Which Tile Wins? Free Online Mahjong Puzzles
Mahjong brain teasers on a 3D table: a hand one tile from winning is shown, and you must find every tile that completes it.
Quick facts
- Category
- 🧩 Puzzle
- Price
- Free, no download or sign-up
- Plays on
- Computer, phone and tablet
- Screen
- Portrait
- Provided by
- After School Play
- Added
About Which Tile Wins? Mahjong Puzzles
Every mahjong win, in any ruleset, fits one short formula: m x AAA + n x ABC + DD. Which Tile Wins? is a puzzle game built to teach you that formula until you can read a hand at a glance.
Here is what the letters mean. AAA is three of a kind, called a pong; a kong of four identical tiles counts as one AAA. ABC is a run of three consecutive numbers in one suit, like 4-5-6 Dots; the three dragons have no runs. DD is the pair, any two identical tiles, and a hand has exactly one of them. The numbers m and n say how many of each set you hold, and they must add up to four. So a hand of three pongs, one run and a pair is m = 3, n = 1, and a hand of four runs and a pair is m = 0, n = 4. Fourteen tiles, five groups, done. The only exception is seven pairs: 7 x DD, seven different pairs with no sets at all.
A hand is ready when it is one tile short of the formula. That is where the puzzle lives. Each level stands 13 tiles at your edge of a 3D mahjong table and lays the 21 kinds of tile they could be waiting on face up in front of them; tap one and a tiger paw carries it to a tray beside your hand. Every level asks for every winning tile: tap them all and press Check. Miss one, or pick one that does not fit, and the level is not cleared. Each tile you find adds the value of the hand it makes: a plain hand is worth x1, a hand of all pongs or a Middle Five x2, seven pairs x4, a single-suit hand x4 on top. Every level is a little harder than the one before: hands start out waiting on one or two tiles and climb to four, five, six or seven, seven pairs and single-suit hands turn up more and more often, and the clock gets a little tighter. You get a full minute on the first three levels, then half a minute plus an allowance for every tile you have to find, starting at 15 seconds a tile and shrinking a little each level.
After each level a Why? view lays the hand out group by group for every winning tile, with the value of each, so you see the AAA, ABC and DD blocks line up and why one wait beats another. A ? button shows the formula again whenever you want it. Three stars for a clean first check, two after a slip, one on the third try or later, and the answer can be shown after three tries. Levels are seeded, so level 37 is the same for everyone, and your stars and points are saved in your browser.
Once the formula feels natural, the same tiles and rules power Power-Up Mahjong, our three-player match with Swap, Shield and Double Draw power-ups, and there is a link to it at the top of the game.
Want more? Browse Puzzle games.
How to Play
- Look at the 13-tile hand standing at your edge of the table. It is one tile away from a complete hand.
- Tap every tile on the felt that would finish the hand; your tiger paw carries it to the tray by your hand. Tap it again to send it back.
- Pick every winning tile, then press Check. Each one you find adds the value of the hand it makes; miss one or add a wrong one and the level is not cleared.
- Wrong picks shake, get a red outline and go back to the felt; the message tells you what went wrong or how many tiles are still missing.
- After three tries an Answer button shows every winning tile; the next level still opens, without stars or points.
- Clear the level to earn stars, open Why? to see how each winning tile splits the hand, then go to the next puzzle.
Tips
- Find the pair first. Once you know which two tiles are the pair, the rest has to split into sets of three.
- A lone tile next to a run can be waiting on two different tiles, one on each side.
- Three of a kind plus a pair can be a pong and a pair, or two pairs waiting on either tile.
- Count copies: a tile already in the hand four times can never be a wait, and it lies face down on the felt.
- Single-suit hands often wait on many tiles. Check every number from 1 to 9 in that suit.
FAQ
- Is Which Tile Wins? free?
- Yes. It is free to play in any modern browser, with no download and no sign-up.
- Do I need to know mahjong already?
- No. The only rule you need is the winning formula, m x AAA + n x ABC + DD or seven pairs, and the ? button explains it with an example. The early levels teach the rest.
- How many levels are there?
- The levels are generated from a fixed seed, so there is no last one. The number of winning tiles grows as you go, up to seven or more in the later levels.
- Is there a time limit?
- Yes. The first three levels give you 60 seconds; after that you get 30 seconds plus up to 15 for each tile you have to find, a little less each level. Running out does not cost stars; you can retry or show the answer.
- Can I play it on a phone?
- Yes. It works with touch and fits the 3D table to your screen, whichever way you hold the phone.
- Is this the same as Power-Up Mahjong?
- It uses the same tiles and rules, but it is a stand-alone puzzle game. Power-Up Mahjong is the full three-player match with power-ups, and each game links to the other.
