About Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire is a one-player matching game played with the tiles of the classic Chinese game: dots, bamboo, characters, winds, dragons, flowers and seasons, stacked in layers. Take away two matching tiles at a time, but only tiles that are free, with nothing on top and one side open. Every day brings a new deal with the same layout for everyone, from a low 72-tile mound on easy days to a 144-tile pyramid with wings on hard days, and every deal is dealt so that it can be cleared.
How to play Mahjong Solitaire
- Tap two free tiles with the same face to take them away. A tile is free when no tile lies on it and its left or right side is open.
- Any flower matches any flower and any season matches any season; every other tile matches only its twin. Tiles that aren’t free are dimmed.
- Stuck? Undo as often as you like, or ask for a hint (hints are counted). Easy deals have 72 tiles, medium 108 and hard 144 in four layers.
- Fastest time wins; fewer hints break ties. Every daily deal can be cleared, so a dead end only means an earlier choice should change.
Tips & strategy
- Free the tall stacks first. Tiles at the top of the pyramid and at the ends of long rows hold the most other tiles in place.
- When all four tiles of a kind are free, take both pairs: nothing is lost. With three free, think before you choose which two go.
- Watch the long rows. A row only opens from its ends, so a tile in the middle waits until its neighbours on one side are gone.
- Keep flowers and seasons for when they unlock something: each matches any other tile of its group, so they are flexible spares.
Mahjong Solitaire: questions and answers
When is a tile free?
When no tile lies on top of it, even partly, and nothing touches its left side or its right side. Free tiles are shown brighter; the others are dimmed.
Can every deal be cleared?
Yes. Each daily deal is made by taking the full layout apart two free tiles at a time, so at least one way to clear it always exists.
What if I get stuck?
Undo takes back pairs one at a time, as often as you like. A hint shows a pair to take and is added to your hint count.
How is Mahjong Solitaire ranked?
By time, fastest first; fewer hints break ties. Only a member’s first finished game of the day is ranked.