A game pair by pair
In brief
Deal MJ1-L00-AAAAABL on the Turtle layout is won in 72 pairs by following the app’s plan. When played by always taking the highest pair, the same deal gets blocked after 44 pairs, with 56 tiles still on the board.
The winning game
Each position below is the app’s position after the indicated number of pairs, replayed by its engine. Light face: free tile. The outlined pair is the next one in the plan.
At the start
144 tiles on the board, 35 free, 11 playable pairs. Next pair: north wind and north wind.
After 20 pairs
104 tiles on the board, 25 free, 8 playable pairs. Next pair: south wind and south wind.
After 34 pairs
76 tiles on the board, 23 free, 7 playable pairs. Next pair: 5 of bamboo and 5 of bamboo.
After 60 pairs
24 tiles on the board, 12 free, 5 playable pairs. Next pair: flower 3 and flower 4.
The game’s 72 pairs
| Pair | Tiles removed | Free tiles afterward | Playable pairs afterward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N (layer 2) and N (layer 3) | 34 | 11 |
| 2 | 3B (layer 2) and 3B (layer 1) | 33 | 11 |
| 3 | 3C (layer 2) and 3C (layer 3) | 33 | 10 |
| 4 | 2D (layer 1) and 2D (layer 3) | 32 | 9 |
| 5 | S1 (layer 3) and S2 (layer 3) | 32 | 9 |
| 6 | 4D (layer 2) and 4D (layer 3) | 30 | 8 |
| 7 | 6B (layer 2) and 6B (layer 1) | 30 | 7 |
| 8 | 5C (layer 1) and 5C (layer 1) | 29 | 8 |
| 9 | 8D (layer 3) and 8D (layer 2) | 28 | 8 |
| 10 | 9C (layer 5) and 9C (layer 1) | 31 | 10 |
| 11 | 1D (layer 4) and 1D (layer 2) | 31 | 11 |
| 12 | Wh (layer 4) and Wh (layer 2) | 30 | 11 |
| 13 | 7D (layer 2) and 7D (layer 1) | 29 | 11 |
| 14 | 2C (layer 2) and 2C (layer 1) | 28 | 10 |
| 15 | 7C (layer 3) and 7C (layer 1) | 27 | 10 |
| 16 | 4B (layer 1) and 4B (layer 1) | 27 | 11 |
| 17 | 9B (layer 1) and 9B (layer 3) | 26 | 12 |
| 18 | E (layer 1) and E (layer 2) | 26 | 9 |
| 19 | 1C (layer 1) and 1C (layer 1) | 26 | 9 |
| 20 | 6D (layer 2) and 6D (layer 2) | 25 | 8 |
| 21 | S (layer 1) and S (layer 4) | 25 | 6 |
| 22 | 5D (layer 1) and 5D (layer 3) | 26 | 8 |
| 23 | F1 (layer 1) and F2 (layer 2) | 26 | 9 |
| 24 | 8C (layer 2) and 8C (layer 3) | 26 | 11 |
| 25 | 9D (layer 1) and 9D (layer 2) | 28 | 11 |
| 26 | 1B (layer 1) and 1B (layer 3) | 28 | 12 |
| 27 | 2B (layer 1) and 2B (layer 1) | 28 | 14 |
| 28 | R (layer 3) and R (layer 4) | 27 | 11 |
| 29 | 6C (layer 1) and 6C (layer 2) | 25 | 10 |
| 30 | 4C (layer 1) and 4C (layer 3) | 25 | 9 |
| 31 | 3D (layer 3) and 3D (layer 1) | 25 | 11 |
| 32 | 8B (layer 1) and 8B (layer 1) | 24 | 11 |
| 33 | G (layer 2) and G (layer 2) | 23 | 11 |
| 34 | 7B (layer 2) and 7B (layer 1) | 23 | 7 |
| 35 | 5B (layer 1) and 5B (layer 1) | 23 | 5 |
| 36 | W (layer 2) and W (layer 1) | 22 | 5 |
| 37 | S (layer 1) and S (layer 1) | 22 | 6 |
| 38 | R (layer 1) and R (layer 1) | 22 | 7 |
| 39 | S3 (layer 2) and S4 (layer 1) | 21 | 6 |
| 40 | 3B (layer 1) and 3B (layer 1) | 21 | 5 |
| 41 | 2D (layer 1) and 2D (layer 2) | 20 | 5 |
| 42 | 2C (layer 2) and 2C (layer 1) | 20 | 4 |
| 43 | 7B (layer 1) and 7B (layer 2) | 20 | 5 |
| 44 | 4D (layer 3) and 4D (layer 1) | 20 | 6 |
| 45 | 6D (layer 1) and 6D (layer 2) | 20 | 7 |
| 46 | 7C (layer 1) and 7C (layer 1) | 19 | 7 |
| 47 | Wh (layer 1) and Wh (layer 2) | 18 | 6 |
| 48 | 9B (layer 1) and 9B (layer 1) | 18 | 6 |
| 49 | 9C (layer 2) and 9C (layer 1) | 18 | 6 |
| 50 | E (layer 2) and E (layer 1) | 19 | 7 |
| 51 | W (layer 2) and W (layer 1) | 19 | 8 |
| 52 | 9D (layer 1) and 9D (layer 1) | 19 | 7 |
| 53 | 2B (layer 2) and 2B (layer 1) | 19 | 7 |
| 54 | 5C (layer 1) and 5C (layer 1) | 19 | 8 |
| 55 | 5B (layer 2) and 5B (layer 1) | 19 | 9 |
| 56 | G (layer 1) and G (layer 1) | 17 | 8 |
| 57 | 5D (layer 1) and 5D (layer 1) | 15 | 7 |
| 58 | 6B (layer 1) and 6B (layer 1) | 13 | 6 |
| 59 | 4C (layer 1) and 4C (layer 1) | 13 | 6 |
| 60 | 6C (layer 1) and 6C (layer 1) | 12 | 5 |
| 61 | F3 (layer 1) and F4 (layer 2) | 10 | 4 |
| 62 | N (layer 1) and N (layer 2) | 9 | 4 |
| 63 | 8C (layer 1) and 8C (layer 2) | 8 | 3 |
| 64 | 4B (layer 1) and 4B (layer 1) | 8 | 3 |
| 65 | 3C (layer 1) and 3C (layer 1) | 8 | 3 |
| 66 | 1B (layer 2) and 1B (layer 1) | 6 | 2 |
| 67 | 3D (layer 1) and 3D (layer 1) | 6 | 2 |
| 68 | 7D (layer 1) and 7D (layer 1) | 6 | 2 |
| 69 | 1D (layer 1) and 1D (layer 1) | 6 | 3 |
| 70 | 8D (layer 1) and 8D (layer 1) | 4 | 2 |
| 71 | 8B (layer 1) and 8B (layer 1) | 2 | 1 |
| 72 | 1C (layer 1) and 1C (layer 1) | 0 | 0 |
The same deal, blocked
Let’s return to the same starting position and always take the playable pair highest in the stacks. After 44 pairs, no pairs of free tiles remain: the app would display “No more moves”. The tiles that would have formed the next pairs are still buried beneath their matching tiles or in the middle of full rows.
On this deal, always taking the first pair found instead clears the board: no simple way of playing guarantees a win. In the app, Undo lets you go back and choose another pair.