Mahjong Solitaire, Cross Layout

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A plus sign four layers high: a wide bar across the middle and a short bar up and down, stacked to a peak in the centre. Most of the stack is in the centre, where the bars cross. Free, with no sign-up.

Play today's daily Mahjong Solitaire (Turtle layout)

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How to play Mahjong Solitaire: Cross

Clear the board by matching pairs of tiles. The board starts with 144 tiles. A plus sign four layers high: a wide bar across the middle and a short bar up and down, stacked to a peak in the centre. Most of the stack is in the centre, where the bars cross.

Only free tiles can be matched. A tile is free when no tile sits on top of it and its left side or its right side is open.
Free tiles have a dark outline. Blocked tiles look greyer, and you can't choose them.
Two identical tiles match. Any tile marked Flower matches any other Flower, and any Season matches any other Season.
To match, tap one free tile, then its twin.
If no pair is free, choose Shuffle to mix the tiles left into a new arrangement that can still be cleared.

Every tile has a large number or letter in its top corner, so you can match tiles without reading the Chinese characters: 1 to 9 for dots (circles), bamboo (sticks) and characters (萬), E, S, W and N for the winds, and R, G and Wh for the red, green and white dragons. Undo, hints and shuffles have no limit, and there is no time limit.

Keyboard

Tab or the arrow keys move between free tiles. Enter or Space chooses a tile. H shows a hint, S shuffles, Escape cancels a selection, and Ctrl+Z undoes a move.

Questions

Where should I start on the Cross?

In the centre. Four layers stack where the bars cross, so the peak blocks more tiles than anything else. Take its top tiles as soon as they match, then work in from the ends of the bars.

Can every board be cleared?

Yes. We build each board by playing it backwards, so there is always a way to clear it, and Shuffle keeps that true for the tiles left.

Which tiles match?

Two identical tiles match. Any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season.