Free Mahjong Online

The word covers two very different games. Traditional mahjong is a four-player tile game from 19th-century China with drawing, discarding and scoring — closer to rummy than to a puzzle. What you find online under the name is nearly always mahjong solitaire, a single-player puzzle invented in 1981 that borrowed the tiles and nothing else.

Classic mahjong solitaire

Tiles are stacked in a layout. You remove identical pairs, but only tiles that are uncovered and free on their left or right side. Clear the board to win.

The one rule that decides games: clear tall stacks before flat areas. A tile buried under two others blocks everything beneath it, and matching a pair whose twins are stacked on each other is how a board becomes unsolvable. Mahjong Classic is the plain version; Mahjong Relax removes the timer entirely, which turns it into a planning puzzle rather than a race.

Mahjong connect

A different game with the same tiles. Nothing is stacked — instead you link two matching tiles with a clear path that turns no more than twice. Tiles in the same row or column always connect if nothing sits between them, which is the fastest thing to scan for.

Mahjong Connect Deluxe adds time freeze and hints; Xmas Mahjong is the festive version.

Triple-match

The newest variant, and the most stressful. You tap tiles into a collection tray that holds seven, and any three matching tiles there vanish. Fill the tray without completing a set and you lose — so the whole game is keeping free slots as a buffer and never tapping a tile whose partners are both buried. Tap 3 Mahjong and Mahjong Street Cafe are the two here.

Which to play

• Want to relax? Mahjong Relax — no clock.
• Want a challenge? Mahjong Juicy — five minutes a board.
• Want a story? Mahjong Crimes — Agatha Christie cases across 100+ levels.
• Want something new? Tap 3 Mahjong.