How to play Mahjong Connect
The tiles lie flat in a single layer on a grid. Nothing is stacked, so every tile on the board can be picked. Your aim is to clear the whole board, two matching tiles at a time.
- Pick two identical tiles. A 3 of Bamboo matches only another 3 of Bamboo, a koi only another koi.
- Join them with a line. The pair clears when a line of at most three straight pieces, so at most two turns, connects the two tiles.
- Only through empty space. The line may cross tiles you have already cleared, gaps in the grid and the empty border around the board, but never another tile.
When a pair clears, a short gold line traces the way it took, so you can see why it worked. If no line joins the two tiles you picked, nothing is lost: the second tile is simply picked instead.
The two-turn rule
A straight line is fine, a line with one corner is fine, and so is a line with two corners. Three corners is one too many. Because the border around the board counts as empty, two tiles on the same edge can always meet by going out, along and back in.
Side by side counts too: two matching tiles that touch are joined by the shortest line of all.
How Plum’s version differs
Always solvable
Every board is dealt backwards from a cleared table, so there is always a way to clear it.
Big tiles
Boards are never more than six tiles across. Bigger boards grow taller instead, so tiles stay large on a phone.
No ads, no time limit
Nothing interrupts a board, and the clock only records how long you took.
Some pairings can still box you in, especially when four tiles share a face. If no line joins any pair, the game tells you and offers a Shuffle, which rearranges the tiles left into a position that can still be cleared. The first Shuffle when you are stuck on a board is free. You also have Hint, which shows a pair and the line that joins it, and Undo.
Clearing a board earns stars, coins and Player IQ, just like the main game: three stars for a board cleared without Hint, Undo or Shuffle. Tiles come as pictures from Plum’s picture sets or as traditional mahjong tiles. If the traditional tiles are new to you, see the guide to mahjong tiles.
Levels and Free Play
Tap Connect on the home screen to play the Connect levels. They have their own ladder, kept apart from the main levels, and an unfinished Connect board waits for you without taking the place of a Daily or Free Play board.
- Level 1 is a 4 × 4 grid with four kinds of tile. The grids grow to 6 × 12, 72 tiles, by level 40.
- Later levels use more kinds of tile, so more faces appear only twice and each one has a single partner to find.
- From level 25, some boards have gaps in them, and lines can pass through the gaps.
In Free Play you can deal a Connect board of your own: small (4 × 6), medium (6 × 8) or large (6 × 12), with traditional tiles, pictures or a mix, and a relaxed, normal or hard tile mix.
Tips for clearing a board
- Start at the edges. Matching tiles on the same side can always be joined round the outside, and clearing them opens lines into the middle.
- Look along rows and columns. A pair in the same row or column with only gaps between them is the quickest match there is.
- Choose your pair when there are four. If four tiles share a face, any two of them can pair. Take the two that free the most space, and avoid leaving the other two walled in.
- Don’t block a line you need. Before taking an easy pair, check it isn’t the only way out for another tile.
- Save Shuffle for when you are stuck. The free one arrives when no line joins any pair.
More general ideas are in our mahjong solitaire tips, and the how to play guide covers the stacked game too.
Common questions
Is Mahjong Connect the same as Shisen-Sho?
Yes. Shisen-Sho (四川省) is the Japanese name for the game; in English it is usually called Mahjong Connect. The rule at its heart is the same: a pair clears when a line with at most two turns joins it.
Is it free?
Yes. Mahjong Connect is part of Plum Mahjong, which is free to play in your browser with no sign-up and no ads.
Is there a time limit?
No. Take as long as you like; the clock only records your time.
Can every board be solved?
Yes. Each board is built from a solution, and a Shuffle rearranges the tiles left into a position that can still be cleared.
How is it different from mahjong solitaire?
In mahjong solitaire the tiles are stacked, and a tile is free when nothing covers it and one side is open. In Mahjong Connect the tiles are flat and any tile can be picked; the line between the two tiles is what decides. What mahjong solitaire is explains the stacked game.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It plays in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and keeps working offline once the game has loaded.