How to play Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong solitaire is a calm tile-matching puzzle for one player. A layout of mahjong tiles is stacked in layers; take away two matching tiles at a time, but only tiles that are free: nothing on top and an open side on the left or right. Clear every tile to finish.
Step by step
Look at the layout
The tiles are stacked in layers to make a shape, such as the classic Turtle with all 144 tiles, or a smaller Pyramid, Small Fortress or Bridge.
Find the free tiles
A tile is free when no tile lies on top of it, even partly, and it has no tile touching its left side or no tile touching its right side. With Show free tiles on, the tiles you can’t take yet are a little darker.
Tap two matching free tiles
Tap one free tile to choose it: it lifts up with a blue outline. Then tap a free tile with the same picture. The pair fades away.
Know what matches
Most tiles match only an identical tile: the 5 of Dots with another 5 of Dots. The four flowers all match each other, and so do the four seasons.
Keep clearing
Taking a pair away often frees the tiles next to it or beneath it. Look for pairs that open up the tall stacks and the long rows.
Clear every tile to finish
If no free tiles match, use Shuffle to re-deal the tiles left (they can still all be cleared) or Undo to try a different pair. Hint shows one pair you can take.
The full rules
What you need
Nothing at all on GamesBento: the tiles are on screen, and you tap or click to choose them. To play at the table you need a set of 144 mahjong tiles and some patience to stack them into a layout.
The aim
Take away all the tiles, two at a time, in matching pairs. When the table is empty, you have won. There is no clock and nothing to lose, and every deal here can be cleared.
The free-tile rule
This is the one rule to learn. A tile is free, and can be taken, when both of these are true:
- Nothing is on top of it. Not even a tile on the layer above that only covers part of it.
- Its left side or its right side is open. If tiles touch both its left and its right side, it is stuck for now. A neighbour that is only half a tile higher or lower still counts as touching.
At the start, the free tiles are usually the ones at the ends of the long rows and the tile at the very top. As you take pairs away, more tiles become free.
With Show free tiles switched on (it is on unless you turn it off in Options), the tiles you can’t take yet are shown a little darker, so the free ones are easy to spot. If you tap a tile that isn’t free, it gives a small shake and the message explains why.
Which tiles match
A full set has 144 tiles:
- Dots, Bamboo and Characters: three suits numbered 1 to 9, four of each tile. Every one has a large number in its top-left corner, so you never need to count dots or read the Chinese numerals.
- Winds: East, South, West and North, four of each, shown with a big E, S, W or N and a compass arrow.
- Dragons: Red (a red 中), Green (a green sprout) and White (a blue frame), four of each.
- Flowers and seasons: one of each of four flowers on a pink panel, and four seasons on a blue panel.
Most tiles match only an identical tile: a 7 of Bamboo with another 7 of Bamboo, an East Wind with another East Wind. The exceptions are the flowers, where any flower matches any other flower, and the seasons, where any season matches any other season.
How to play
- Tap a free tile. It lifts up with a thick blue outline to show it is chosen.
- Tap a free tile with the same picture. The pair fades away.
- If the second tile doesn’t match, it becomes the chosen tile instead. Tap the chosen tile again to put it back.
You can also play with a keyboard: the arrow keys move between tiles, and Enter or Space chooses the tile you are on.
Layouts
- Pyramid: 68 tiles in three steps. A gentle start.
- Small Fortress: 68 tiles, a courtyard with a tower in each corner.
- Bridge: 70 tiles, two piers joined by a long deck.
- Turtle: the classic shape with all 144 tiles and five layers. The daily game is always the Turtle.
Hint, Shuffle and Undo
- Hint shows one pair you can take right now, with an amber ring.
- Shuffle re-deals the tiles still on the table into the same places. It is made so the tiles left can still all be cleared.
- Undo puts the last pair back (or takes back a shuffle).
When no free tiles match, a message says so and offers Shuffle and Undo. Very occasionally, near the end, the tiles left can’t be shuffled into a layout that clears (for example, two tiles left stacked on each other); then Undo a few pairs and try a different way. Hints, shuffles and undos are counted in your result, but none of them stops a game counting.
Tips for mahjong solitaire
- Free the tall stacks first. Tiles buried under several layers are the ones that cause trouble at the end, so work on the stacks early.
- Open up the long rows. Taking a tile from the end of a long row frees the next one along.
- When all four of a tile are free, take them as two pairs. That can’t go wrong. When only three are free, think about which two to take: the fourth might be stuck under one of them.
- Don’t rush to take every pair. If one of two matching pairs would free more tiles, take that one first.
- Use Undo freely. It is there to explore. There is no penalty for trying a different way.
The daily Turtle and practice
Every day there is one daily Turtle, the same for everyone on the same date. Finish it to add a day to your streak and, if you like, to the weekly leaderboard. Afterwards you can share your result or challenge a friend to the same deal.
For more play, choose New game, then Practice, and pick a layout. Each practice deal is new. Your game is saved as you go, so you can close the page and carry on later.
A calm puzzle for any age
This is free mahjong solitaire with big, clear tiles, no download and no sign-up, so it is easy to come back to whenever you have a few quiet minutes. Many people enjoy mahjong online as a relaxing way to unwind, and it is just as good played together, with someone else spotting the pairs.
Common questions
Can every game be won?
Yes. On GamesBento every deal is made so that it can be cleared, and so is every shuffle. You can still get stuck by taking pairs in an unlucky order, which is why Undo and Shuffle are there.
Why can’t I take a tile that looks free?
Check both sides and the top. A tile half-covered by a tile on the layer above is not free, and a tile with neighbours touching both its left and right side is not free, even if the neighbour is only half a tile up or down.
Do I need to read Chinese characters?
No. Every Dots, Bamboo and Characters tile has a large number in its top-left corner, the winds show E, S, W and N, and the dragons are a red 中, a green sprout and a blue frame. You only ever need to find two tiles that look the same.
Is there a time limit?
No. There is no clock unless you choose Show timer in Options, and even then it is only for you: the time never affects the leaderboard.
What is the daily game?
Each day there is one Turtle deal, the same for everyone. Clear it to add a day to your streak and, if you like, to the weekly leaderboard. Shuffles and hints are allowed and are shown in your result.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes, free mahjong online in your browser, with no download and no sign-up. The tiles are sized to fit your screen. On a phone, turning it sideways gives the biggest tiles; the smaller layouts are comfortable held upright too.
Where it comes from
The tiles come from Mahjong, the traditional four-player game of skill and luck that is generally thought to have taken shape in China in the nineteenth century and later spread around the world. A standard set has 144 tiles: three suits numbered one to nine (Dots, Bamboo and Characters), four winds, three dragons, and four flowers and four seasons. Playing alone with the tiles, by matching free pairs from a stacked layout, is a much newer idea. Tile-matching solitaire of this kind is usually said to have been developed for home computers in the 1980s, and the classic turtle-shaped layout dates from around then. It has since become one of the best-known solitaire games played on screens, under many different names.
