How to play Mahjong Connect

Mahjong Connect is a tile-matching puzzle for one player. Two matching tiles can be taken away when a line with no more than two turns joins them through empty squares. Take every tile away to win. Here are the rules in plain English, with pictures of the line, and what to do when you get stuck.

The goal

The tiles of a mahjong set lie face up in a rectangle, one layer deep. Take them away two at a time, in matching pairs, until the table is empty. There is no score to keep: on this site the clock runs while you play, and your best time for each board is kept.

Which tiles match

Two tiles match when they are exactly the same: the 5 of Dots with another 5 of Dots, the Red Dragon with another Red Dragon. There are four of most tiles. The flowers and the seasons are the exception: there is only one of each, and any flower matches any other flower, and any season any other season.

Any two flowers match, like any two seasons: the Plum and the Chrysanthemum make a pair.

Not sure what a tile is? The mahjong tiles and their names shows every one. On this board each number tile also carries a large number in its corner, and each wind its letter.

The line: no more than two turns

Matching is not enough on its own: the two tiles must be joined by a line that passes only through empty squares and turns no more than twice. The line runs straight across and down, never diagonally, and it may not cross another tile. A line can be as long as you like.

A straight line: nothing stands between the two Red Dragons, so they can be matched.

One turn: the line runs down the empty column, then along the bottom row to the other 5 of Dots.

Two turns: down, across the empty row, and down again. That is the most a line may turn.

Around the edge of the board

The line may also leave the board and run along the empty strip around it. That is why tiles on the outside are the easiest to join: two tiles on the same edge can always be joined over it, with two turns, whatever lies between them.

Around the edge: the line may leave the board, run along its edge and come back in, still with two turns.

When a matching pair cannot be taken

If every way between two matching tiles crosses another tile or needs three turns or more, they stay for now. Take other pairs first: every pair you take away opens space, and a line that is blocked now may be clear later.

Not allowed: every way between these White Dragons is blocked or needs three turns, so they cannot be matched yet.

What if no pair can be joined?

Sometimes no two matching tiles can be joined at all. On this site the game tells you, and you have two ways on:

Shuffle moves the tiles that are left onto the same squares in a new order, one that can be cleared. Your time keeps running, and the result counts how often you shuffled.
Undo takes back your last match, as many times as you like, so you can try a different pair.

Hint shows two tiles that can be joined, draws the line and says how it turns. If the tiles left can no longer all be cleared, Hint says that too.

Can every game be won?

Not when tiles are dealt at random: a random deal can leave pairs that block each other from the start. Every deal on this site is built from a way to clear the whole board, so every board can be won. On the Easy board each tile has exactly one partner, so any pair you take keeps it winnable. On the bigger boards there are four of most kinds, and which two you match first can matter, which is what makes them harder.

Tips

Work from the outside in. Tiles on the edge join around the board, and every pair taken from the edge opens a way in for the tiles behind it.
Watch four of a kind. When you can join two of four, look at where the other two are. Take the pair that leaves the last two easy to join, or that opens the most space.
Look for tiles that guard each other. Two pairs placed crosswise, such as A B on top of B A in a closed corner, can only be cleared by opening a way to them from outside. Clear around them early.
Take the obvious pairs. Two matching tiles side by side can always go, and taking a pair never blocks another line, it only opens space.
Use Undo freely. There is no penalty for taking back a move to try another pair.

Other names for the game

Mahjong Connect comes from the Japanese game Shisen-Sho, played with mahjong tiles. In Japan it is also called Nikakudori, "taking with two corners", after the rule that the line may turn only twice. On phones it is often called Onet, and you may see it as Mahjong Link, Pair Connect or Connect the Tiles. The rules are the same; only the boards and the tile pictures change.

Mahjong Connect and Mahjong Solitaire

In Mahjong Solitaire the tiles are stacked in layers, and a tile can be taken only when nothing is on top of it and its left or right side is open. In Mahjong Connect the tiles lie in one flat layer, and two tiles can be far apart: what matters is the line between them. The tiles and how they match are the same in both, and so is the help on this site: Hint, Undo, Shuffle, and a board that can always be cleared. How to play Mahjong Solitaire.