How to play
Mahjong Solitaire is a matching game for one player, played with the tiles of the traditional Chinese game of mahjong. The tiles are piled up in layers, and your goal is to clear the board by removing them in matching pairs.
Select a free tile, then a free tile that matches it, and both disappear. If the second tile does not match, it becomes your new selection. As tiles leave the board, the tiles under and next to them become free.
A tile is free when no other tile lies on top of it, not even partly, and its left or right side is open. A tile with neighbours on both the left and the right stays blocked until one of them is gone. You win when the last pair is removed.
Rules
- The tiles. A full set has 144 tiles: three suits (Dots, Bamboo and Characters) numbered 1 to 9, four winds and three dragons, with four copies of each, plus four flowers and four seasons.
- Matching. Two tiles match when they are identical. Any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season, but a flower never matches a season.
- Corner labels. Every tile has a small label: the number on suit tiles, E, S, W and N on the winds, R, G and Wh on the dragons, F1–F4 on flowers and S1–S4 on seasons, so you never need to tell colours apart.
- Layouts. Turtle is the classic pyramid of 144 tiles in five layers. Fortress (100 tiles) and Pagoda (72 tiles) are taller than they are wide, so the tiles stay large on a phone. They use complete matching pairs from the full set.
- Solvable deals. Every new deal can be cleared completely, although careless choices can still leave you stuck.
- Shuffle mixes the remaining tiles on the same spots into a position that can still be solved. Shuffles are counted in your statistics.
- The timer starts with your first move and pauses while the page is hidden. Statistics are kept for each layout.
Controls
Mouse and touch
- Click or tap a free tile, then its match. Select the same tile again to cancel.
- A blocked tile shakes when you pick it, and the message line tells you why.
- Hint highlights a matching free pair; press it again for the next one.
- Undo takes back moves and shuffles without limit. Restart replays the current deal and New game deals a fresh board.
Keyboard
- Tab moves between free tiles, Enter or Space selects, Esc cancels the selection.
- H shows a hint, U or Ctrl+Z undoes and S shuffles.
Turn on Dim blocked tiles below the board to make the free tiles stand out.
Tips and strategy
- Open the long rows. Tiles in the middle of a row stay blocked until an end is cleared, so a pair that opens a row end is usually worth more than a pair that is free anyway.
- Work from the top down. Tiles on upper layers cover several tiles at once. Removing them early gives you more choices.
- Take all four at once. When all four copies of a tile are free, remove them as two pairs. Nothing can go wrong.
- Choose well from three. When three copies are free, keep the one that blocks the least for later.
- Watch for buried partners. A tile lying on the copy it needs, or two copies blocking each other in one row, can cost you the game. Deal with them early.
Frequently asked questions
Can every game be won?
Yes. Each deal is built by playing a game backwards, placing tiles in pairs that would be free at that moment, so a complete solution always exists. You can still block yourself by removing the wrong pairs.
Why can't I select a tile?
It is blocked: another tile lies on top of it, even only partly, or it has neighbours on both its left and its right side.
What happens when I shuffle?
The remaining tiles are mixed and dealt again onto the same positions in an arrangement that can be cleared. If none exists, for example when the last two tiles lie on top of each other, the game says so and offers Undo or a new game.
Do flowers match seasons?
No. Two flowers match and two seasons match, but a flower and a season do not.
Is my game saved?
Yes. The game in progress is saved in your browser for each layout and resumes when you come back. If your browser blocks storage, the game still works, but nothing is remembered.
Which layout is best on a phone?
Fortress or Pagoda. They are taller than wide and keep the tiles big enough to tap. Turtle works too, but its tiles get small on a narrow screen.
More free games
- Memory – match the pairs in as few moves as you can.
- Klondike Solitaire – the classic patience card game.
- Spider Solitaire – build full suits from King down to Ace.
- FreeCell – a solitaire of planning where nearly every deal can be solved.
- Word Search – find the hidden words in a grid of letters.
- Block Puzzle – place blocks and clear full lines.
- Sudoku – fill the grid with logic.
- Minesweeper – clear the field without touching a mine.