Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation, with a bit of chance, which originated in China. It’s usually played with four players and a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols. The aim of the game is to complete a hand of fourteen tiles (13 handed to the player at the beginning of the round and one drawn tile).

Playtech has prepared four variations of its Solo Mahjong Game: Japanese Solo Mahjong, Japanese Mahjong Pro, WMF Solo Mahjong and WMF Solo Mahjong Pro. Prefixes Japanese and WMF (World Mahjong Federation) describe which set of rules is used in the game. The difference between the normal and Pro versions is that in the first one you get a so-called ‘ready hand’ consisting of 13 tiles and just have to draw the correct tile to complete your hand, while in the pro version you start with 14 tiles and have to discard one to make a ‘ready hand’ and then draw a tile to complete it. As the name suggests, you don’t actually play against other players, instead you play alone and your aim is to create a complete hand.

In all variations you have 3 picks available to complete your hand. In case of the standard version all you have to worry about is choosing the right tile, as you already start with a ‘ready hand’, i.e. a hand that is one tile away from being complete. In the Pro version the situation is a little trickier, as you start with 14 tiles and have to discard one to make a ‘ready hand’. This means you actually need to know how to create such a hand in Mahjong. Fret not though, Playtech has prepared a lengthy instruction that explains the mechanics of the game and lists possible combinations.

The final score of the winning hand is based on the hand information parameters: Action, the Seat Wind and Quarter Wind and the Dora tile. Action is a Mahjong hand that is applied as a bonus. If you win, this hand’s points are added to your total. Reach specifies whether Reach or Early Reach hand applies. The Seat Wind and Quarter Wind show a set of wind tiles. Wind tiles that match either the seat or quarter wind make a special hand and increase your score. The Dora indicated a tile that, if it appears in your hand, gives extra game point.

The bet range available in this game is 0.10-100. The payouts range from 1x to 6x and depend either on your score (in Japanese version) or points (WMF version).

Don’t be intimidated by the weird tiles and seemingly complicated combinations! Solo Mahjong by Playtech makes sure that you can learn all you need to know about the game and then you can enjoy this ancient Chinese game to its fullest!