Comparison

Moonlight Mahjong Lite vs Mahjong

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Moonlight Mahjong Lite

Experience Mahjong Solitaire in immersive 3D with intuitive touch controls. Choose from competitive arcade-style modes with increasing difficulty or relax with non-competitive options. Enjoy a classic puzzle game designed for iPhone and iPad.

Highlights
  • Virtual reality 3D Mahjong Solitaire
  • Intuitive touch controls
  • Arcade-style progressive levels
  • Non-competitive relaxation modes
  • Scramble, Challenge, Puzzle, and Relaxation modes
  • Original 3D Mahjong Solitaire on iOS
Features
Read full description

Moonlight Mahjong is Mahjong Solitaire in virtual reality 3D, designed specifically for the iPhone and iPad. Intuitive touch control allows you to tilt and turn, zoom in and out to match tiles in 3D. Play “arcade style” with progressively difficult levels and high scores, or relax with one of the non-competitive game modes. The gameplay is simple yet addictive. Moonlight Mahjong features four main types of play: • Scramble Mode: Match tiles faster than the automated opponent "Tilebot" through increasingly difficult levels. The board is automatically reshuffled when you run out of matches, making this game mode easy to start and fun, yet challenging on the higher levels. • Challenge Mode: Compete against Tilebot in full puzzle mode, with no automatic reshuffling, only undo. Challenge requires more strategy than Scramble. This is the ‘pure’ form of the game, but it is difficult! • Puzzle Mode: Solve puzzle boards with no time limit. Choose any layouts you like. This is the original game mode, what people usually think of as Mahjong Solitaire. • Relaxation Mode: Clear boards with no time limit and automatic reshuffling when out of matches. Perfect for when you're just not in the mood to strategize or rush. This free advertising-supported version of Moonlight Mahjong features five complete game modes (the main four, plus 'Lightning Mode'). The full version of Moonlight Mahjong offers a few additional features with no advertisements. Moonlight Mahjong is the original 3D Mahjong Solitaire on iOS, having debuted with the launch of the App Store in 2008. It has been played millions of times and was honored as a "Best Board Game" on the App Store.

About

Mahjong

This single-player matching puzzle game challenges your mind with classic tile removal. Enjoy over 90 levels with classic or emoji-themed tiles. Features include time attack, unlimited undo, and hints.

Highlights
  • Over 90 Mahjong games
  • Time Attack Mode
  • Unlimited Undo & Redo
  • Hints and Autosave
  • Custom game options
  • Emoji-themed tiles
Features
Read full description

Challenge your mind with this classic game! Enjoy this single-player Mahjong game on iOS for FREE. The goal is to reveal the tiles underneath by matching open pairs of identical tiles and removing them from the board. Discover classic designs, or play with new emoji-themed tiles for a fresh & fun new twist on the classic Mahjong experience. Game Features -Play over 90 Mahjong games in varying levels of difficulty and all new gorgeous tile arrangements -Test your skill & race against the clock with Time Attack Mode -Experience the simple and intuitive interface, with beautiful, colorful graphics -Use unlimited Undo & Redo actions -Track your progress with statistics -See top Mahjong players’ times on Leaderboards -Autosave allows you to pause & resume the game anytime -Get guidance when you are stuck with Hints -Pan and zoom-in on tiles -Make the game yours with custom game options like emoji tiles & more Brought to you by Maple Media, the Solitaire, Mahjong and Sudoku Company. Thank you for using Mahjong! Have questions, problems or feedback? Email Support at contact@maplemedia.io for fast and friendly assistance. Mahjong Membership -Level up your Mahjong experience with the Mahjong Membership subscription! Play all 60+ puzzles, get unlimited access to all new puzzle packs as they're released & all premium features, without ads -Once subscribed, payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase if you subscribe -Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period -Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the subscription renewal price & term -Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Service and Subscription Terms: https://maplemedia.io/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://maplemedia.io/privacy/

Screenshots

Moonlight Mahjong Lite4 screens
Mahjong4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Moonlight Mahjong Lite at none against Mahjong's 10. Moonlight Mahjong Lite also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mahjong sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year. Moonlight Mahjong Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Moonlight Mahjong Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15K and 33K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Moonlight Mahjong Lite's written reviews are positive against 74% of Mahjong's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Moonlight Mahjong Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, Mahjong every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Moonlight Mahjong Lite versus Mahjong: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoonlight Mahjong LiteMahjong
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (15K ratings) — better4.6 (33K ratings)
Positive reviews82.3% of reviews — better74.4% of reviews
Number of ratings15K33K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB170 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperMidnight MartianMaple Media Apps, LLC

Customer experience

Moonlight Mahjong Lite

All ratings14,860 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews610 reviews
Positive82.3%
Neutral6.1%
Negative11.6%

Mahjong

All ratings33,327 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews716 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral9.2%
Negative16.3%

User reviews

Moonlight Mahjong Lite

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Stimulating concentration
  • 🌇 Aesthetic and relaxing background
  • ⏱️ Quick return to game
  • 👍 Excellent game
  • 🧠 Keeps mind active

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent freezing and shuffling issues
  • ⏱️ Overly fast tilebot
  • 🖼️ Layouts too large for screen
  • 🙄 Disruptive ads
  • 🤯 Frustrating difficulty spikes

Mahjong

From 33K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🧠 Mentally stimulating
  • 🕰️ Challenging time-based objectives
  • 📚 Variety of layouts and levels

Room to improve

  • 💸 Excessive advertisements
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Small tile sizes on mobile
  • 🔒 Paid content locked behind paywall

Bugs and requests

Moonlight Mahjong Lite

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing during shuffling
  • Tilebot continuing to play during freezes
  • Tiles not registering matches
  • Layouts not fitting screen properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Adjustable tilebot speed
  • Ability to save progress
  • Relaxation mode without time pressure
  • Option to rate/filter layouts
  • Customizable tile/background options

Mahjong

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unresponsive tiles
  • Game freezes and crashes
  • Incorrect move detection
  • Persistent ads blocking UI

Requested features

4 requests
  • More free levels and layouts
  • Option to lock game board in place
  • Ability to favorite/save preferred layouts
  • Improved performance and stability

In-app purchases

None

Moonlight Mahjong Lite

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Mahjong

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Annual1 Month trial$12.991 Year
  • Mahjong Membership$14.991 Year
One-time8
  • Puzzle Pack #1$1.99
  • Puzzle Pack #2$1.99
  • Puzzle Pack #3$1.99
Show 5 more
  • Puzzle Pack #4$1.99
  • Puzzle Pack #5$1.99
  • Puzzle Pack #6$1.99
  • Mahjong Premium$14.99
  • Disable Ads$19.99

Questions

Is Moonlight Mahjong Lite free?
Moonlight Mahjong Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mahjong free?
Mahjong is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Moonlight Mahjong Lite or Mahjong?
Moonlight Mahjong Lite is rated higher. Moonlight Mahjong Lite averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Mahjong averages 4.6 from 33K ratings.
Do Moonlight Mahjong Lite or Mahjong have ads?
Both Moonlight Mahjong Lite and Mahjong show ads.
Which is updated more often, Moonlight Mahjong Lite or Mahjong?
Moonlight Mahjong Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, and Mahjong every 2 months. Most recently, Moonlight Mahjong Lite was updated on November 7, 2026 and Mahjong on November 7, 2026.

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