Mahjong Solitaire, Pyramid Layout

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Four layers that narrow to the top: 10 tiles by 8 at the bottom, then 8 by 6, 4 by 3 and 2 by 2. The narrowest layout here, so on a phone held upright you slide the board sideways the least. Free, with no sign-up.

Play today's daily Mahjong Solitaire (Turtle layout)

Also try: Mahjong Solitaire · Minesweeper · Sudoku

How to play Mahjong Solitaire: Pyramid

Clear the board by matching pairs of tiles. The board starts with 144 tiles. Four layers that narrow to the top: 10 tiles by 8 at the bottom, then 8 by 6, 4 by 3 and 2 by 2. The narrowest layout here, so on a phone held upright you slide the board sideways the least.

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

Is the Pyramid easier than the Turtle?

A little. When we tested 100 boards of each by matching free pairs at random, the Pyramid cleared 43 times and the Turtle 39. The top layers still cover most of the board, so clear them early.

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.