If you are one of the many novice Mahjong Solitaire players trying to play Mahjong for the first time, it can seem a little intimidating at first. You might be wondering, “What are all these tiles? How can I make sense of all this? Which tiles should I match first? How do I know if I'm doing it right?"
Don't worry - Mahjong doesn't have to be scary! It should be a fun experience. Just relax and don't worry about making mistakes - everyone has a learning period to get familiar with the game.
But there are a few common mistakes that people make when playing mahjong - so if you're aware of the things beginner players get wrong, you're more likely to avoid these basic mistakes and progress to the next levels of the game very quickly.
These are the 3 things most beginner Mahjong Solitaire players do wrong:
Ignore the upper layers
One of the common mistakes in Mahjong solitaire is to start from the outer edges of the stack instead of the top and bottom. Each layer of tiles you successfully remove will cause new tiles to be revealed – which in turn will lead to new possibilities. So it's in your best interest to remove the tiles from the top of the stack first. Try to remove the four tiles from the top of the Mahjong first and see what's underneath them. Then continue in the same vein with the next level of tiles. If you ignore the top of the puzzle for too long, you may end up in a position where you have no tiles to remove because most are blocked and there are no open matches.
They don't think ahead
Mahjong is a game of the moment. Each new pair of tiles you remove will (hopefully) reveal new opportunities to remove other tiles. However, sometimes there are certain options for removing a pair of tiles that are better than others. If you have 3 of the same tiles that are open, it gives you a choice of which pair you want to remove.
Look at the big picture – what if you match one pair instead of the other? What new opportunities will be revealed? If you remove one pair of tiles, will that open up a new pair (or more) that can then be removed? Or will the opposite happen and your removal options become increasingly limited? You don't want to run out of moves or be cornered. So be sure to think a few steps ahead before choosing which tiles to match.
They don't look around
Mahjong rewards players who can scan all the tiles and discover new opportunities in different locations. If you find yourself focusing too much on just one area of the game, you're more likely to hit a dead end. Keep looking around for new places to find matching tiles. New opportunities often appear when you least expect them!