How to play Mahjong
- Press Start. The tiles settle into a stack, layer by layer.
- Find two tiles with the same picture that are both free. A free tile has no tile on top of it and an open left or right side.
- Tap one, then the other. The pair lifts off the board, and quick pairs in a row build a streak.
- Watch the counter for how many matches are open. If none are left, use a shuffle or undo a few pairs.
- Clear every tile to win. No hints and no shuffles earns three stars.
About Mahjong
Mahjong is a tile matching game in the mahjong solitaire tradition, set in a quiet garden. Ivory tiles with jade edges are piled in layers, and your goal is to clear every one of them by removing matching pairs. Only free tiles can be taken: a tile is free when nothing rests on top of it and either its left or its right side is open. That one rule turns a simple matching game into a puzzle about order, because taking the wrong pair can bury the partner of another tile. The tiles come in three suits numbered one to nine, leaf, coral and wave, each with its own emblem and color, plus nine picture tiles such as the sun, the moon, a lantern and a koi, so you can always tell them apart without relying on color. Every board is built together with an order that clears it, a counter shows how many matches are open, and the hint, undo and three shuffles help you out of tight spots. Boards grow from sixteen tiles on a single layer to tall five-layer temples of more than a hundred and forty tiles.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap | Select a free tile, then its match |
| Arrow keys and Enter | Move between free tiles and select |
| H or the bulb | Show an open pair |
| S or shuffle | Mix the remaining tiles (three per level) |
| U or undo | Put the last pair back |
Tips and strategy
- Free the long rows early. Tiles at the ends of long rows block the rows behind them, so opening those rows gives you more choices later.
- Work from the top down. Tiles on the highest layers cover the most tiles below, and each one you remove can free several others.
- When all four copies of a picture are free, take them as two pairs right away. They can never block each other.
- Think before taking the third copy of a picture. If two copies are free and a third is buried, pair the free ones only when it does not trap the last one under another tile.
- Keep an eye on the open matches counter. When it drops to one or two, look ahead before you take the last easy pair.
- Save shuffles for the end. A shuffle mixes the remaining tiles into a new layout that can still be cleared, which is most useful when few tiles are left.
Questions and answers
Is this the four-player Mahjong game?
No. It is mahjong solitaire, a one-player puzzle from the same family, where you clear stacked tiles in pairs. It uses its own original tile designs and garden theme instead of traditional mahjong tiles.
Can every board be cleared?
Yes. Each board is generated together with an order of pairs that clears it, and a shuffle always reshapes the remaining tiles into another clearable board.
What makes a tile free?
Nothing may lie on top of it, even partly, and at least one of its sides, left or right, must be open. Blocked tiles are shown slightly darker.
How do stars work?
Clear the board with no hints and no shuffles for three stars. Each hint or shuffle takes away a star, and a cleared board always earns at least one.
What is the daily stack?
A new eighty-eight tile board every day, the same for everyone, so you can compare times.
Do I need an account?
No. Mahjong runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, and your stars are saved on your device.
