o The "1-4-7 rule" is a good playing strategy (for all forms of Mah-Jongg except American (style similar to NMJL) in which there are no "chows"). If the player to your right discards a 4, and you don't have another of those to discard, you /might/ be all right if you discard a 1 or a 7.

Keep an eye on similar tiles on top of each other Whenever it is possible to identify two similar tiles on top of each other, solving them should become a priority. Otherwise, these may lead to an unsolvable puzzle. If those two tiles are the only ones left out of their symbol/suit to be matched, the game will be lost.

There are few tips that can help you solve a puzzle and avoid ending up in unsolvable situation: The general strategy is to keep removing matching tiles so that each removal opens up more possibilities for future tile matching. If you have a pair that does not open anything, leave it until you need it.

Like many popular games, mahjong has many regional variations, from the Chinese prevailing wind system to American mahjong with special bingo-like scoring cards. Read on to learn how to play mahjong using the game's basic rules and strategies, which are the same across most other variants.