There are all sorts of variations on the Mahjong game, in the West it is mostly played as the solitaire internet version, whereas in China the game is frequently played by families at home or at other social gatherings. The classic version of Mahjong is originally from China, but was played in Japan, Korea and Taiwan as well. Each country, city or town had its own rules, but if necessary, they could easily be adjusted. Mahjong was a popular game involving small stones decorated by hand with colored symbols. Circles, characters, bamboo sticks, birds, the wind direction and dragons.
The official Chinese version is completely different than the internet solitaire version we know in the West. In the internet version of Mahjong you have a board with tiles. The aim is to find matching pairs of tiles, click or tap on them, and eventually clear the whole board. You always play this game alone.
The Chinese version is usually played with four people and the game is more like Rummikub. Each person is dealt a certain number of tiles and the players take turns to play. The aim is to get rid of the tiles with the lowest score and whoever has the highest number of points has won.
There is much debate on who invented Mahjong and how old the game is. There is a long-held myth that the Chinese philosopher Confucius invented the game 500 years before Christ, but this is somewhat contradicted by the fact that the oldest tiles to be found date to no later than 1890. However, card games have been found dating to the 15th century with precisely the same symbols as those on Mahjong tiles. The name Mahjong literally translates as "squabbling sparrow" in English. There are also quite a few theories around about the origin of the name. For example, people say Confucius was a bird lover, but also that it might come from the sound made by the tiles when they are dealt, which is similar to that made by chattering sparrows.
Mahjong is still very popular today and, with the arrival of the internet, its popularity has only increased. Millions of people now play the game online to relax and simultaneously activate and train the brain. There is truly no better combination. You will find many beautiful games on this Free Mahjong Solitaire website, which requires all of your focus. No homework, don't think about tomorrow and forget all your worries. Several software developers have started working with this game and the website now has dozens of different variants. You can also find the most popular versions here, these are Mahjong Titans and Mahjong Dimensions. Getting bored is no longer an option.
Perhaps the game of Mahjong Solitaire is completely new to you? Don't worry, it's easy to play and ideal for younger and older players alike. Mahjong is like a puzzle in which you are always trying to pair up tiles with the same symbols. Once you have found all the matching pairs of symbols, the game is over.
