How to play mahjong solitaire

The rules

Clear the board by matching pairs of identical tiles. You can only pick a tile that is free: nothing is stacked on top of it, and its left or right side is open. Pick one free tile, then its twin, and both are removed. Clear all 144 tiles to win.

Two groups are special: any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season.

In Jade Haven

• Six layouts: Turtle, Pyramid, Fortress, Fuji, Torii and Taiko Bridge. Zoom in on the big ones.
• Every deal is dealt backwards from a clear table, so a full clear is always possible. Shuffles stay solvable too.
• Hint shows a pair (keyboard H), Undo takes a move back (Z), and Shuffle rearranges what is left.
• The Daily challenge gives everyone the same board each day on a rotating layout. Clear it to build your streak.

Strategy

• Free the tall stacks first. Tiles buried under several layers are the ones that trap you later.
• Open long rows from the ends. A row of twelve tiles only frees two at a time; start on them early.
• Count before you match. Every tile has four copies. If all four are free, match them in any order. If three are free, choose the pair that unblocks more tiles, and keep the third.
• Do not match just because you can. A pair that frees nothing can wait; a pair that uncovers a stack cannot.
• Watch for twins on top of each other. If two identical tiles are stacked, the bottom one can only leave with one of the other two copies. Keep one of those free.

When you are stuck, Undo a few moves rather than shuffling straight away. The mistake is usually two or three matches back.

Updated 2 November 2026. Written by JPAM Studio, the makers of Jade Haven Mahjong.