Mahjong Solitaire Strategy: How to Clear the Board
To clear a Mahjong Solitaire board, choose pairs by what they free, not just by what matches. Take tiles that sit on top of stacks and at the ends of long rows first. When three matching tiles are free, take the two that free the most, and always take a tile that lies on top of its own twin. Keep track of what's gone, and save Shuffle for when you're truly stuck.
Why boards get stuck
Matching the first pair you see feels productive, but it's how most boards end with no moves. A board gets stuck when the tiles you need are all under or beside tiles you can't clear. Every pair you take either opens up new tiles or doesn't, and the skill of Mahjong Solitaire is mostly about telling those apart. (New to the game? Start with how to play Mahjong Solitaire.)
The strategies
1. Look at the whole board before each pair
Take a second to find every free pair, not just the first. Often there are three or four options, and they're not equally good. The time you spend looking is easily won back by not getting stuck.
2. Free the tall stacks and long rows first
Tiles in the middle of a long row stay blocked until the row is eaten away from an end, and tiles at the bottom of a stack wait until everything above them has gone. So a tile on top of a stack, or at the end of a long row, holds back more tiles than one at the end of a short row. Clear those first.
3. With three free, pick the right two
When three tiles of a kind are free, the fourth is still buried somewhere. Take the two whose removal frees the most, and leave the third waiting for its last twin. When all four are free, it doesn't matter: take both pairs.
4. Never strand a tile on top of its twin
This is the classic trap. If a tile lies on top of its own twin, the one underneath can only come free once the top one is gone. Pair the top tile now, while there's still another free twin to pair it with. If you pair the other two first, the last two can never meet.
5. Keep count of what's gone
On Hard, every tile has exactly four copies. Once two lotus 7s are gone, the other two are a guaranteed pair whenever both are free, and you can take them at any time. The same goes for any kind where every remaining tile is free: matching those can never hurt. On Easy and Medium only part of the set is used, so a kind can have just two tiles.
6. Don't rush the easy pairs on the edge
Two free tiles at the ends of short rows will still be free later. If they don't open anything up, they're not urgent. Taking them early can even waste them, since one of them might have been the only partner for a tile you're about to dig out.
7. Save Shuffle and use Undo
When no free pair is left, Shuffle mixes the remaining tiles into a board that can still be cleared. On GameLake it costs 50 points and the three-star result, so before shuffling try Undo (up to 40 pairs back, 10 points each): often one different choice a few pairs ago avoids the dead end altogether.
8. Speed comes last
Pairs made within four seconds of each other build a combo worth up to five times the points. But a fast wrong pair costs more than a slow right one. Plan a few pairs ahead, then play them quickly in a row.
A pair-picking checklist
- If a tile lies on its own twin, take it with another free twin.
- Otherwise, take the pair that frees the most new tiles.
- If nothing frees a tile, take the pair that holds back the most (tops of stacks, ends of long rows).
- If three of a kind are free, keep the one that frees least.
- No pairs at all? Undo a few steps first; Shuffle only if that doesn't help.
That's also how GameLake's Teach me chooses: Hop lights up the pair that frees the most tiles and explains why, warns you about a twin trapped underneath, and runs a quick search so his pick never leaves the board stuck. For more puzzles that reward thinking a step ahead, see Water Sort tips and how to win Minesweeper.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best strategy for Mahjong Solitaire?
Pick pairs by what they free: tiles on top of stacks and at the ends of long rows first. Take a tile lying on its own twin before anything else, and with three free tiles of a kind, keep the one that frees least.
Which tiles should you remove first in Mahjong Solitaire?
Tiles on top of the highest stacks and at the ends of the longest rows, because they block the most other tiles.
What do you do when three matching tiles are free?
Take the two that free the most tiles and keep the third for the fourth tile. If one of the three lies on top of the fourth, it must be one of the two you take.
Is it bad to shuffle in Mahjong Solitaire?
It's a last resort. A shuffle gets you moving again, but on GameLake it costs 50 points and the three-star result, so try Undo first.
Can every Mahjong Solitaire board be cleared?
Random boards sometimes can't. Every GameLake board is built by playing a game backwards, so it can always be cleared, and shuffling keeps that true.