Mahjong solitaire: the rules, the tiles, and how to clear the board

The rules

• The goal: take every tile off the board, two matching tiles at a time.
• Only free tiles can be taken: a tile is free when nothing lies on top of it and its left or its right side is open (no tile right beside it on that side). Tiles that are not free are drawn a little darker.
• Tap two free tiles that match and they go. Tap a tile again to put it down.
• Every deal can be won. The tiles are dealt by taking a finished board apart two free tiles at a time, so there is always a way through, though a careless pair can still block it. The game tells you as soon as that happens (see below).

The tiles

A full set has 144 tiles: four of each of 34 kinds, plus eight special ones.

Dots

1 to 9 circles. A small number in the corner shows the value.

Bamboo

1 to 9 sticks, also numbered in the corner.

Characters

The Chinese numbers 一 to 九 over 萬; the corner shows 1 to 9.

Winds

East 東, South 南, West 西 and North 北, with E, S, W, N in the corner.

Dragons

Red 中, green 發, and the white dragon, an empty blue frame.

Flowers and seasons

Four flowers (梅 蘭 菊 竹) and four seasons (春 夏 秋 冬), one of each. Any flower matches any flower, and any season any season.

Every other tile matches only a tile exactly like it.

Settings → Tiles offers two more sets of faces: large print, the same faces with their number or letter written big, and simple, a big number or letter in its suit's colour (blue dots, green bamboo, red characters) with a small sign of the suit, discs for the dragons, a blossom for the flowers and a sun for the seasons. Light up free tiles puts a soft gold rim on every tile that can be taken.

Settings → Theme sets the painted scene behind the board and the colour of the tiles' backs, seen along their edges: misty mountains with jade backs, a moonlit sea with blue ones, plum blossom with purple ones, or lanterns at dusk with red-brown ones.

The layouts

"Layout" on the home screen opens the layouts, each with a picture, its tiles and your best time on it; your choice is kept for the next game. Each layout you clear earns stars by your best time on it: one for clearing it, two for clearing it in 6 seconds a tile or less (7:10 on the Garden), three in 3.5 seconds a tile (4:10 on the Garden, 8:20 on the Turtle). The box that tells of a win shows the time for the next star.

On a phone held upright, a wide layout (the Turtle, the Butterfly, the Dragon, the Bridge) is dealt turned a quarter, so that its tiles come out half as big again. Settings → "Turn wide layouts to fit" switches that off.

The daily board

Every day there is one daily board, the same for everyone in the world, on the Pyramid, the Star and the Fortress in turn. Your best time on it is kept, and the home screen ticks it once you have cleared it. A new board comes at midnight UTC. "Share" sends your time with a link that opens the same board.

The calendar button beside "Daily board" shows the month: every day whose board you have cleared has a crown, and the days in a row with a crown are your daily streak. A day you missed can still be played from the calendar, from October 2026 on, and earns its crown too.

In Halloween week, 26 October to 1 November 2026, each day's crown is a pumpkin. The first pumpkin unlocks the Halloween theme (a harvest moon over glowing pumpkins, with orange tile backs) in Settings → Theme, and it stays yours after the week is over.

In Christmas week, 21 to 27 December 2026, each day's crown is a present. The first present unlocks the Christmas theme (a snowy pine forest, with holly-red tile backs) in the same place, and it stays yours too.

Hints, undo and shuffles

• Hint makes a pair of tiles blink: one that still leaves a way to clear the board.
• Undo takes pairs back, as many as you like (also with Ctrl+Z or Backspace).
• As soon as the tiles left can no longer all be taken away, whatever you take next, the game says so: No way to clear the board. It looks after every pair you take, and says it only when it has made sure. Take back undoes back to where the board could still be cleared (usually just the last pair), Shuffle deals the tiles left again, and Play on lets you go on as you are.
• When no two free tiles match, the game says No more pairs and offers to Shuffle: the tiles left are dealt again on the same places, again so that all of them can be taken. Only when their places cannot all be emptied two at a time (a tile on a tile, say) does it say the shuffle cannot be done. You can also take back or start again.

Bao, a young panda in a red silk waistcoat with a sprig of bamboo behind his ear, hops in at the big moments: he cheers when you clear a board (all the more for three stars or a new best time), salutes the daily board, and at a dead end says which button helps (Take back or Shuffle). He never covers a button, goes after a few seconds or at a tap, comes less often once you have met him a few times, and Settings → "Bao" turns him off.

Achievements and statistics

There are 26 achievements to collect: from your first win to a hundred, clearing each layout and then all ten, wins in a row, the daily board, the Garden in three minutes or less and the Turtle in ten, wins without undo, without a hint or without a shuffle, three pumpkins in Halloween week and three presents in Christmas week. "Achievements" on the home screen lists them all. They are kept on your device.

"Statistics", beside it, shows your games played and won, your win rate, your current and longest streak, and your best time: for all your games together, or for each layout and the daily board apart.

Tips for clearing the board

• Free the long rows first. Tiles at the ends of long rows hold many others in; take those first.
• Work on the tall stacks. Tiles under a stack cannot be reached until it is gone; clear the top layers early.
• Count the fours. When three of a kind are free, think before taking two: the third may be the only way to free the fourth.
• Take all four at once when you can. If all four tiles of a kind are free, taking them is never wrong.
• Do not rush the easy pairs. A pair that frees nothing can wait; one that opens a row cannot.
• Stuck? Undo or shuffle. Undo is unlimited, and the hint shows a pair that keeps a way through.

Controls

Tap or click a free tile to pick it, then its match. On a computer, H shows a hint, Ctrl+Z or Backspace undoes and Esc goes back to the menu (the game is kept).

Questions and answers

Is Mahjong free?

Yes. It is free to play, with ads in the browser version. There is nothing to buy.

Do I need to download anything?

No. It plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer. If you like, you can install it as an app: on Android and in Chrome on a computer, choose "Install app" on the home screen; on an iPhone or iPad, use Safari's "Add to Home Screen". Once installed, it starts even without a connection.

Is my game saved?

Yes. The game in hand and your records are kept on your device, without an account. Leave in the middle of a game and "Continue" on the home screen picks it up again.

Is this the mahjong played with four players?

No: it uses the same tiles, but it is a game for one, about matching pairs.

Which languages does it speak?

41, from English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish to Turkish, Swahili and Vietnamese. It starts in your browser's language when it has it, and you can change it on the home screen.

Something is wrong, or I have an idea

Write to support@brookmoon.com.