Tenpai · Understanding Mahjong
Mahjong Solitaire rules
Find two identical free tiles. Remove the pair from the board. You win when no tiles remain.
Your first move
- Find a tile that you are allowed to remove.
- Tap it. It will be highlighted as your selection.
- Tap a second free tile with the same design. Both disappear from the board.
You do not need to drag the tiles. Tap the selected tile again to deselect it. If you tap a different free tile with another design, that tile becomes your new selection.
When is a tile free?
For each of the two tiles, both conditions must be met:
One free side is enough. Both sides may be free, but they do not have to be. “On top” means that a tile on a higher layer overlaps its face; even partial overlap blocks it. This does not mean a tile that appears higher up the screen but is beside it.
Both tiles must already be free before the move. Selecting a matching partner does not make a blocked tile available.
Which tiles match?
The tiles must have the same identity. For numbered tiles, both the suit and number must match: Bamboo 3 matches Bamboo 3; Circles 3 and Bamboo 4 do not. Winds must be the same wind, and dragons the same dragon.
The flower and season tiles used here are Orchid and Winter. Orchid matches only Orchid, and Winter only Winter. There is no general rule that any flower matches any other flower. You can view the other flowers and seasons in the tile gallery. Learn about their meaning on the page Flowers and seasons.
The bird is Bamboo 1. The White Dragon is a tile in its own right, not a joker. The KIRI, Exklusiv and Jade designs do not change the matching rule.
Clearing the board
The Turtle starts with 144 tiles, or 72 pairs. The smaller Courtyard starts with 72 tiles, or 36 pairs. Removing a pair may free other tiles.
Every new game is generated with at least one solution. You are free to choose any legal pair. A different sequence of moves can lead to a dead end, however. A pair that is currently available is therefore no guarantee of winning.
Before moving, look at which tiles will become free underneath or alongside the pair. If several identical tiles are free, compare their positions. The clock shows your playing time; there is no time limit that ends the game.
When you would like some help
- Hint
- Opens help at the game table. The pair display highlights two matching tiles that are currently free. If several pairs are available, you can move to the next pair. This does not remove the tiles, and it does not calculate a guaranteed winning path.
- Undo
- Returns the last removed pair to its original positions. You can undo several moves in succession while they are still stored in the history.
- Shuffle
- Redistributes the designs across the positions that are still occupied. Tiles already removed stay removed. A successful shuffle gives the remaining board a solution again and clears the previous undo history. If no suitable arrangement is found for the remaining stacks, they stay unchanged. You can then undo a move or start a new game.
The game tells you when there are no free pairs left. It does not remove any tiles automatically. You decide whether to undo, shuffle or start again.
Under Game → Game settings you can allow hints, turn explanatory help on or off, and choose whether opening help immediately highlights a pair.
Controls and settings
View and zoom
Use two fingers to zoom in on the board, then pan around it. On a computer, you can drag a zoomed board. “Whole board” returns to the overview. Changing the view or rotating your device does not change the tile arrangement.
Appearance and your defaults
Under “Appearance”, choose your tiles, surface and colour. Under “Game settings → Your defaults”, set the defaults for new games. Saving a default selection does not change your current game. The preset layout is Turtle, and the preset tile set is Jade.
New game or Cancel
“New game” starts a new game. After you confirm, “Cancel” ends the current game and deletes its progress. Your appearance preferences are kept. Closing these rules does not end your game.
Saving your game
Tenpai saves your game and settings locally in this browser, where the browser allows it. This is not account-based saving across devices. Deleting the website's data can also delete your saved game.
Solitaire and table Mahjong
These rules apply to the Mahjong Solitaire played here: you clear a laid-out board on your own. Table Mahjong uses different rules. The traditional tile meanings in the gallery provide background; they do not add special moves or bonus points to this game.