The rules of Mahjong Solitaire
In brief
Remove the 144 tiles two at a time. A pair can be removed when both tiles are free (nothing on top, one side clear) and identical; any two flowers or any two seasons also match. The game is won when the board is empty, and ends when no more pairs are playable.
The tiles
The app’s tile set contains 144 tiles of 42 types:
| Family | Tiles | Copies |
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo, characters, dots | 3 suits numbered from 1 to 9 | 4 of each, 108 in total |
| Winds and dragons | 4 winds (north, south, east, west), 3 dragons (red, green, white) | 4 of each, 28 in total |
| Flowers | 4 different flowers | one of each |
| Seasons | 4 different seasons | one of each |
In this site’s diagrams, each tile carries the label used in the app’s “Numbers” style: 5B for the 5 of bamboo, 5C for the 5 of characters, 5D for the 5 of dots, N S E W for winds, R G Wh for dragons, F1 to F4 for flowers and S1 to S4 for seasons.
Free tiles
A tile can only be selected if it is free, meaning:
- nothing on top: no tile in the layer immediately above overlaps it, even by half a tile;
- one side clear: its left side or its right side has no neighboring tile on the same layer. The top and bottom edges do not count.
The two tiles at the ends are free: one of their sides is clear. The two in the middle have a neighboring tile on each side and a tile on top. In the app, a blocked tile has a darker face; at the start of the game in the examples, 35 out of 144 tiles are free.
Allowed pairs
- Two identical tiles: the same suit and number, or the same wind, or the same dragon. A red dragon does not match a green dragon.
- Any two flowers, even if their designs differ.
- Any two seasons. A flower never matches a season.
Tap a free tile to select it. Tap a second free tile: if it forms a pair with the first, both disappear; otherwise, the selection moves to the new tile. Tapping the selected tile again deselects it; tapping a blocked tile removes nothing and clears the selection.
Winning and getting blocked
The game is won when all 144 tiles have been removed, making 72 pairs. It is blocked as soon as no pairs of free tiles remain: the app displays “No more moves” and offers to undo the last move or start a new game. There is no point-based score and no shuffling of the remaining tiles: you play against the displayed time.
The app’s helpers
- Hint: circles a playable pair; the app first offers the next pair in its winning plan when it is available. Hints used are counted in the statistics.
- Undo: restores the last pair removed; the stack holds up to 72 pairs, covering the entire game.
- Game code: a code such as MJ1-L00-AAAAABL recreates the same layout and tiles.
- Game paused: the timer stops.
- Leaderboard: your 10 fastest winning times, with the layout played.