Mahjong: Play Free Mahjong Solitaire Online
Classic Mahjong Solitaire · Works on mobile & desktop · No download
Play free Mahjong Solitaire online with a full board of 140 traditional tiles stacked in four layers. Match pairs of identical free tiles to clear them, use Hint when you are stuck and Shuffle when no pairs are left. It runs in your browser on phone or PC with no download. If you like card games too, try our classic Solitaire.
Mahjong is free on PlayQuestHQ with no download and no sign-up, and it works on phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
Match two identical free tiles to remove them. A tile is free when nothing sits on top of it and its left or right side is open. Any two season tiles match. Clear the whole board to win.
How to Play Mahjong
- Look for two identical tiles that are both free.
- A tile is free if no tile sits on it and its left or right side is open.
- Click the first tile, then its match, to remove the pair.
- Any two season tiles match each other.
- Clear all 140 tiles to win. Use Hint, Undo or Shuffle if you get stuck.
Controls
Click a free tile, then click a matching free tile to remove both.
Tap a free tile, then tap its match. Blocked tiles look slightly darker.
Tips to Win
- Clear tiles from the top layers and the long rows first.
- If three of a kind are free, think about which pair opens more tiles.
- Use Undo to try a different pair.
- Shuffle rearranges the remaining tiles so the game can still be finished.
Mahjong Tiles Explained
- Dots (circles): numbered 1 to 9, shown as colored circles.
- Bamboo (sticks): numbered 1 to 9, shown as green sticks.
- Characters: numbered 1 to 9 with the Chinese number on top and the symbol for ten thousand below.
- Winds: East, South, West and North.
- Dragons: Red, Green and White.
- Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Any two seasons match.
There are four copies of each suit, wind and dragon tile. A full set has 144 tiles; our board uses 140 of them so it fits neatly into the layout.
Mahjong Solitaire vs Classic Mahjong
Classic Mahjong is played by four people who draw and discard tiles to build sets, a little like the card game rummy. Mahjong Solitaire uses the same tiles but is a puzzle for one person: the tiles are stacked in a pattern and you remove matching pairs until the board is empty.
Mahjong Solitaire Rules at a Glance
Mahjong Solitaire is a one player matching puzzle: clear a stacked board of 140 tiles by removing pairs of identical free tiles, and you win when no tiles are left. A tile is free only when nothing sits on top of it and its left or right side is open.
| Players | One |
|---|---|
| Tiles | 140 tiles stacked in four layers |
| Goal | Remove every tile from the board |
| Free tile | No tile on top, with the left or right side open |
| Matching | Two identical free tiles; any two season tiles also match each other |
| Help buttons | Hint shows a pair, Undo takes back a move, Shuffle rearranges the tiles that are left |
| Winning | The board is empty; the clock records your time and your best time is saved |
The counter under the board shows how many tiles are left, so you can always see how close you are to the finish.
What Makes a Tile Free in Mahjong Solitaire?
A tile is free when two things are true at the same time: nothing sits on top of it, and at least one of its long sides, left or right, is open. If either part fails, the tile is blocked and cannot be picked.
- Covered from above: a tile with another tile resting on it stays blocked until the tile above is removed, even when both of its sides look open.
- Closed on both sides: a tile in the middle of a row, with neighbours touching both ends, is stuck even when nothing covers it.
- One open side is enough: a tile at the end of a row is free, as long as nothing sits on top of it.
On phone and tablet, blocked tiles look slightly darker, which makes the free tiles easier to spot. Removing one pair can free several tiles at once: the ones it covered, and the neighbours beside the gap it leaves behind.
Mistakes That Block the Mahjong Board
Most blocked boards come from pairs removed in the wrong order, not from a bad deal. Every pair changes which tiles are free, so a harmless looking match can quietly trap the last copy of a tile you need later.
- Taking the first pair you see: if a pair frees nothing beneath it, leave it for later and take a pair that opens the board first.
- Splitting three of a kind badly: when three copies of one tile are free, pick the pair that uncovers more tiles and remember where the spare copy stays.
- Clearing one side only: work across the whole board, because an untouched side keeps its tiles locked inside long rows.
- Shuffling too soon: try Undo first and retrace your last moves. Save Shuffle for when no pairs remain at all.
- Forgetting the season tiles: any two seasons match, even when the pictures differ, so they are the easiest escape when the board tightens up.
Good to Know
How do you play Mahjong Solitaire?
Remove matching pairs of free tiles until all 140 tiles have left the board. A tile is free when nothing sits on top of it and its left or right side is open. Click or tap one free tile, then click or tap its match to remove both, and use Hint, Undo or Shuffle when you get stuck.
Which Mahjong tiles match?
Identical tiles match each other, and any two season tiles match each other as well. Two 5 Dots tiles form a pair, and two Red Dragons form a pair, but a 5 Dots tile never matches a 5 Bamboo tile, because the suit must match too. Season tiles are the exception: Spring pairs with Summer, Autumn or Winter, even though the pictures are different.
Is this the same as the four player game?
No, Mahjong Solitaire is a one player matching puzzle, while classic Mahjong is a game for four players. In classic Mahjong the players draw and discard tiles to build sets, a little like the card game rummy. This game uses the same tiles, but here you simply remove matching pairs until the board is empty.
What is a free tile in Mahjong Solitaire?
A free tile has nothing on top of it and at least one open side, on the left or the right. Both parts must be true at the same time. A tile can be fully visible and still be blocked, when another tile covers it or neighbours close in on both of its sides.
What happens if no matching pairs are left?
Use Shuffle: it rearranges the tiles still on the board so the game can still be finished. Try Undo before you shuffle, because taking back a pair and choosing a different one often opens fresh pairs and keeps your shuffle in reserve.
Is my Mahjong progress saved?
Your best time is saved in your own browser on this device. Clearing your browser data will reset it.