How to play mahjong solitaire
Everything you need to know about how to play mahjong solitaire in MahjongARC: the rules, the buttons, the three difficulty levels and how scoring works.
Mahjong solitaire rules: the goal
Clear the whole board by removing tiles in matching pairs. Only free tiles can be picked. When the last pair disappears, you win.
Every board is dealt so that it can always be cleared. If you get stuck, an earlier choice caused it, not the deal. Press Undo to step back and try another way.
Free tiles and picking tiles
A tile is free when both of these are true:
- No tile is lying on top of it.
- Its left side or its right side is open (nothing touches it on that side, in the same layer).
Tiles that are not free cannot be picked. Higher layers hide the tiles beneath them, so start by clearing the top.
Picking tiles
- Click a free tile. It turns gold and lifts slightly.
- Click a second, matching free tile and both disappear.
- Click a different free tile instead and the selection moves to it.
- Click empty space, or any blocked tile, to un-select.
- On a computer, free tiles glow light blue under the mouse and their name appears in the Tile box at the bottom of the game. Blocked tiles do not light up.
The tiles
Two tiles match when they are identical. The only exceptions are the bonus tiles: any flower matches any flower, and any season matches any season.
| Group | What it contains | Classic board (144) | Large board (216) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dots | Numbers 1–9 | 4 of each | 6 of each |
| Bamboo | Numbers 1–9 | 4 of each | 6 of each |
| Craks | Numbers 1–9 | 4 of each | 6 of each |
| Winds | 4 different tiles | 4 of each | 6 of each |
| Dragons | 3 different tiles | 4 of each | 6 of each |
| Flowers | All match each other | 4 | 6 |
| Seasons | All match each other | 4 | 6 |
Buttons and boxes
Top buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| New Deal | Deals a fresh game on the same layout and restarts the clock. |
| Shuffle | Re-deals the tiles that are left, in the same places. The new deal can always be cleared. It clears your Undo history. Not available in Hard. |
| Hint | Shows one matching pair in red for two seconds. Not available in Hard. |
| Undo | Puts back the last pair you removed. Works in every mode. |
| Layouts | Opens the layout picker and pauses the clock. Choosing a layout starts a new game on it. |
| Sound | Turns the sounds on or off. The game plays a click when you pick a tile or press Hint, and a match sound when a pair is removed or you press Undo. |
| Difficulty | Cycles Easy, Classic, Hard and starts a new deal. |
Boxes at the bottom
- Time: how long this game has taken. In Hard it counts down and shows Time left. A gold ×2 badge shows while a win would still score double.
- Tiles left: how many tiles are still on the board.
- Pairs available: how many pairs you can take right now. If three identical tiles are free, that counts as one pair, because after you take one pair the third has no partner left.
- Tile: the name of the free tile under your mouse (computers only).
- Score: your total score, in gold.
Difficulty levels
| Level | What is different |
|---|---|
| Easy | The most matching pairs are available at the start. No time limit. |
| Classic | Fewer pairs are available, so you have to look further ahead. No time limit. |
| Hard | The fewest pairs are available. Hint and Shuffle are switched off (the buttons are greyed out). A countdown starts at 20:00 (30:00 on large boards). If it reaches zero you lose that game and earn no points. |
Scoring
The faster you win, the more points you get. Every second you save is one point:
Score = the seconds left on a 20:00 clock when you win, and it is doubled if you win in the first half of that time (under 10:00). The ×2 badge next to the clock shows while the bonus is still on.
| Your winning time | Points |
|---|---|
| 5:00 | 1,800 (double bonus) |
| 9:59 | 1,202 (double bonus) |
| 10:01 | 599 |
| 15:00 | 300 |
| 19:59 or slower | 10 (the minimum for any win) |
Large boards (216 tiles) take longer, so every time is multiplied by 1.5: a 30:00 clock, and the double bonus until 15:00.
Your total score adds up all your wins. It is shown in gold at the bottom of the game and at the top of the layout picker. Every layout you have won gets a green checkmark and shows your best score.
Layouts
There are 120 layouts in two groups:
- Classic: 80 layouts with 144 tiles, the standard set.
- Large: 40 layouts with 216 tiles. They are bigger boards, so the tiles are drawn a little smaller to fit your screen.
Press Layouts to pick one. After you win, the layout picker opens by itself with your new score at the top, ready for your next game.
Saving your scores
The game saves automatically, with no account needed. It remembers:
- your total score, your wins, best scores and best times for each layout,
- your last 200 games, and your settings (difficulty, sound on or off).
A game in progress is not kept: every time you open or refresh the page, you start a fresh game on the Turtle layout. Your scores and checkmarks stay.
Tips
- Clear the top layers first. They hide the most tiles.
- When three or four identical tiles are free, take the ones that are blocking other tiles first.
- Open long rows from the ends, and do not seal yourself in by removing the tiles that keep a row open.
- Check the Pairs available box. If it is low, think before you click.
- Not sure? Press Undo as often as you like. It costs nothing but time.
- For big scores, move fast: finish in the first half of the clock for double points.
Want to know who makes the game? Learn more about MahjongARC.