Solving a Mahjong Solitaire board puzzle is all about avoiding getting to the situation where there are no available matches left (but still tiles left on the board). A Mahjong Solitaire board puzzle in computer games are generated by actually playing the game in "reverse", placing two and two identical tiles on top of each other, while when solving it you play it the other way around. This means that there is at least one valid solution to the board: the way it was generated.
Here are some good tips and solving techniques on how to play Mahjong Solitaire puzzles:
- Always match tiles that will free and open up the most new tiles. If you have a pair that does not open anything yet, leave it until you need it.
- Concentrate on matching tiles on horizontal lines, as these are usually more difficult to remove.
- When you have 3 or more identical tiles free and matchable, match the pair that will free the most new tiles. Matching the wrong pair can lead to unsolvable situations later on.
- In games like Mahjong Solitaire Epic, all Mahjong puzzles are possible to win. There is always at least 1 solution, but certain boards are tougher than others, requiring you to match specific tiles in a specific order. Try to look two steps ahead. See what tiles you need to match first, in order to pair up hard-to-match tiles later on.
Unsolvable Situations
You end up in an unsolvable situation when you have matched the wrong pair of identical tiles earlier on.
If you end up in an unsolvable situation, the easiest solution is to shuffle all the remaining tiles, generating new pairs of tiles and allowing you to continue playing.
If you want a more challenging way of getting out of this situation, you need to undo back to the point where things got out of hand. When you are at the unsolvable situation, take a look at which tiles you currently have left that are free and open. Now, undo back to a point where you matched a pair of one of those tile types, and instead of matching that same pair, match it with the tile you had left in the unsolvable situation.
Mahjong Solitaire Epic allows you to do this easy, by just dragging up the Undo list, locating the point where you made the wrong match, then clicking on that and undoing back to that point.
Here's an example from
Mahjong Solitaire Epic, where the Undo list is on the right side. Notice that if we undo back to the point shown with the red arrow, we will have 3 identical tiles of that type and can try to match it with the tile that was left in the unsolvable situation instead:
Now you have to re-play it and hope it was the correct point you undoed to! If you get to an unsolvable situation again, you most likely need to undo back to a further point, trying to find the match situation that caused the unsolvable situation.
Mahjong Rules and How to Play Mahjong
If you want to learn how to play Mahjong and see it's rules, check out
Mahjong Rules and How to Play Mahjong.
Where to Play Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire is available on most platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, Google Play Store, Windows Phone, Windows Store, Amazon Appstore, Nook Apps, Blackberry and more! You can also play
Mahjong Solitaire Online at Facebook.
Get it!
