reaching "No More Moves", undo at least 10 moves in a row and then complete the puzzle.
Skill and luck based. In many cases, even if you intend to lose, you still have no choice but to win the game... My suggestion is that play a game on easy difficulty (such as Turtle), do not use your chance to reshuffle, and when you reached a "No More Move", undo at least 10 times but not too many, and use your chance of reshuffle. In most cases, after a reshuffle, you can solve the game smoothly.
Ultimate Matchmaker

10
Match 3 sets of wild tiles in a row.
Skill and luck based. May be combined with The Spice Of Life
Dragon Master

10
Complete the Dragon puzzle 15 times.
The counter shares with Windows 8 version of this game. If you already accumulated this number of victory on Windows 8, just win one more game and it will unlock. Also, you can combine this with Force of Habit, Winning is a Habit, and Take it to Go
Warmed Up

10
Complete four different puzzles in the easy category.
See Mahjong Champion
On A Roll

10
Complete four different puzzles in the medium category.
See Mahjong Champion
Mahjong Champion

15
Complete four different puzzles in the hard category.
Win a game of each type in the corresponding category. This may come naturally as you are trying to unlock other achievements. The counter shares with Windows 8 version of this game. Win one more game on your phone if you already met the requirement.
Finished Already?!

10
Complete any puzzle in 2 minutes or less.
(2)
Recommend to unlock this on easy difficulty. If you have trouble, there is a way to slow down the timer (credit to Xenolith666) when you find it difficult to point out next pair, or if you need more time to think about strategy, just press back button to return to menu at once. Then, start the same puzzle, and the game will ask if you want to continue a game from cloud save. Confirm to load, and before you do any move, the timer won't start. In this way, you can have as much time as you want to think!
Gaining Recognition

10
Earn 10 Medals total across a Windows 8 device and your phone.
(2)
See Matchmaking Legend
Matchmaking Legend

10
Earn 20 Medals total across a Windows 8 device and your phone.
(4)
There is a medal system separated from the achievement system in this game. You will be awarded a medal when you meet the requirement of the medal. The counter shares with Windows 8 version of this game.

Achievements for earning medals glitched in the first (Dec. 27, 2013) version: you must win the 10th and 20th on your phone to unlock these achievements. Will be fixed by future updates.
Take it to Go

10
Play 1,000 Mahjong Games or Begin a game on a Windows 8 device and finish it on your phone.
(5)
If you already accumulated this number of victory on Windows 8, it will unlock instantly. In case it doesn't unlock, just play one more game. If you haven't got this many, start a game on Windows 8 (make sure you are connected to Xbox LIVE), make a few moves, and quit the game. Then open the game on Windows Phone, make sure you are connected to Xbox LIVE, and select the same difficulty. You will be prompted if you want to continue the progress, just confirm it. Finish the game and the achievement will be unlocked.

Glitched in the first version: sharing cloud save between Windows 8 and Windows Phone doesn't unlock the achievement as of now, you must have 1,000 games played in order to unlock this achievement. However, there are chances that you can just start a new game on the phone, quit the game and restart, pick the same puzzle, load the cloud save created on you phone, solve the puzzle and the achievement could be unlocked.
Winning is a Habit

10
Complete 100 puzzles.
The counter shares with Windows 8 version of this game. If you already accumulated this number of victory on Windows 8, just win one more game and it will unlock.
Highlighter

10
Complete a puzzle on your phone with the "Show available tiles" option turned on.
Turn on this option in settings, and win a game.