Mahjong: Hourglass
How to play Mahjong Hourglass
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.
An hourglass lying on its side inside a wall of tiles.
102 tiles, 3 layers
About Mahjong Hourglass
Hourglass has 102 tiles in three layers. A frame one tile wide, 12 by 9, runs round the edge. Inside it two triangles rest their wide sides against the left and right of the frame and narrow toward the middle, where they meet only along the centre row. Each triangle stands three layers high near the frame across its middle rows and steps down toward its tip.
It is one of the most open layouts: 48 tiles are free at the start, against the Turtle's 35. Both side columns of the frame are free from end to end, and every triangle row but the centre one has a free tip. The frame's top and bottom rows, 12 tiles each, touch nothing else and open only at their ends, so work them in between other moves rather than leaving them to the end.
Its floor holds 72 tiles, the second layer 20 and the third 10, and 30 begin under another tile. Lifting all its free tiles together, over and over, would empty Hourglass in seven goes: 48, 22 and 12, then three of 6 and a final 2. Those last four take only the frame's top and bottom rows and the centre row, from both ends, and the final two tiles are the middle of the centre row, where the triangles meet.
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