Game Summary

As in most Mahjong games, the basic goal is to remove all tiles from the layout. However, in this "Classic Timed" variant, more points are awarded for faster play. Finish quickly to earn a big win bonus!

How to Play

Most of the time you must match 2 identical tiles. However, the Flowers and Seasons suits are different in that you may match any Flower with any other Flower, and you may match any Season with any other Season. For example:

Only tiles that are not blocked may be matched. A tile is blocked when there are tiles on both immediate sides of it, or when there is a tile directly on top of it. For example:

To make it easier to see which tiles are blocked, press the orange "Playable Tiles" button near the top-right of the game. When this setting is active, the unplayable tiles will be dimmed.

You may use up to 5 hints per game. Hints may not always show the best play, but show a possible play. To see a hint for a specific tile, you can highlight the tile first and then click the Hint button. If there is a tile that matches then the hint will show it. If there is not a tile that matches then a random hint will be shown instead.

When all of the tiles are unblocked, the game will automatically play the rest of the tiles for you, unless you turn this feature off by using the blue "Autoplay" button near the top-right of the game.

Scoring

In "Classic Timed" Mahjong Rush, there are two ways to score:

• Each pair of matched tiles scores the value on the timer. For example, if the timer reads 9:23, then 923 points are awarded.
• At the end of a winning game, a bonus is awarded. The bonus amount is based on the time remaining. For example, if the game is won with 5:03.9 remaining, then 5039 x 10 points (or 50390) are awarded for the end game bonus.

Strategy

Each different layout will have its own strategy. Much will depend on how "open" or "closed" a layout is. An open layout is one that tends to open up more choices as play progresses. A closed layout will tend to offer fewer choices or the same amount as play progresses.

Often, different parts of a layout will have open or closed characteristics. It is beneficial to try to determine this early while playing the layout so that tiles from closed sections are given more consideration over tiles from open sections.

Often, there are a few tiles at the start of a layout that block many others. Do all that you can to remove these tiles first.

Whenever you see 4 matching tiles, it is always safe to play those right away and remove them all from the layout. Also, if you remember that you have previously removed 2 of a certain tile and you see 2 more, it is safe to remove the other 2 tiles.

When you have 3 matching tiles available, choose 2 of them that cover or block the most other tiles. Remember that just because you see a match, it doesn't mean it is best to take that match right away.

Since the score is determined by how fast you play, if you are trying to maximize your score, then it should be obvious that you will want to play as fast as reasonable. However, it is more important to match the right tiles so that the game can be won than it is to simply play fast. (Note: Not everyone likes timers. MahjongRush.com is planning a future variant of Mahjong Rush without timers.)

With Hints limited to just 5 per game, we suggest that you try to save at least half of your hints for when there are few matches that can be made (see the upper-left of the game, which tells you how many matches are available). For example, when there are only 1 or 2 matches available, it is sometimes difficult to find where they are. A hint at that time will relieve the frustration of not being able to find them.

You have unlimited Undos, so sometimes you can "peek" under other tiles by matching them and then undoing. Of course, this takes time and can cost you some points.

Tile Set

The "Classic Timed" variant of Mahjong Rush uses the standard set of 144 Mahjong tiles:

• Dots Suit: 4 of Each
• Bams Suit: 4 of Each
• Craks Suit: 4 of Each
• Winds Suit: 4 of Each
• Dragons Suit: 4 of Each
• Flowers Suit: 1 of Each (any two match)
• Seasons Suit: 1 of Each (any two match)