Mahjong Solitaire

Mahjong Solitaire is a matching puzzle built from the tiles of the Chinese game mahjong, though the two play nothing alike. There are no other players and no hands to build — just a stack of tiles arranged in a layered pattern, and the quiet problem of taking it apart in the right order.

The rule is simple enough to state in one sentence: match two identical tiles that are both free. A tile is free when nothing sits on top of it and at least one of its left or right sides is open. That single restriction is what turns a matching game into a puzzle, because the tile you want is very often buried under the tile you should have moved first.

The mistake nearly everyone makes early is matching greedily. Two identical tiles are visible, so you take them — and in doing so you strip the support from a pair you needed later, or you leave two copies of a tile stranded on the same row where only one can ever be free. Good play means scanning for tiles that appear four times and thinking about which pair to spend, keeping the other two as insurance.

The game is a campaign across four worlds — Bamboo Grove, Tea House, Lantern Night and Moon Temple — and each world adds one thing. Bamboo Grove opens on a full board of circles and bamboo, two layers high, and reaches the classic board size by its fourth level, Tea House brings in winds and dragons, Lantern Night adds the flower tiles, which match any other flower, and Moon Temple adds the seasons, which match any other season. The layouts change as you go, from open courtyards and columns to bridges, butterflies and rings, and the fourth world closes on a field of pagodas at the classic size of around 144 tiles. After that the levels keep coming: Moon Temple shapes return turned around and dealt a little harder, a fresh board every level.

Every cleared level earns stars: three for a clean clear with no hint and no shuffle, two if you needed a hint, one if you shuffled. Stars and your best time are saved, and the Replay button on the win card lets you play a level again to chase the third star. Every board is a full-size layout from the first level; the early ones are open and forgiving, the late ones are long rows and tall stacks that reward planning. There is also a Daily board, the same for everyone that day.

Click a free tile (nothing on top, one side open — those tiles glow), then click a matching tile to remove the pair. The Pairs counter shows how many matching pairs you can still take: it turns amber at two or fewer, which is your warning that the board is closing. Every board is dealt so a full solution exists, so a deadlock is always the order you chose. Use Hint to find a move and Shuffle to re-deal what's left; if a board locks up again, the level restarts. Keys: H hint, S shuffle, N restart.