Play Online Mahjong Games for Free Without Downloading

Are you a tile-pairing master? Test your skills and strategy with free online mahjong games on Pogo™. You can play full-screen with no downloads — just pick a game and go! Take on thousands of unique puzzle layouts across a multitude of themed games, including Mahjong Sanctuary, Mahjong Safari, Mahjong Garden and Quinn’s Aquarium.

A Brief History of Mahjong

Mahjong, also known as mah-jongg, is a tile-based game that experts believe was invented in the mid- to late-1800s in China. It didn’t take long for it to become a hit, and in the 1900s its popularity spread rapidly across the United States. It was (and still is) a game that anyone and everyone could play, regardless of their background. For that reason, mahjong has historically been a game that creates community and social bonds.
Since its creation, the game has seen rule tweaks and new styles developed. In fact, the National Mah-jongg League was founded in 1937 with the goal of standardizing the rules and leveling the playing field for all players. The league still exists to this day!
Many modern, online versions of the game are for a single player, which differs from more traditional versions that require three or four players. The single person browser game versions are sometimes called mahjong solitaire.

Types of Mahjong Tiles

The number of tiles in a set will vary, but typically it’s either 136 or 144. For online mahjong games, however, it’s more important to understand the different types of tiles, as well as how you’re supposed to match them.

Suited Tiles: These have a suit and a rank, similar in some ways to the suits and ranks you see in a deck of cards.
– Bamboo: A set that has bamboo or bird designs on each tile. The 1 tile typically has a bird on it, while 2 through 9 will generally have bamboo in red, green and/or blue.
– Circles: A set that has circles on each tile denoting the rank, 1 through 9. They are typically colored red, green and/or blue.
– Characters: A set represented by Chinese characters. The numerical rank is shown at the top of the tile in blue, and below that is a character in red.
– Red: An all-red version of tiles from each suit. These are specific to the Japanese version of mahjong.

Honor Tiles: These have neither a suit nor a rank.
– Winds: These include North, South, East and West. They’re usually shown with blue Chinese characters.
– Dragons: These are also known as the arrow tiles. They include three types: red, green and white.

Flower Tiles: How these are played depends on the style of mahjong you’re playing.
– Quartets: Typically you’ll find two quartets (8 total tiles) in a full set of mahjong tiles. These typically contain designs of flowers and/or seasons, and they are usually numbered.
– Animals: These tiles are not numbered. They typically feature designs, such as a cat, inspired by popular Chinese fables.

Joker Tiles: These can generally replace a suited or honor tile. However, it depends on the style of mahjong you’re playing.
– General Purpose: These represent jokers that are not restricted by suit or rank.
– Suit-Restricted: These jokers can only replace tiles in a specific suit, but of any rank.
– Rank-Restricted: These jokers can only replace tiles of a specific rank, but in any suit.

Tips and Tricks When Playing Online Mahjong

Mahjong is a pretty easy game to learn. It shares similar rules and objectives with Western card games like Rummy and Conquian, so it’ll be even easier for you if you’re comfortable with those games.
But what if you want to turn up the difficulty and become a master? Use these tips to win even the hardest of boards.

– Think several moves ahead: The ultimate goal is to clear the board, which requires you to think strategically about how you match tiles. You’ll run into situations where you can match a tile with more than one other tile, so choose wisely! Think about which matches will unlock more of the board for you, which in turn allows you to clear more of the board.
– Wait to match unless it helps you right then: It’s tempting to match two tiles sitting on the fringe of the board because they’re easy targets. However, they could be the key to clearing part of the pile and unlocking other tiles you currently can’t match. So if a match doesn’t unlock other tiles for you, then just wait on it. Worst case scenario, you match them at the very end to close out your victory.
– Use the undo button: Many browser games of mahjong have this functionality, so don’t be afraid to use it! Sometimes you might accidentally click the wrong tile. Or, you might realize you had a better match after you already matched something else. The undo button gives you some flexibility to fix those small mistakes.
– Earn bonus points: Many games on Pogo have additional, fun elements like points multipliers and power-ups. This can be a great way to not only beat harder levels, but also get higher scores while you do it!

Other Game Genres You Might Like

It’s good to switch it up sometimes, even if you love playing mahjong. Add these genres to your rotation if you want to try something new!

– Matching Games: Enter the magical forest to play Lumeno, a relaxing match 3 game.
– Puzzle Games: Need a snack? Grab a glass of milk and sit down to play Cookie Connect!