Yes, at the start. Each deal is generated by removing free pairs backwards, so the order used to build it is a guaranteed solution. That avoids the problem with purely random shuffles, where about 3% of Turtle deals cannot be won. Picking the wrong pair among identical tiles can still close the path, which is why there is unlimited undo, hints and shuffle.
Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire
Remove pairs of free tiles until the board is clear. Always-solvable deals, six layouts, hints, undo and a deal of the day.
A tile-matching solitaire where every deal has a way out
Mahjong Solitaire takes the 144 tiles of a mahjong set, stacks them into a shape, and asks you to clear the board by removing pairs of matching tiles. Every deal here is built backwards, by removing free pairs until the shape is empty, so at least one sequence that clears the board always exists. That matters: an analysis of ten million games on the Turtle layout found that about 3% of purely random shuffles could not be solved even when looking underneath the tiles. You can pick one of six layouts (Turtle, Pyramid, Fortress, Cross, Butterfly and Arena), play a numbered deal you can replay or share, or play the deal of the day, the same for everyone. The tiles are drawn in SVG with a corner number for anyone who does not read the Chinese characters, and the game works on a phone with zoom and touch.
Find two identical free tiles
- Tap a free tile: nothing can sit on top of it, and its left or right side must be open. Blocked tiles are shown dimmed.
- Tap another free tile with the same face to remove both. Any flower matches any flower, and any season matches any season.
- Repeat until the board is empty. No pairs left? Shuffle (your clock gains 60 seconds), undo as many moves as you like, or ask for a hint.
Sources and references for this tool
These references help contextualize formulas, standards, APIs and limitations used on this page. They do not replace professional validation when a result has legal, financial, medical or operational impact.
- Mahjong solitaireWikipedia, The free-tile rule, the game origin (Brodie Lockard, 1981) and the estimate that about 3% of Turtle deals are unsolvable.
- Mahjong tilesWikipedia, Composition of the 144-tile set: suits, winds, dragons, flowers and seasons.
- Mahjongg rules (PySolFC)PySolFC, Any Flower matches any other Flower and any Season matches any other Season.