Classic Mahjong

How to play Classic Mahjong

• Click two identical tiles to remove them.
• A tile is free when nothing rests on top of it and either its left or its right side is open.
• Tiles blocked on both sides, or covered, cannot be taken.
• Flowers match any flower and seasons match any season.
• Clear all one hundred and forty four tiles to win.

Reading the stack

The turtle is built in layers, and the tiles you can see in the middle are almost all locked by the ones above them. The playable tiles are the ends of the long rows and the top of each stack.

Most beginners scan for identical pictures. Experienced players scan for free positions first and only then check what is sitting in them, which is a much smaller search.

Tips and strategy

Free the layers, do not clear the edges

The long rows on the outside are the easiest matches and the least useful ones. Every pair you take from an edge is a pair that would still have been available at the end, while the tiles trapped under the top layer only become playable if you dig.

Work top down. Take the pairs that uncover something.

Fours

Most tile faces exist four times. When all four are free you can clear both pairs safely. When only two are free, think before taking them, because you may be spending the copies that would have matched a tile you cannot reach yet.

The blocked centre

The spine down the middle of the turtle is the part that ends most games. It is one tile wide, which means each tile there is only free from one end, and taking them in the wrong order strands the rest.

Start at whichever end has the tile whose partner is also visible, and try not to open both ends at once.

Habits worth having

• Look for the tile that appears four times before the one that appears twice.
• If a match uncovers nothing, ask whether there is another match that does.
• Do not clear a pair simply because you found it. Clearing is only progress when it opens the board.