Mahjong Solitaire Rules

These are the rules implemented in Jade Tile Game. They describe this timed Solitaire version, rather than the scoring or turn-taking rules of four-player Mahjong.

144 tiles, five layers, one objective

Remove all 72 pairs from the Turtle layout. The five layers contain 87, 36, 16, 4, and 1 tiles, from the bottom upward. New deals change the tile arrangement while preserving this shape. The generator searches for a deal with a removal path and falls back to a random deal if that search fails. Solvability is not guaranteed, and following a different removal order can also leave you stuck.

Tiles in a complete Jade Tile Game board
GroupNumber of tilesMatching rule
Characters, bamboo, dots108: 1–9 in each suit, four of eachSame suit and number
Winds16: four each of east, south, west, northSame direction
Dragons12: four each of red, green, whiteSame dragon
Flowers4 different picturesAny flower with any flower
Seasons4 different picturesAny season with any season

A bird represents one bamboo. The white dragon is the tile with a rectangular frame. The numbered flower and season pictures do not match across those two groups.

When a pair is legal

Both tiles must be open at the time of removal. A tile is open when no remaining upper-layer tile overlaps it and at least one horizontal side is free of a neighboring tile on its layer. Neither a free top edge nor a free bottom edge replaces that left-or-right requirement.

Matching tiles can be far apart and can sit on different layers. They do not need an empty connecting path. Removing one pair may reveal new tiles, free a row's side, or do both. A partly exposed tile under another tile is not yet open.

What Open Matches counts

This counter shows all legal two-tile choices on the current board. Two open copies of a symbol give one choice; three copies give three choices; four copies give six choices. Those six choices are alternatives, not six pairs you can remove from four tiles. A higher counter is useful but does not prove the whole board is still solvable.

How points are calculated

Every successful pair earns 100 base points. Two independent bonuses can increase that reward:

  • Quick chain: match again within eight seconds of the previous pair. The second pair in the chain gets 45 extra points, the third gets 90, the fourth gets 135, and so on. A gap longer than eight seconds resets the quick chain.
  • Same-type streak: remove consecutive pairs with the same matching key. The second pair of the same type gets 35 extra points. For example, four bamboo followed by four bamboo qualifies; four bamboo followed by six bamboo does not. Flowers count as one type, and seasons as another. This streak depends on pair order, not elapsed time.
A worked example with no hints
MoveCalculationRunning total
First pair: four bamboo100100
Second pair: four bamboo, 5 seconds later100 + 45 quick + 35 same-type280
Third pair: east winds, 6 seconds later100 + 90 quick470
Fourth pair: dots, more than 8 seconds later100570

Clearing all 144 tiles adds a 5,000-point completion bonus. Time passing does not subtract points, and there is no remaining-time multiplier. A faster move is not necessarily a better move if it prevents you from clearing the board.

Hint costs and repeat presses

All hints before the first successful pair are free. Once the timer starts, the cost rises each time a new, previously uncharged physical pair is shown. Repeating the same pair never adds another charge, even if you press Hint many times.

Cost of new hints after the first match
Charged hintPoints deducted
First85
Second150
Third235
Fourth340
Fifth465

The cost for charged hint number n is 40 + 35n + 10n². Your score stops at zero: a 150-point hint used with 100 points leaves zero, not a hidden minus 50. Your next pair earns points from zero. The count of charged hints still advances when you cannot pay the full cost.

A hint displayed before play can be charged if requested again after the first successful pair. It was free while the clock was stopped, rather than permanently exempt from later costs. Hint offers a legal pair; it does not search for an optimal solution.

Timer and end conditions

The ten-minute countdown begins with your first successful pair. It continues during play and while you look at game dialogs or another tab. There is no pause button. It stops when the round ends.

Clearing every tile wins the round. No legal pairs with tiles remaining ends it early, and the clock reaching zero ends it even if moves remain. The no-moves result appears after a short delay so the last removal can settle.

Completion is removed tiles divided by 144, rounded to a whole percentage. Removing 116 tiles leaves 28 and reports 81% complete and 19% remaining. A fully cleared board gets Congratulations; an unfinished board at 80% or more gets Good game; 60–79% gets Nice progress; below 60% gets Keep practicing.

Personal records, saved in this browser

Scores contains your best submitted result for today, this calendar week, and this calendar month, using your device's local time. Weeks start on Monday. A better submitted score replaces a lower one for the same local player. A result is not saved until you choose Submit Score at the end.

These are personal browser records, not a shared online leaderboard. Changing your display name does not create a new player identity. Switching browsers, clearing site data, or using private browsing can hide or remove records. There is no account or cloud backup.

Practice choosing better pairs · Return to the Turtle board