The three numbered suits
Most of the board is made of three suits, each running from 1 to 9 and appearing four times. They are the tiles you learn first because their numbers make them easy to read.
| Suit | Looks like | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Circles | Discs, from one dot to nine | 9 tiles × 4 copies |
| Bamboo | Sticks, one for each number | 9 tiles × 4 copies |
| Characters | A numeral over a symbol | 9 tiles × 4 copies |
The 1 bamboo tile is traditionally drawn as a bird instead of a stick. It still pairs with the other 1 bamboo tiles — it just does not look like them at first glance.
The winds
Four tiles each for East, South, West and North. In solitaire they behave exactly like any other four-of-a-kind: you match the same wind with itself. On a busy board they are easy to confuse with the dragons, so check the character before you click.
The dragons
Three dragons — red, green and white. Each appears four times and pairs only with its own colour. The white dragon is the one that trips people up: in many tile sets it is drawn as a blank tile or a plain rectangle, which looks like an error until you know what it is.
The bonus tiles, and how they pair
Here is the part most beginners get wrong. The flowers and the seasons are often set up as bonus tiles, and they pair by group rather than by exact match.
- Four flowers: plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo. Any flower can pair with any other flower.
- Four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Any season can pair with any other season.
- Because they cross-pair within their group, they are usually the safest tiles to clear early — and the most useful for unblocking a crowded board.
In some layouts the flowers and seasons pair exactly instead. The board will make it obvious which version you are playing once you try a match, but the group-pairing rule is the common one in the classic turtle layout.
Reading the board quickly
- Scan in suits, not in shapes. Once you can tell circles from bamboo from characters at a glance, the board becomes far less noisy.
- Use the bonus tiles as a release valve. When you are stuck, a flower or season match often unblocks a stack without costing you anything.
- Count copies. Knowing that a tile has three copies left tells you its partner is still somewhere on the board — or that it is not.
With the tiles understood, the rules themselves are quick to pick up — Mahjong Solitaire rules walk through the layout and the all-important free-tile rule. Or start playing straight away on Mahjong Solitaire.
