Mahjong Solitaire Layouts Compared — Turtle, Pyramid and Tower

Exact tile counts and layer structure for all three layouts: turtle 144 tiles in 5 layers, pyramid 120 in 4, tower 76 in 5 — and why the smallest board is the hardest.

Every version of mahjong solitaire uses the same 144-tile set and the same matching rule. What changes everything is the shape of the stack. The layout decides how many tiles are free at any moment, and the number of free tiles is what actually decides whether a board is easy.

Here are the three layouts on this site, with their real structure.

Turtle — 144 tiles, 5 layers

The classic. It is the only layout that uses the complete set.

• Base layer: 87 tiles. Eight rows running 12, 8, 10, 12, 12, 10, 8, 12 — that is 84 — plus two tiles hanging off the right side (the head) and one off the left (the tail).
• Layer 2: 36 tiles in a 6 × 6 block.
• Layer 3: 16 tiles in a 4 × 4 block.
• Layer 4: 4 tiles.
• Layer 5: 1 tile, sitting alone on top.

The shape is deliberately lopsided. Those three tiles sticking out at the sides are free from the first click, and the staggered row lengths mean the ends of almost every row are open too. Turtle has more free tiles than any other layout, which is exactly why it is the one to learn on: mistakes are survivable because there is usually another move available.

Pyramid — 120 tiles, 4 layers

A true step pyramid, each layer inset from the one below.

• Base layer: 64 tiles (8 × 8).
• Layer 2: 36 tiles (6 × 6).
• Layer 3: 16 tiles (4 × 4).
• Layer 4: 4 tiles (2 × 2).

Fewer tiles than the turtle, but that does not make it easier. The base is a solid square with no overhangs, so the only free tiles at the start are the four edges of each layer. The centre of the base is buried under three other layers and will not move until most of the board is gone.

Pyramid is a patience test rather than a puzzle. It rewards working the outside inward and resisting the temptation to dig at the middle, which is the single most common way to lose a pyramid board. Try it as Mahjong Pyramid.

Tower — 76 tiles, 5 layers

Half the tiles of the turtle and by far the hardest board.

• Base layer: 36 tiles (6 × 6).
• Layer 2: 16 tiles (4 × 4).
• Layer 3: 16 tiles (4 × 4) — the same footprint as the layer below it.
• Layer 4: 4 tiles (2 × 2).
• Layer 5: 4 tiles (2 × 2) — again the same footprint as the layer below.

That repeated footprint is the whole story. On turtle and pyramid each layer is smaller than the one beneath it, so every tile you remove exposes something new. On tower, two layers sit directly on top of each other with an identical 4 × 4 shape, and the top two do the same. Removing a tile there exposes nothing until its twin on the layer above is also gone.

The result is a board with very few free tiles and almost no slack. One wrong pair removal on a tower can end the game twenty tiles in, and there is no reserve of easy moves to recover with. Play it at Mahjong Tower.

Why fewer tiles does not mean easier

The instinct is that 76 tiles should be quicker and gentler than 144. In practice it is the opposite, and the reason is the free tile count, not the tile count.

A tile is free when nothing is sitting on top of it and at least one of its left or right sides is open. Turtle has a large, irregular base with overhangs, so dozens of tiles qualify at once. Tower has a narrow, regular base with layers stacked directly on each other, so the number of free tiles at any moment is small and sometimes zero.

Difficulty in mahjong solitaire is really: *how many safe moves do I have right now?* Turtle answers "many", pyramid answers "a few, all on the edges", tower answers "two or three, and they matter".

Which layout should you play?

• Learning the game: turtle, until you can clear it comfortably. It forgives bad ordering.
• A longer, steadier game: pyramid. 120 tiles takes a while and rewards discipline rather than cleverness.
• The hardest board: tower. Only 76 tiles, but expect to lose far more often than on either of the others.

All three are generated by working backwards from an empty board, so every board you are dealt is solvable. A loss is always a sequence of choices, never a stacked deck.