How to play Mahjong solitaire
Mahjong solitaire is a single-player game with mahjong tiles stacked in layers. You remove tiles in pairs: two identical tiles can go, but only if both are free, which means nothing lies on top and the left or right side is open. Clear every tile from the board to finish the game.
The rules of Mahjong
- The tiles lie on the board in one or more layers. Each picture appears on several tiles.
- A tile is free when nothing lies on top of it and either its left side or its right side is open.
- Select two identical tiles that are both free. They are taken off the board as a pair.
- Tiles that are not free cannot be chosen. Vellara shows them dimmed, so you can see at a glance which tiles are in play.
- Keep removing pairs until no tiles are left. If you run out of moves, step back with undo or shuffle the remaining tiles.
That is the whole rule. In Vellara every board can be solved, but not every route gets there, so how you choose your pairs matters.
Tips for Mahjong solitaire
Mahjong is not solved by pure logic, so these are practical habits. They help most on the larger boards with several layers.
Free what is buried first
Tiles at the bottom of a tall stack, or in the middle of a long row, are the hardest to reach. When you have a choice between two pairs, take the one that opens up the most covered tiles. Pairs on the outer edge can usually wait.
Look at all the identical tiles before you take a pair
Most pictures appear more than twice. If you take the wrong two of a set of four, the remaining two can end up trapped, one on top of the other, with no way to free them. Before you remove a pair, check where the other copies lie. In Vellara, the hint button shows you a pair that can go.
Use undo and shuffle without guilt
When you are stuck, undo takes you back step by step, so you can try a different pair. The shuffle button mixes the remaining tiles and lights up as soon as no move is left. The eye button switches off the dimming of tiles that are not free, if you prefer a plain board.
Playing Mahjong in Vellara
Take away two matching tiles, both of them free. Every board in Vellara can be solved, but you can still get stuck if you take the wrong pair, so the app gives you two ways back: undo and shuffle. Mahjong has five levels, from a single layer to five layers of tiles.
- Above the board: smaller, larger, fit to screen, an info button with the rules, undo, shuffle, and a hint that shows a pair that can go.
- Tiles that are not free are dimmed. The eye button turns that off.
- The five levels differ in layers and tiles: from one layer of about forty tiles up to five layers with up to a hundred and eighty.
- No time pressure: a clock runs along, but you can take as long as you like.
Questions about Mahjong solitaire
What is a free tile in Mahjong?
A free tile has nothing on top of it, and either its left side or its right side is open. You can only remove two identical tiles when both are free.
Can every Mahjong solitaire board be solved?
In Vellara, yes: every board can be solved. But not every route works, so if you take the wrong pair you can still get stuck. Undo and shuffle are there to get you out of that.
What do I do when there are no moves left?
Use undo to go back a few steps and choose a different pair, or shuffle the remaining tiles. In Vellara the shuffle button lights up as soon as no move is left.
Is Mahjong solitaire the same as the four-player game Mahjong?
No. The four-player game is played with the same kind of tiles, but it is a different game with drawing, discarding and building sets. Mahjong solitaire is a single-player puzzle about removing matching pairs.
Is Mahjong in Vellara free?
Yes. Vellara is free to download, needs no account and works offline.
Play Mahjong free in Vellara
Vellara is calm, free and works offline. It sends no notifications and puts no time pressure on you.