Which tiles are free
One hundred and forty four tiles, matched in pairs, cleared from the top down.
Mahjong Solitaire has one rule about which tiles you may touch, and everything else follows from it. A tile is free when no tile covers it from the layer above, and at least one of its left or right sides has no neighbour. Not the top or the bottom: the left or the right. Get that distinction straight and half the boards that looked stuck will open up.
The rule, in three parts
- Nothing above. A tile on a lower layer with any tile resting on it is blocked, even partially.
- One long side clear. A tile needs its left or right neighbour missing. Tiles above and below it in the same layer do not block it.
- Both conditions at once. A tile in the middle of a full row is blocked even though it is completely visible.
The shape everybody misreads
A long row on the bottom layer looks harvestable and is not. Only the two tiles at the ends are free, and they stay that way until the row is eaten inward from either end. A row of ten tiles therefore gives you exactly two choices at a time.
Upper layers are the opposite: fewer tiles, fewer neighbours, and each one you remove opens something underneath. That is why the top comes off first.
Using the rule to plan
Once you can see at a glance which tiles are free, you can start asking the better question: which free pair, once removed, makes the most new tiles free. That question is the whole game.
A quick habit helps here. Before each match, glance at the tile directly under each one you are about to take. If removing the pair exposes two new faces, it is usually the right match even when a tidier looking one is available elsewhere.
Play a game
Reading about a game is practice for playing it and nothing more. The board is open, it is free, and nothing needs installing.
Common questions
- What makes a tile free in Mahjong Solitaire?
- Nothing on top of it, and no neighbour on at least one of its left or right sides.
- Do tiles above and below block each other?
- No. Only the left and right sides matter, plus anything stacked on top.
- Why can't I select a tile I can see clearly?
- It almost certainly has neighbours on both sides. Visible and free are different things.
More on Mahjong Solitaire
How to win at Mahjong Solitaire
Every board here is solvable, so losing is a choice you made forty moves ago. The order to clear tiles in, and the habits that keep a board open.
The 144 tiles
The 144 tile set on the board: three suits of nine, four winds, three dragons, and the flowers and seasons that match differently from everything else.
Solitaire and the real thing
One is a four player gambling game from 19th century China. The other is a one player tile matching puzzle from a 1980s computer. Same tiles, different games.
This site is built around Xiangqi, Chinese chess. If you enjoy Mahjong Solitaire, the rules of Xiangqi take about five minutes, and there is always somebody to play.