Large Mahjong Solitaire

How to play

Match two identical free tiles to remove a pair. A tile is free when no tile covers it and at least one of its left or right sides is open. An open top or bottom edge alone does not count. Dimmed faces are blocked; removing neighboring tiles or an upper layer can make them available.

Tap a free tile, then tap its matching partner. Tap the selected tile again to cancel. Different faces shake and stay on the board. Dots match dots of the same number, bamboo matches bamboo of the same number, and numerals with a character-suit mark match the same numeral. Winds match the same letter; dragons match the same colored shape. There are no flower or season tiles in these compact sets.

Undo restores the last pair, including after a win. Hint outlines one available pair without removing it. When no match is available, Shuffle redeals the remaining faces in their current positions and checks a complete removal order. Reset returns to the original deal. Tab visits free tiles; Enter or Space selects the focused tile.

The timer starts with your first selection and stops when the board is empty. Pairs left counts the removals needed to clear the board; available moves counts legal matching pairs right now. Share sends your completed time and a fixed link without any tile positions. Your moves and timer are saved on this device.

A short history

Mahjong solitaire is a single-player tile-matching puzzle that grew popular on computers in the 1980s. It borrows tile families from the older Chinese game of mahjong, but its goal and rules are different: you clear a layered arrangement rather than build a hand against other players. These boards use our own narrow silhouettes and newly drawn faces. They contain 36, 54 or 72 tiles instead of a full traditional set, making the layers easier to read on a phone.

The daily medium deal changes at midnight UTC and is the same for everyone. A dated share link keeps that day available later. The small Lantern, medium Garden and large Steps pages begin with fixed seeded deals. New deal changes the seed in your browser and share address; it never rewrites the published default. Code builds every deal by placing pairs in reverse play, then a separate checker replays legal removals until nothing remains. Every starting deal has a winning path, though choosing a different matching pair can leave you stuck. Faces are mixed across every layer. Shuffle checks whether the remaining positions can still be cleared; if no winnable shuffle is left, use Undo or New deal.

Solving tips

Look above a tile before looking beside it. A clear left edge cannot free a tile under another layer. Start by comparing the upper faces with the outer ends of each row, and notice which removal would expose the most useful tiles.

When several identical tiles are free, pause before pairing them. Two look-alike choices can open very different parts of the board. Prefer a match that releases a covered face or a long row rather than one that changes little. Undo lets you compare those choices.

Use numbers as a quick check on dots and bamboo, but also check the suit. A red diamond, green circle and blue outlined rectangle are different dragons; their shapes distinguish them even without color. A daily streak counts consecutive UTC dates cleared, including games finished with hints or shuffles. Replaying a completed date does not add another win.