Here is how to play mahjong solitaire: find two identical tiles that are both free, select them, and they leave the board. Keep removing pairs until no tiles remain. You can try it right now in Jade Pairs, a free browser game on Mayavoo that needs no download.
The goal
Mahjong solitaire is a game for one person. It borrows the tiles from classic mahjong, the four-player game, but the rules are much simpler. Tiles are stacked in a shape on the table, some layered on top of others. You win when the table is empty.
The one rule that matters: free tiles
You can only pick a tile that is free. In most versions that means two things:
- No other tile is lying on top of it.
- At least one of its long sides, left or right, is not touching another tile.
A tile in the middle of a row is blocked even if nothing covers it, because both sides are taken. A tile on the bottom of a stack is blocked until the tiles above it are gone. Picking pairs is easy; the skill lies in spotting which pairs are free and which ones you should take first.
Step by step in Jade Pairs
- Open Jade Pairs on Mayavoo in any browser.
- Pick a layout. Tea Break, Turtle, Pyramid, Fortress, Dragon and Bridge are all available.
- Tap or click a free tile, then tap or click its match. The pair is removed.
- Repeat until the board is clear.
- If you get stuck, press Hint to see a pair, or Undo to step back.
Jade Pairs builds every deal backwards from an empty table, so each game you start has a way to be finished. That is useful when you are learning, because a stuck board always means a different move would have worked.
Controls at a glance
| Action | Mouse or touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a tile | Tap or click | Enter or Space |
| Move between free tiles | Not needed | Tab or arrow keys |
| Show a hint | Hint button | H |
| Undo a move | Undo button | Z or U |
| Shuffle remaining tiles | Shuffle button | S (costs 30 points) |
| Pause | Pause | Esc or P |
Undo has no limit, so you can go back as far as you need.
Beginner mistakes to avoid
- Grabbing the first pair you see. Look at what each pair would uncover. A pair that opens a tall stack is worth more than one at the edge.
- Ignoring the third tile. When three matching tiles are free, the one you leave behind may block something later. Choose the pair that keeps the board open.
- Forgetting the layers. Tiles near the top of a pile hide others. Clear high places early.
Playing on a phone or tablet
The Jade Pairs page lists desktop, mobile and tablet support, and it works in any orientation. Each layout has a taller version made for phones, so the tiles do not shrink to a size you cannot tap.
Where it lives and what it costs
Jade Pairs is by Cardamom Studio and is published on Mayavoo, a free site for browser games from independent creators. You do not need an account to play; signing in with Google or GitHub is only for likes and comments. A short Google ad may show before a game and when you leave it, but none appear while you are matching tiles. The Mayavoo team plays and checks each game before it goes live.
A note on other kinds of mahjong
If you came here to learn four-player mahjong, the version where players draw and discard tiles to complete a hand, that game has different rules and is better learned with a dedicated guide and other players. For the solo tile-matching game, the steps above are all you need, and Jade Pairs is a calm, free place to practice them.