Mahjong Solitaire Tips: How to Clear the Whole Board
How to choose the right pair in Mahjong solitaire: free the long rows first, open up the top of the pile and know when to hold a match back.
Sunroom Games · Updated
Mahjong solitaire looks like a game of spotting matches, and at first it is. But the real game is choosing which match to make. Clear the wrong pair early on and, forty moves later, you can find the last two dragons stacked one on top of the other with no way to separate them.
Every game on Sunroom Games is set up so the whole board can be cleared. This guide is about finding that path. If you'd like the basic rules first, see how to play Mahjong solitaire.
The one rule that matters
A tile is free when nothing is sitting on top of it and it can slide out to the left or to the right — that is, at least one of its two long sides isn't touching another tile. Only free tiles can be matched.
That simple rule explains almost every tip below. The tiles that block the most other tiles are the ones in the middle of long rows and the ones at the top of the pile. Free those, and the rest of the board opens up.
Getting to know the tiles
A full set has 144 tiles. Most belong to three suits, numbered 1 to 9, with four copies of each tile:
Then there are the honor tiles — four winds and three dragons, again four copies of each — and eight special tiles:
The flowers and seasons are the only tiles that match without being identical, which makes them handy: any two free flowers make a pair.
Tips for clearing the board
1. Look before you match
When you spot a pair, pause for a moment and count how many copies of that tile you can see. Every face has four copies (except the flowers and seasons), and where the other two are makes a big difference.
- All four free? Match them both. There's no risk at all.
- Three free? Choose the pair carefully. Take the two that are blocking the most tiles, and leave the one that's blocking least.
- Two free, two buried? Before you match, check that the buried two aren't stacked on top of each other. Two identical tiles in the same stack can only be separated if you still have another copy to match one of them with.
2. Open up the long rows from the ends
In the classic Turtle layout, the longest rows have twelve tiles. Only the tile at each end of a row is free, so a long row is a long queue. Work your way in from both ends, and each match brings a new tile within reach.
The three single tiles at the far left and far right of the Turtle sit across the ends of the two middle rows. Until they go, the middle rows are blocked at that end — so match those end tiles as soon as you can.
3. Clear the top of the pile early
The Turtle is five layers deep in the middle, and the single tile at the very top sits across four tiles that can't move until it's gone. Every tile you clear from the upper layers uncovers more of the pile, so a match high up is usually better than one on the bottom layer that frees nothing new.
4. Prefer the match that frees something
When you have a choice between two pairs, ask what each one opens up. A pair that frees a new tile — or better, two — is worth more than a pair from the edge of the board that frees nothing. If neither frees anything, take the pair whose tiles have the fewest copies left elsewhere.
5. Don't hurry the flowers and seasons
Because any flower matches any other flower, these tiles are flexible — which means there's rarely a reason to rush them. Save them for when a flower or season is blocking something you need.
When you get stuck
Use Undo
If you find yourself with no moves, it's usually because of a choice a few matches back — often taking the wrong two out of three. Our Mahjong has Undo, so step back a few matches and try the other pair.
Use Shuffle as a last resort
The Shuffle button rearranges the tiles that are left into a new layout. It always leaves you with a board that can still be cleared, so you're never truly stuck. Try Undo first, though: working out where things went wrong is how you get better at the game.
Ask for a hint
The Hint button lights up a pair that's free right now. It doesn't plan ahead for you, so treat it as a nudge rather than advice — and still run through tip 1 before you take it.
Turtle or Tower?
The Turtle is the classic 144-tile layout, best on a computer or tablet held sideways. The Tower uses 78 tiles in a tall shape, so the tiles stay big on a phone held upright. It's a quicker game too — a nice one for a coffee break. You can switch between them in Settings.