Free Games How to play Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire (also spelled mahjongg or mah jong, and sold under the names Shanghai and Taipei on home computers in the eighties and nineties) is a one-person matching game played with Mahjong tiles. The tiles are arranged in a stack, sometimes a flat layout, sometimes the layered “turtle” shape. You find two matching tiles, remove them, and keep going until the whole board is clear.
There are just two rules to remember:
- You may only remove a “free” tile. A tile is free when nothing is resting on top of it and at least one of its long sides (the left or the right) is open, with no tile right next to it. On this site, free tiles are shown bright and clear, while covered tiles look dim and greyed out so you can tell them apart at a glance.
- Matching tiles are removed in pairs. Tap one free tile to select it, then tap another free tile that shows the same picture. They disappear together. The flower tiles all match one another, and the season tiles all match one another, even though their pictures are slightly different. Those are the only two exceptions.
For why some deals get stuck and the three habits that prevent it, read my guide: How to Play Mahjong Solitaire.
That is the whole game. There is no math or spelling to do. Removing a pair often uncovers tiles beneath them, opening up new moves. Clear every tile and you win. If you change your mind, the Undo button puts the last pair back, as many times as you like.
Choosing a board size
Use the Board size buttons at the top to pick how big a game you want. Easy is a small board of 36 tiles, good for a quick round or for getting the hang of things. Medium gives you 72 tiles for a longer sit-down. Classic is the full 144-tile turtle, the traditional board that many people picture when they think of Mahjong Solitaire. You can switch at any time; choosing a new size simply starts a fresh game.
Why this Mahjong is easy to play
Large, high-contrast tiles
The tiles are big and bold by default, with clear pictures and crisp edges so it is easy to tell a bamboo from a circle. You can make them even bigger with the A− and A+ buttons in the Text size panel. Tap the round button in the lower corner of the screen to open it. Prefer sharp black on white? Turn on High contrast. Whatever you choose is saved automatically, so the game looks the way you like it every time you visit.
Blocked tiles are dimmed
Tiles you cannot yet remove are dimmed rather than hidden, and you can study the board for as long as you want.
When no pair is in sight
Cannot spot a match? Press the large orange Hint button. It finds a pair you can remove, highlights both tiles with a bright ring and a little star, and says in plain words what it found. You can use it to learn to read the board yourself.
Shuffle when the board runs dry
Sometimes the tiles still on the board have no remaining match. That is normal in Mahjong Solitaire. Instead of declaring the game lost, this version offers a Shuffle tiles button that mixes the remaining tiles so a new match opens up.
Always an Undo
Removed a pair you wish you had not? The Undo button steps back through your moves one at a time, as many times as you need.
Play with a keyboard or screen reader
You don’t need a mouse. Press Tab to move onto the board, use the arrow keys to move between the tiles you are allowed to pick, and press Enter or the space bar to select a tile. Press H for a hint and U to undo. Each tile announces its name, its layer and whether it is free or covered for screen-reader users, and every change is read aloud.
Tips for clearing the board
You can play by removing whatever pairs you happen to notice. A little strategy makes the bigger boards easier to finish.
- Free the buried tiles first. When you have a choice between two pairs of the same picture, it is usually wiser to remove the pair that is holding down other tiles. Each tile you lift may uncover something new.
- Work from the top and the outside. The tiles stacked highest and the ones at the open edges are almost always free, so they are a good place to start. The tiles trapped in the middle of the bottom layer will free themselves up as you clear the ones around them.
- Watch the sets of four. Most pictures appear four times on the board, which means two possible pairs. If three of the four are showing and only one is buried, try to remove the two that free up the most tiles rather than rushing the easy match.
- When in doubt, press Hint. There is no penalty and no limit. The Hint button will always show you a safe move, and watching where it points is one of the best ways to get a feel for the board.
- Use Shuffle when you need it. If you reach a point with no matches left, the Shuffle button mixes the remaining tiles so play can continue. It is part of the game, not a failure.
If a board is not going your way, start a fresh one. Every new game is dealt so that it can be solved.
A little about the tiles
The tiles in Mahjong come in a few families. There are three numbered suits, the Characters, the Bamboo and the Circles, each running from one to nine. There are four Winds (East, South, West and North) and three Dragons (Red, Green and White). Finally there are the Flowers and Seasons: any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season. You do not need to know any of this to play.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this Mahjong Solitaire really free?
- Yes. Every board is completely free to play, with no sign-up and no email required. There are no pop-ups and nothing that sits over the tiles. To keep the site free I may show a few small, clearly-marked ads off to the side.
- What is the difference between this and the Mahjong game with four players?
- This is Mahjong Solitaire, a one-person tile-matching game played with Mahjong tiles. You are not playing against anyone, and you do not need to know the four-player table game. You find and remove matching pairs until the board is clear.
- Is there a timer?
- No. Nothing on the board counts time, and a board with no matches left does not end the game. The next answer covers what to do then.
- What if I get stuck and there are no matches left?
- Press “Shuffle tiles”. It re-mixes the tiles still on the board so a winnable arrangement opens up. Hint only points at a pair that already exists, so it cannot help when there is no match. Undo steps back a move, and “New game” deals a fresh board.
- Can I make the tiles bigger?
- Yes. Use the A− and A+ buttons at the very top of the page to make all the tiles and text larger or smaller, and the High contrast button to sharpen everything to black on white. Your choice is remembered for next time.
- Can I play without a mouse?
- Yes. You can play entirely with the keyboard: press Tab to reach the board, use the arrow keys to move between the tiles you are allowed to pick, and press Enter or the space bar to select a tile. Press H for a hint and U to undo.
The other matching games, Memory Match, Bingo and the Jigsaw, are on the matching games page.
