Mahjong: Castle
How to play Mahjong Castle
A keep rising in four tiers inside its walls, with a tower on every corner.
144 tiles, 4 layers
About Mahjong Castle
Castle is 144 tiles in four layers. On a floor of 9 by 8 the keep rises in tiers of 7 by 6, 5 by 4 and 3 by 2, each a tile in from the one below, and a single tower tile stands on each corner of the floor. No tile sits half across two others, so each tile you take uncovers only the one below it.
40 tiles are free at the start, five more than on the Turtle, and the top of the keep is six tiles rather than one. The catch is the floor's top and bottom rows of 9: a tower covers each end, so neither row can start until a tower at one of its ends has gone. Look for partners for the towers early.
Its four layers hold 72, 46, 20 and 6 tiles, the second counting the keep's tier of 42 and the four towers, and exactly half, 72, are covered at the start. Should every free tile go at once, time after time, Castle would be gone in six waves, two fewer than the Turtle, and the last two tiles would be the middle ones of the floor's top and bottom rows, the rows the corner towers hold shut.
The goal of Mahjong
Mahjong solitaire is a tile-matching puzzle for one player, not the four-player game. Clear the board by removing its tiles in matching pairs; you win when no tile is left.
How to set up Mahjong
A full set has 144 tiles: bamboo, characters and dots from 1 to 9, four winds and three dragons, four of each, plus four flowers and four seasons. Some layouts use fewer tiles. A new board is dealt at random and may be impossible to clear, unless you turn on Winnable under New game. Even a winnable board can be lost by matching the wrong pairs.
Mahjong rules
Select two free tiles that match and both leave the board. Tiles match when they show the same face, but any flower matches any flower and any season matches any season.
A tile is free when nothing lies on top of it, even partly, and its left or right side is not touching another tile on the same layer. Only the left and right sides count. You can have free tiles highlighted in the settings.
Hint shows a pair to take, chosen to keep the board winnable when a winning line can be found. Undo takes back a match, and Restart deals the same board again. There is no reshuffle: if tiles remain but no free pair matches, you are stuck and can undo, restart or start a new game.
The full Mahjong guide, with strategy tips and common questions