The classic: 144 tiles stacked in a turtle, cleared two at a time in matching pairs. Everyone gets the identical deal, and your record is how long it takes to clear the board.
Which tiles can be taken
- Nothing may cover it. If another tile overlaps it from the layer above, it stays put.
- One of its two long sides must be open. With neighbours on both sides there is no way to slide it out. (This board is the standard turtle turned 90° to fit a phone screen, so the two sides are above and below rather than left and right.)
- Tapping a blocked tile is never refused — it tells you why it cannot be taken.
What matches what
| Characters · Circles · Bamboo | 1–9, four of each. Same suit and same number |
|---|---|
| Winds 東南西北 | Four of each, matched by character |
| Dragons 中發白 | Four of each. 白 is the blank tile with the blue frame |
| Flowers 梅蘭菊竹 | One of each, but any flower matches any other flower |
| Seasons 春夏秋冬 | Likewise, any season matches any season |
When you are stuck — undo and shuffle
If no matching pair is free, undo takes back your last pairs or shuffle redeals the remaining tiles. Undo is unlimited (the clock keeps running); a shuffle adds +30 seconds to your record. A shuffle always produces a board that can still be cleared, so you can never shuffle yourself into a dead board.
Tips
- Work from the top down. Taking the peak opens the four tiles under it. Clearing easy pairs on the floor first buries the stack.
- When all four of a kind are visible, take both pairs. Take only two and the other two can end up stacked on each other, locking that kind for good.
- The head and tail tiles sticking out at the ends are free all game. Save them for when you get stuck.
- Take flowers and seasons on sight. All four match each other, so they almost never lock.
How the score works
The record is in seconds, lower is better, including any shuffle penalty. The deal is fixed, so everyone competes on the same board — the same approach as the Sudoku and Minesweeper boards here.
FAQ
Can an unsolvable board come up?
The opening board can always be cleared: a legal removal order is chosen first and the tiles are planted along it. You can still paint yourself into a corner by clearing in the wrong order — that is the puzzle, and that is what undo is for.
Will the Chinese characters show as empty boxes?
No. The characters are drawn as shapes rather than typed with a font, so they look identical on a device with no CJK font installed.
Related
- Klondike Solitaire — another race against the clock
- Minesweeper — fixed board, time ranking
- Sudoku — fixed board, time ranking