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Mahjong Solitaire
Match pairs of tiles to clear the board
- 1 player
- 5–15 min
- DifficultyEasy
How to play
- Match two identical free tiles to remove
- Free tiles have no tiles on top or beside them
- Clear all tiles to win
- Plan ahead to avoid getting stuck
Questions
Remove all 144 tiles from the board by matching pairs of identical tiles.
144 Mahjong tiles (four copies each of 36 different tiles) are stacked in various patterns. The classic layout is the 'Turtle' - a multi-layered arrangement. Tiles are placed randomly.
Win by successfully removing all 144 tiles. A clean board is a perfect victory. Getting stuck with unplayable tiles means defeat.
Find and click/tap two matching tiles to remove them. Tiles must be 'free' to be selected: no tile touching on the left OR right side, and nothing stacked on top. Matching tiles must be identical (same suit and number, or same honor/bonus tile).
Prioritize tiles with the most duplicates in play - removing one frees options. Don't just take the first match - consider what tiles your move exposes. Avoid uncovering tiles you can't immediately match - they block the board.
Mahjong Solitaire was created for early personal computers, first appearing in the 1981 game 'Shanghai' by Brodie Lockard. It introduced Mahjong tiles to Western audiences as a single-player puzzle.