Mahjong Strategies

Original Mahjong

• In original mahjong, you are competing against three opponents to form the most valuable melds at the end of the hand. The best strategy is to determine their hands while hiding your hand from them. It is generally beginner's instinct to meld as many tiles as possible, meaning that you make three of a kind, four of a kind or a set of the same suit in a row. However, when you meld tiles before the end of the hand, you expose part of your hand to the other players, giving them an idea of how you are building your hand. Therefore meld with caution.

  Similarly, you can use discarded tiles to complete a meld in your hand. However, to obtain the tile, you must expose the meld you are forming to the other players. Be careful when going for these discards; go for one only if it is absolutely necessary to complete your hand.

  When you discard, discard tiles that have already been discarded by opponents. This way, you know that these tiles are not worth anything to them, and you are not giving them what they need to form their own melds.

Mahjong Solitaire

• In the solitaire version of mahjong, the 144 tiles of the mahjong set are stacked in designs on the board. The player's goal is to eliminate matching tiles two at a time until all of the tiles have been paired and eliminated. The trick, however, lies in the tiles toward the bottom of the board; you can eliminate only tiles that are free, meaning that there are no tiles to the left or right (one side must be completely unblocked) or on top of that tile. The player wins if he can remove all tiles from the board.

  Though this game seems straightforward, there are certain strategies that can make the game easier. For instance, it's not all about eliminating whatever tiles you can match; pay attention to the areas of your pattern. You want to eliminate the tiles that will free up the most other tiles, allowing you even more options for your next move.

  If possible, remove both pairs of a single type of tile at one time. For instance, if you can free up all four bamboo sixes from the puzzle at the same time, do so. This way you have four tiles out of the way and you don't have to worry about trying to find one of the sixes later when the free one is blocking your way. Remember also that any flower can be matched with any flower, and any season with any season, because in a standard set of mahjong tiles there are only one of each.

  If you are having trouble adjusting to the rules and strategies of mahjong solitaire, log onto the Internet and play one of the hundreds of free versions available through Web sites such as addictinggames.com and freeonlinegames.com. There you can practice your strategy and learn the rules in a controlled environment.