Mahjong: Five Pyramids
How to play Mahjong Five Pyramids
Mahjong solitaire is a tile-matching puzzle for one player in which you clear a stacked layout of mahjong tiles by removing free tiles in matching pairs.
A pyramid on each corner and a fifth in the middle, joined by a cross.
104 tiles, 3 layers
About Mahjong Five Pyramids
Five Pyramids has 104 tiles in three layers. Each corner pyramid is 20 tiles: a floor of 4 by 3, then 3 by 2 set half a tile in, then two tiles on top, so every tile beneath the top two is partly covered. The cross is a column of nine floor tiles with a row of six out to each side, and where they meet stands a small stack of two tiles and one.
Only 17 tiles are free at the start, under half the Turtle's 35: the two tops of each corner pyramid, the centre tile, the ends of the long row and six tiles of the column. The row runs 13 tiles from side to side through the centre and opens only from its ends. Once both tops of a pyramid are gone its whole second tier is uncovered, so finishing one pyramid's top before the next opens more at once.
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