What is Bridge layout?
The Bridge is a layout of 116 tiles drawn as a suspension bridge seen from the side. A deck two tiles deep and two storeys high crosses the board, two towers stand on piers above and below it, and the cables hang in a curve between the tops of the towers and down to both ends.
The rules are the standard ones. Take off two matching tiles at a time, as long as both are free: nothing lies on top of them and their left or right side is open. Clear the board to win. With 116 tiles seven of the set's groups of four matching faces are left out, chosen at random for each deal, so every face still comes in whole pairs.
The cables are thin chains of single tiles, while the deck is two long rows of 17 tiles under a storey of 17 more, which open only from their ends once the storey above has gone. With 58 pairs instead of 72, a game takes about four fifths of the moves of the Turtle.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Mahjong Solitaire | Bridge layout |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Standard Mahjong SolitaireThe Turtle: a broad block of tiles that rises in steps towards the middle. | Bridge layoutThe Bridge: a two-storey deck 17 tiles long, two towers on piers and the cables between them. |
| Tiles | Standard Mahjong SolitaireAll 144 tiles of the set: 72 pairs to take off. | Bridge layout116 tiles: 29 of the set's 36 groups of four matching tiles, so 58 pairs to take off. |
| Layers | Standard Mahjong SolitaireFour layers: 82, 40, 18 and 4 tiles. | Bridge layoutThree layers: 79, 33 and 4 tiles. |
| Free tiles at the start | Standard Mahjong Solitaire32 of the 144 tiles. | Bridge layout33 of the 116 tiles. |
| Other options | Standard Mahjong SolitaireShuffles, a time limit and the random deal can be added in the setup. | Bridge layoutThe same options work on the Bridge: shuffles, a time limit and the random deal. |
History
Mahjong Solitaire began on a computer: Brodie Lockard wrote it for a university computer system in 1981, and a commercial version made it widely known in 1986 with a single layout, the Turtle.
David Norris wrote a version of the game in 1990, and the documentation of a later release lists the extra layouts that came with the program, among them a Bridge, which it describes as a great experiment in civil engineering. Programs have drawn their bridges in many ways since, and there is no standard Bridge layout. The one here is our own design.