Mahjong vs. mahjong solitaire: they are not the same game
Two different games share one name. Mahjong solitaire is the single-player puzzle where you clear a pyramid of tiles by matching pairs, and mahjong is the four-player table game the tiles were made for. This site teaches and plays the second one.
They are different games that share a name and a set of tiles. Mahjong solitaire is a single-player computer puzzle from the 1980s: you clear a layout by matching pairs. Mahjong is a four-player draw-and-discard game, and the American version adds jokers, the Charleston, and a card of legal hands that resets every year.
This guide compares mahjong solitaire with four-player American mahjong, the version Mahjong Pals teaches and plays.
The puzzle
Mahjong solitaire was born on computers in the 1980s and never existed as a physical game. Tiles are stacked in a layout, you click matching pairs to remove them, and the game ends when the board is clear or no moves remain.
It’s a fine puzzle. It has no opponents, no turns, no strategy deeper than move order, and nothing to do with the game it borrowed its tiles from. If that’s what you came for, any search for “mahjong solitaire” will bury you in free versions.
The table game
Mahjong the actual game seats four players around 152 tiles. You draw, you discard, you claim other players’ throws, and you race to complete a fourteen-tile winning hand before the wall of undrawn tiles runs out.
The American version adds jokers, a tile-trading opening called the Charleston, and a card of legal hands that resets every year. It’s social and strategic, and it’s having a moment: clubs, kitchen tables, and weekly games are multiplying across the country.
See how the Charleston worksSide by side
| Feature | Mahjong solitaire | American mahjong |
|---|---|---|
| Players | One | Four |
| Where it’s played | On a computer | Around a table |
| Tiles | The mahjong set’s 144, used as art | 152, including jokers |
| Goal | Clear the layout by matching pairs | Complete a 14-tile winning hand before the wall runs out |
| Turns | None | Draw, discard, and claim other players’ throws |
| Extra rules | None | Jokers, the Charleston, and a card of legal hands that resets every year |
Where to start
If you’ve watched relatives play and wondered what the racket was, or a friend keeps inviting you and you’d rather not learn at the table, that’s exactly what this site is for. Start with the beginner guide, or jump straight into lessons that put tiles in your hands.
Start with the beginner guideCommon questions
Is mahjong solitaire real mahjong?
No. It borrows the tiles and nothing else. Real mahjong is a four-player draw-and-discard game; solitaire is a single-player matching puzzle invented for computers in the 1980s.
Which one do most websites mean by “mahjong”?
Solitaire. Nearly every browser game called just “mahjong” is the tile-matching puzzle. Four-player sites almost always say so: American mahjong, mah jongg, riichi, or “with friends”.
Is the four-player game hard to learn?
It has more rules than the puzzle, and it’s learnable in an afternoon with a guide. Most new players can get through a supported first hand within a few hours of starting.
Why do they share the same tiles?
Solitaire’s inventors used the mahjong set’s 144 tiles as their art. The set was distinctive and beautiful, and the name stuck to the puzzle even though the game underneath is unrelated.
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