Guide

How to Play

TapMahjong is a single-player puzzle game. Clear the board by removing pairs of matching tiles. Only tiles that are free can be selected.

Goal

Remove every tile from the layout. You win when the board is empty. Your time and pair count are tracked so you can beat your personal best on each layout.

What counts as a free tile?

A tile is free when both of these are true:

• Nothing on top – no other tile covers it on a higher layer.
• Open on at least one long side – the left or right edge is not blocked by another tile on the same layer.

If tiles touch both your left and right neighbours on the same level, that tile is locked until one of those neighbours is removed.

Matching pairs

Tap one free tile, then tap a second free tile with the same design. If they match, both disappear.

• Suits & honours – dots (circles), bamboo, characters, winds, and dragons must match exactly (same suit and rank).
• Flowers – any flower matches any other flower.
• Seasons – any season tile matches any other season tile.

See the Tiles Explained page for a full breakdown of every group.

Controls

• Tap / click – select and match tiles.
• Hint – highlights one valid free pair (with a short cooldown).
• New game – restart the current layout with a fresh shuffle.
• Pause – stop the timer until you resume.
• Menu – change layout or return to the welcome screen.

When the game ends

• You win when all tiles are cleared.
• You lose when no free matching pairs remain but tiles are still on the board. Try another layout or restart and plan different pairs.

Layouts

Choose Turtle, Castle, or Duncher before you start. Each shape changes difficulty and strategy. Details are on the Board Layouts page.