Mahjong Solitaire

How to play

Tap two matching tiles to remove them. A tile can only be taken when it is free, meaning nothing is stacked on top of it and at least one of its left or right sides is open. Clear every tile to win. Boards here are built by laying matched pairs down in an order that can always be undone, so a solution always exists, though you can still strand yourself by taking the wrong pair first. Undo is unlimited and a hint will point out a legal pair.

Tips

• Take tiles from the top layers first. Every tile you lift frees whatever was underneath it.
• When three or four of a kind are showing, work out which pair to take. The wrong two can bury the rest.
• Clear the long rows from their ends. The middle of a row is locked until one side opens.
• Prefer a pair that frees new tiles over a pair that frees nothing, even when both are legal.
• If the move counter reaches zero you are stuck, so undo rather than starting over.

Not the same game as Mahjong

Mahjong Solitaire uses the tiles from the four player Chinese game but shares nothing else with it. The solitaire version was created as a computer game in 1981 by Brodie Lockard, and it became widely known through a 1986 release called Shanghai. Since then it has been one of the most common tile games on every platform. The rule is the one thing that has never changed: remove matching pairs, but only tiles that are free.

The boards here are dealt so that a solution always exists. Rather than scattering tiles and hoping, the game starts from a full layout, removes free pairs in a random order, records that order, and assigns matching faces along it. Playing that order backwards clears the board, so a clearable path is guaranteed. You can still strand yourself by taking the wrong pair, which is the actual skill of the game, and undo is unlimited for exactly that reason.

Not getting stuck

• When three or four of a kind are free at once, think before taking two. The pair you leave may be buried under each other.
• Prefer pairs that free new tiles. A pair that frees nothing has spent a move for no progress.
• Work the top layers first. Every tile you lift from a stack exposes what was under it.
• Long rows open from the ends. The middle of a row is locked until one side is gone.
• The Moves counter tells you how many pairs are currently available. When it reaches zero, undo rather than restart.

Common questions

Is every board solvable?

Yes. Boards are built by removing free pairs from a full layout and recording the order, so a path to clear the board exists by construction.

What makes a tile free?

Nothing is stacked on top of it, and at least one of its left or right sides is open.

Can I get stuck on a solvable board?

Yes. Taking pairs in the wrong order can bury the tiles you need. That is the skill of the game, and undo is unlimited.