What is Mahjong Solitaire?
Mahjong Solitaire is a tile-matching puzzle for one player. A layout of Mahjong tiles is stacked in layers, often in a recognisable shape such as a pagoda, a butterfly or a tower. Your goal is to remove every tile by matching identical pairs. There is no opponent, no scoring against a hand and no luck in the draw: every tile is on the table from the start, so each board is a pure puzzle of order and observation.
In Mahjong 2-Players & Solitaire you can play 500 Classic boards, a Daily Puzzle every day, or a private match against a friend on the same board.
The rules of Mahjong Solitaire
- Find a free tile. Only free tiles can be selected (see the rule below).
- Match it with an identical free tile. Tap one, then tap its twin. Both disappear.
- Only identical tiles match. A 5 of bamboo only pairs with another 5 of bamboo; an East wind only pairs with another East wind.
- Reveal the layers. Removing tiles uncovers the tiles beneath and frees their neighbours.
- Clear the board to win. The level is complete when the last pair is gone.
The free-tile rule, explained
A tile is free when both of these are true:
- no other tile is lying on top of it, even partially; and
- at least one of its long sides, left or right, is open.
A tile squeezed between neighbours on both the left and the right is blocked, even if nothing is on top of it.
The 34 Mahjong tiles
Mahjong Solitaire uses the traditional Mahjong tile set: three numbered suits and two groups of honour tiles, 34 different designs in total. Mahjong 2-Players & Solitaire uses exactly these 34 designs, with no flower or season tiles, so every match is between two identical tiles.
| Group | Tiles | How to recognise them |
|---|---|---|
| Characters | 1–9 | A number on top and the red character 萬 (wan) below. |
| Circles (dots) | 1–9 | Count the circles. The 1 is a single large decorated circle. |
| Bamboo | 1–9 | Count the bamboo sticks. The 1 is traditionally drawn as a bird. |
| Winds | 4 | East 東, South 南, West 西 and North 北, in blue. |
| Dragons | 3 | Red dragon 中, green dragon 發 and the white dragon, an empty framed tile. |
Beginners often mix up the 1 of bamboo and the 1 of circles, or read the white dragon as a blank tile. Once you know those three, every other tile is simply counted or read.
Mahjong Solitaire strategy that works
- Free the tall stacks first.Tiles on top of high stacks and at the ends of long rows hide the most other tiles. Clearing them opens the board fastest.
- Choose the pair that unlocks the most.When three identical tiles are free, match the two that uncover more tiles and keep the third for later.
- Clear full sets straight away.When every remaining copy of a tile is free, match them now. There is no wrong choice, and they stop cluttering your view.
- Leave the floor for later.Single tiles on the bottom layer usually block nothing. Taking them early wastes pairs you may need to open a stack.
- Work long rows from both ends.A long row only opens from its ends, so plan which end you will need before you commit a pair there.
- Look for the buried twin.Before matching, check whether one of the tiles you are about to use is the only way to reach a covered copy underneath.
- Slow down near the end.Most boards are won or lost in the last dozen tiles, where one careless pair can leave two identical tiles stacked on top of each other.
What to do when you get stuck
Every board in Mahjong 2-Players & Solitaire is dealt with at least one solution. If you can't see a move, tap the hint button and the game shows you a pair that can still be matched. Every puzzle includes one free hint. After that, a hint costs 20 coins, which you earn by clearing Classic levels for the first time. If you don't have enough coins, you can watch an optional ad for one.
2-player Mahjong rules
The 2 Players mode turns Mahjong Solitaire into a head-to-head race on a shared board:
- Open 2 Players and choose Start Game to create a private room.
- Share the room code. Your friend chooses Join Game and enters it.
- You both see the same board and take turns. Each turn is timed.
- Every pair you match scores a point for you and removes those tiles for both players.
- When the match ends, the player with the most pairs wins.
Because the board is shared, 2-player Mahjong adds a new layer of strategy: a pair that opens a stack for you also opens it for your opponent on their next turn.
Daily Puzzles and badges
After you finish Level 4, you earn your first badge, the Sakura Blossom, and the Daily Puzzle calendar unlocks. Each day brings one Daily Puzzle; complete it to unlock the next of 30 illustrated badges, from Lotus, koi and lanterns to the Jade Dragon and the Moonlit Garden.
Mahjong Solitaire vs four-player Mahjong
The two games share tiles but little else. Traditional Mahjong is played by four people who draw and discard tiles to build a winning hand, a little like the card game rummy. Mahjong Solitaire, sometimes called Shanghai or tile matching, is a single-player puzzle: all tiles are laid out face up, and you simply clear them in matching pairs. You don't need to know any Mahjong hands to play it.
Ready for your first board?
Play 500 Classic levels offline, today's Daily Puzzle or a private match with a friend. Free on Android.
