Mahjong Solitaire
Match pairs of free tiles and clear the whole stack.
How to play Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire is a calm tile-matching puzzle for one player. It uses the 144 tiles of the old Chinese game of Mahjong, but the rules are much simpler: find two tiles that are the same and take them away. The tiles are stacked in a pattern, such as the famous Turtle. Some people know the game as Shanghai.
Goal
Remove all 144 tiles from the table, two at a time.
Turn by turn
- Look for a free tile. A tile is free when no tile lies on top of it, even partly, and its left side or its right side is open.
- Tap or click a free tile to select it. It lights up.
- Tap a second free tile with the same picture. Both tiles leave the table.
- Tiles that are not free cannot be picked. On Easy level they look darker, so you can see them at a glance.
- Keep going until the table is empty.
The tiles
There are three suits, each numbered 1 to 9: Dots (circles), Bamboo (sticks, the 1 is a bird) and Characters (a Chinese number above the red sign 萬). There are four of each tile. You also get four Winds (East, South, West, North) and three Dragons (red, green and white), four of each. Finally there are four Flowers and four Seasons. Any Flower matches any other Flower, and any Season matches any other Season.
Help when you need it
The status bar shows how many tiles are left and how many matches you can make right now. Hint shows a pair; the game first tries to find a pair that still leads to a full clear. Shuffle mixes the tiles that are left into a new order that can still be solved. Undo takes back as many moves as you like. On Hard level, each hint adds 15 seconds to your time.
Keyboard
Move between tiles with the arrow keys, press Enter or Space to pick a tile, Escape to drop it, and H for a hint.
End of the game
You win when the last pair is gone. Your best time for each layout is saved in your browser. Every new deal is built so that it can be cleared, so a game is never hopeless from the start. Like matching games? Try Memory Match.
Strategy tips
- Open the long rows first. The tiles at the ends of long rows block many others. Removing them early gives you more choices later.
- Clear the high stacks. A tall stack hides several tiles. Work on the top of the pile before the edges that are already easy to reach.
- Count before you match. If three of the same tile are free, think about which two to take. The one you leave may be the only key to a stuck tile.
- Take all four at once. When all four copies of a tile are free, remove both pairs. That move can never hurt you.
- Do not rush the easy pairs. A pair that is free on the outside will stay free. Use it when you need it.
- Use Undo to explore. If the board gets stuck, step back a few moves and try another pair instead of shuffling.
Mahjong Solitaire FAQ
Can every game be won?
Yes. Each deal is built backwards from an empty table, so there is always at least one way to clear it. A wrong choice on the way can still get you stuck, which is what Undo and Shuffle are for.
What makes a tile free?
Nothing may lie on top of it, and it must have an open side on the left or on the right. A tile squeezed between two others in the same row cannot be taken.
Do Flowers and Seasons need an exact match?
No. Any two Flowers make a pair, and any two Seasons make a pair, even if the pictures are different.
Is this the same as Mahjong with four players?
No. Classic Mahjong is a card-like game for four people. Mahjong Solitaire only borrows the tiles; it is a one-player matching puzzle, similar to games like Mahjong Titans or Shanghai.
