Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong solitaire is a tile-matching game, not the four-player mahjong. One hundred and forty-four tiles are stacked into the turtle layout; remove them in matching pairs. A tile can only be taken when nothing rests on it and either its left or right side is completely clear. Every deal here is generated to be solvable.
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- Tiles
- 144, five layers
- Layout
- Classic turtle
- Free tile
- Uncovered, one side clear
- Deals
- Always solvable
When is a mahjong tile free?
Two conditions, both required. Nothing may rest on top of it — a tile on the layer above that overlaps it, even partially, locks it. And at least one long side must be completely clear: a tile with neighbours on both left and right is blocked even if its top is open. A tile in the middle of a solid row is unavailable until one end of the row is eaten away.
Which tiles match in mahjong solitaire?
| Group | Tiles | Copies | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dots (circles) 1–9 | 9 | 4 | 36 |
| Bamboo 1–9 | 9 | 4 | 36 |
| Characters 1–9 | 9 | 4 | 36 |
| Winds — East, South, West, North | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons — Red, Green, White | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Flowers | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Seasons | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Every tile matches only an identical tile — except the flowers and the seasons. There is one of each flower and one of each season, and any flower matches any other flower, any season any other season. That is the rule that surprises new players.
Are all mahjong solitaire deals winnable?
Not if the tiles are simply shuffled onto the layout — a large fraction of random arrangements cannot be cleared however well you play. The deals here are built backwards instead: starting from an empty turtle, the generator repeatedly picks two currently-free positions and assigns them a matching pair. The sequence it produces is, read in reverse, a legal placement, so a winning line is guaranteed to exist. Finding it is still on you.
What is the difference from real mahjong?
Almost everything. Mahjong is a four-player game of draws and discards, closer in spirit to rummy. Mahjong solitaire uses the same tiles and nothing else — it was popularised by Brodie Lockard's Shanghai, published by Activision in 1986, and it is that game most people mean by 'mahjong' on a computer.
How do you get better at mahjong?
- Open the base rows firstThe long base rows lock everything sitting on them. Eating inward from the ends is what makes the upper layers reachable.
- Take pairs that free new tilesWhen two identical pairs are available, remove the one that uncovers something. Clearing convenient tiles first is how a solvable board dies.
- Count the foursMost tiles come in four copies. If three are visible, taking the wrong two can strand the fourth under a stack for the rest of the game.
- Leave the capstone alone at your perilThe single top tile blocks the four beneath it, which block sixteen more. It is nearly always right to remove it as soon as it has a partner.
Mahjong Solitaire questions people ask
- Can any flower match any season in mahjong solitaire?
- No. Flowers match flowers and seasons match seasons, but a flower never matches a season. They are two separate groups of four.
- Why can't I select a tile in the middle of a row?
- Because both its left and right sides are blocked. Uncovering the top is not enough — one long edge has to be free.
- What do I do when there are no matches left?
- Use the shuffle button. It rearranges the remaining tiles into a fresh solvable arrangement rather than ending the game — the same convention Shanghai used.
- How many tiles are in mahjong solitaire?
- 144: 108 suited tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons, 4 flowers and 4 seasons. That is 72 pairs.
The rules in six lines
- 1Stack 144 tiles into the turtleFive layers: 87 tiles on the base, then 36, 16, 4 and a single capstone.
- 2Find free tilesA tile is free when nothing overlaps it from above and either its left or right long side is completely unobstructed.
- 3Remove matching pairsClick two free tiles showing the same face. They are removed together.
- 4Flowers and seasons are wild within their groupAny flower pairs with any other flower; any season with any other season.
- 5Clear all 144 tiles to winSeventy-two pairs. If you run out of matches, shuffle the remainder and continue.
The long version, with worked examples and the questions beginners actually ask, is on how to play mahjong solitaire.
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