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LEARN TO READ THE TILES

Meet the mahjong tiles.

A mahjong set has 144 tiles with 42 different faces. Mahjong Solitaire uses the same set, and you do not need to read Chinese to play: the pictures and the small corner labels tell the tiles apart. Here is what each group shows and how it matches.

Dots.

The Dots suit, also called Circles, shows one to nine round coins. Count the circles to find the number. The 1 of Dots is a single large ornamental circle. There are four copies of each number, and only the same number matches: a 3 of Dots with another 3 of Dots.

Bamboo.

The Bamboo suit shows two to nine bamboo sticks. The 1 of Bamboo is traditionally drawn as a bird, so look for it among the stick tiles. As with every suit, only the same number matches.

Characters.

Character tiles show a Chinese numeral above the character 萬 (wàn), which means ten thousand. The numerals are 一 1, 二 2, 三 3, 四 4, 五 5, 六 6, 七 7, 八 8 and 九 9. The corner label shows the same number, so you can match them without reading the characters.

Winds.

There are four winds, each with four copies: East 東 (dōng), South 南 (nán), West 西 (xī) and North 北 (běi). Their corner labels are E, S, W and N. Only the same wind matches.

Dragons.

The three dragons are the Red Dragon 中 (zhōng, meaning middle), the Green Dragon 發 (fā, meaning prosperity) and the White Dragon, drawn as a framed blank. Each has four copies, and only the same dragon matches.

Flowers and seasons.

The bonus tiles are single copies. The four flowers are plum 梅, orchid 蘭, chrysanthemum 菊 and bamboo 竹. The four seasons are spring 春, summer 夏, autumn 秋 and winter 冬. In Mahjong Solitaire, any flower matches any other flower and any season matches any other season.

Corner labels and large print.

Corner labels are on by default and show 1 to 9 on the suits and E, S, W or N on the winds. You can turn them off in Settings once you know the tiles. The Large print tile style uses bolder symbols and stronger colours for easier reading.