Solitaire Mahjong

Agame states the one fact that shapes every session of Solitaire Mahjong: there is no timer. Nothing counts down while you read the stack, so a position that stalls is a puzzle rather than a loss. The winning-more guide sets out the same mechanics on one page.

The layout is traditional rather than themed — the beautifully traditional arrangement fans of the format already know, with polished graphics on top of it and a soothing soundtrack underneath. That combination puts the whole burden on tile order. Take two free copies of a face from the same side early and the other two can end up pinned against each other at the base with nothing left to lift them. Working the covered edges first pays in Pirate Plunder Journey as well.

Without a clock to force the pace, the sensible habit is to read the whole board before touching it, then take the pair that opens the most rather than the pair you saw first. The window is 800 by 600, single player, mouse or fingertip. The Zen Garden pile keeps the layered board and changes the shape.

1. Read the traditional layout right through before lifting anything.
2. Find two free tiles showing the same face and take them off as a pair.
3. Prefer the pair that frees the most pieces beneath it.
4. Work down the courses at whatever pace suits, since nothing is counting down.
5. Empty the arrangement to finish the deal.

• Spend the free time — Agame confirms there is no timer on Solitaire Mahjong, so a full second scan of the stack costs nothing.
• Keep the base honest — the bottom course of a traditional arrangement is where a badly chosen early pair strands its twins.
• Leave the soundtrack on — the soothing score is part of what the studio built here, and it sets the unhurried pace the board expects.
• Trust the polish — the graphics are drawn cleanly enough that two similar suits can be told apart without leaning in.