Mahjong Solitaire vs Mahjong Challenges
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mahjong Solitaire
A classic tile-matching puzzle game where players pair identical tiles to clear the board. Enjoy 60 different layouts in a compact download, offering a fun and challenging solitaire experience.
- Classic Mahjong Solitaire gameplay
- 60 different tile layouts
- Solitaire matching puzzle
- Compact download size
- Free to play
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Mahjong solitaire is a solitaire matching game that uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards. The computer game was originally created by Brodie Lockard in 1981 and named Mah-Jongg after the game that uses the same tiles for play. Lockard claims that it was based on a centuries-old Chinese game called "the Turtle". However, it was not until Activision released Shanghai in 1986 for the Macintosh and Apple IIgs that the game gathered momentum. A version of this game was also included in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows 3.x in 1990 and went by the name Taipei. It was subsequently included in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack. Premium editions of the Windows Vista operating system and Windows 7 include a version of the game known as Mahjong Titans. As any other successful game, millions of clones have been created on all possible platforms. So why should you give our version a try? We tried to recreate all the fun of original game with 60 different layouts in a tiny download package. A tile that can be moved left or right without disturbing other tiles is said to be exposed. Exposed pairs of identical tiles (Flower and Seasons tiles in the same group being considered identical) are removed from the layout one at a time, gradually exposing the lower layers to play. The aim of the game is to clear the layout by pairing up all the tiles. The game is finished when either the layout is empty, or there are no exposed pairs remaining. Don't forget to check our Game section for other fun games...
Mahjong Challenges
Experience the classic Mahjong solitaire game with a timed challenge. Remove all tiles by matching pairs, utilizing unlimited undo, hints, and shuffles. Compete for high scores on 300 unique board layouts.
- 300 board layouts
- Infinite Undo, Hints, Shuffle
- Adjustable tile illumination
- HD graphics
- Guaranteed solvable puzzles
- Score based on time
- High score tracking
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Mahjong Challenges is the classic Mahjong solitaire game, with the variance of each game must be resolved on a given time or less. Hoy to play Mahjong: The goal is to remove all the tiles from the board. You may remove only paired free tiles. The tile is free when there are no tiles either to the left or to the right from it. In this Game you will have: - 300 Board layouts - Infinite Undo, Hints, Shuffle. Easy access at the bottom of the board. - Shadow: you decide to illuminate the entire Layout, or only the clickable tiles. - HD Images. - All puzzles can be solved. - Tile set design for easy recognition. - Score based on the time elapsed between matches. Less time more points. - Each Board has a High Score that you can beat. - Universal Game. You can play on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Enjoy!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mahjong Challenges at 4.8 against Mahjong Solitaire's 3.3. Mahjong Challenges also leads on ads (none vs shown). Mahjong Solitaire's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and update cadence (every 6 months vs every 34 months). On price, ratings volume and device support 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
Both are free to download. Mahjong Challenges sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Mahjong Solitaire asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mahjong Challenges holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 39% of Mahjong Solitaire's written reviews are positive against 29% of Mahjong Challenges's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Mahjong Solitaire ships an update every 6 months, Mahjong Challenges every 34 months. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and August 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mahjong Solitaire | Mahjong Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (11 ratings) | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 39.1% of reviews — better | 29.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 34 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with ads — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 13 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GASP Mobile Games Inc | Jose Varela |
Customer experience
Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Challenges
In-app purchases
Mahjong Solitaire
No in-app purchases
Mahjong Challenges
- 3 extra lives$1.99
- Undo button$1.99
- Hint$1.99
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- Double time$1.99
- Shuffle$1.99
- Set of 5 lives$2.99
Questions
Is Mahjong Solitaire free?
Is Mahjong Challenges free?
Which has better reviews, Mahjong Solitaire or Mahjong Challenges?
Do Mahjong Solitaire or Mahjong Challenges have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mahjong Solitaire or Mahjong Challenges?
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