--- title: "Mahjong Solitaire: Free Online Tile Matching | Aback Games" description: "Play Mahjong Solitaire free in your browser. Match free pairs of tiles to clear three stacked layouts. Every deal can be cleared, with hints and undo." url: https://abackgames.com/games/mahjong-solitaire --- # Mahjong Solitaire Clear a stacked layout of Mahjong tiles by matching free pairs. Every deal can be cleared, with hints, undo and a shuffle when you get stuck. ## About Mahjong Solitaire Mahjong Solitaire is a calm tile-matching puzzle played with a set of Mahjong tiles. The tiles are stacked in layers, and you take them away two at a time by matching pairs, until the board is clear. The catch is that only free tiles can be taken, so the order matters: take the wrong pair and the tile you need next may stay buried. Every deal here is built so that it can be cleared, and the clock keeps your best time for each layout. ## How to play Mahjong Solitaire 1. Choose a layout: Pyramid (72 tiles on three layers), Fortress (108 tiles on three layers, with a tower at each corner) or Grand (all 144 tiles on four layers). 2. Click or tap a free tile, then a free tile that matches it. The pair is taken away. Blocked tiles are shaded. 3. Keep matching until every tile is gone. The Matches count shows how many matching free pairs there are right now. 4. If no free tiles match, shuffle the tiles that are left, undo some matches, or deal again. ## Mahjong Solitaire controls **Keyboard** - **Choose a tile**: Click, or Enter on the focused tile - **Move between free tiles**: Arrow keys (Tab reaches the tiles) - **Put a chosen tile back**: Esc, or choose it again - **Hint**: H - **Undo the last match**: U - **Shuffle the tiles left**: S - **New deal**: N - **Sound on or off**: M **Touch screens** - **Choose a tile**: Tap it - **Hint, undo, shuffle or deal again**: Tap the buttons above the tiles ## Mahjong Solitaire rules ### Free tiles A tile is free when no tile lies on top of it, even partly, and at least one of its long sides, left or right, is open. A tile hemmed in on both sides, or covered from above, is blocked until its neighbours are gone. ### Matching tiles There are three suits, dots, bamboo and characters, numbered 1 to 9, plus the four winds (east, south, west and north) and three dragons (red, green and white). Each of these comes four times, and a tile matches another with the same face. There is one of each of the four flowers and the four seasons. Any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season. Flowers sit in a round frame, seasons in a square one. Smaller layouts use part of the set. ### Winning, shuffles and records You win when every tile is gone. Each deal is made by taking the layout apart two free tiles at a time, so there is always a way to clear it, but a careless match can still leave you stuck. A shuffle deals the faces left over the same places again, in an order that can be cleared. Hints come from a solver that looks for a way to clear the board from where you are. Your best time on each layout is kept in this browser. A board you cleared with a hint or a shuffle counts as played, but not as a best time. Undo is always free. ## Tips and strategy - Look for tiles that free the most others: tiles on top of stacks, and tiles at the ends of long rows. - When all four tiles of a face are free, take both pairs. When only three are free, think about which one to leave. - Do not rush to take a pair just because you can. Keep a tile back if its partner is still buried under it. - Clear the tops of tall stacks early. Tiles left on the bottom layer are rarely the problem. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can every deal be won? Yes. Each deal is built by taking the layout apart in pairs, so a way to clear it always exists. The order you choose can still leave you stuck, which is what undo and shuffle are for. ### What happens if I leave in the middle? The deal in progress, including the clock, is saved in this browser after every move and picked up when you come back. ### Is this the Mahjong played with four players? No. It uses the same tiles, but it is a single-player matching puzzle, not the four-player game of drawing and discarding tiles. ## More games like this Puzzle ### [Memory Match](https://abackgames.com/games/memory-match) Turn over two cards at a time and remember where everything is. Find every pair in as few turns as you can. - Keyboard - Touch Card ### [Golf Solitaire](https://abackgames.com/games/golf-solitaire) A quick solitaire: clear all 35 cards from seven columns by playing each one a rank above or below the last. - Keyboard - Touch Puzzle ### [Word Search](https://abackgames.com/games/word-search) Find every hidden word in a grid of letters, across, down, diagonally and backwards. A fresh themed puzzle every time. - Keyboard - Touch [ All games](https://abackgames.com/games)