Comparison

Mahjong Challenges vs Mahjong Essential

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 300 board layouts
  • Infinite Undo, Hints, Shuffle
  • Adjustable tile illumination
  • HD graphics
  • Guaranteed solvable puzzles
  • Score based on time
  • High score tracking
Features
Read full description

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!

About

Mahjong Essential

Features
Read full description

Mahjong solitaire the way it should be: clean, elegant and always playable. Clear the board by matching identical tiles, one pair at a time. Easy to pick up, hard to put down. EVERY BOARD IS SOLVABLE No impossible layouts. Each deal is built by simulating a full solution first, so a way through always exists: getting stuck is a challenge, never bad luck. FIVE MODES • Classic — the traditional multi-layer layout • Turtle — mahjong's iconic shape • Pyramid — a challenge that builds upward • Time Attack — clear as many tiles as you can before the clock runs out • Puzzle — uncover a picture, one piece for every game you win NEW: PUZZLE MODE Fourteen illustrations to uncover. Pick the one you like: every game you win reveals another piece, eight wins to complete it. DIFFICULTY THAT GROWS WITH YOU Start on a compact, properly stacked board and work your way up to the full 144-tile classic. Each mode keeps its own progress, so you can switch between them freely. HELP WHEN YOU WANT IT Hint, shuffle and undo, paid for with tokens you earn by playing: some every day you open the game, and more for every level you finish. Nothing is compulsory — play without them if you prefer. BUILT FOR ACTUALLY PLAYING • Always picks up exactly where you left off, even days later • Restart a level to retry the very same layout • Two tile designs: full colour or traditional black and white • Pinch to zoom on busier boards • Haptics you can switch off in Settings • Works with no connection • Your progress follows you between iPhone and iPad NO FUSS No sign-up, no account, no profile to create. Open it and play. Prefer to play uninterrupted? The "Remove ads" purchase clears the ads between levels, once and for all.

Screenshots

Mahjong Challenges4 screens
Mahjong Essential4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Mahjong Challenges at none against Mahjong Essential's shown. Mahjong Challenges also leads on iOS requirement (13 vs 18.6). Mahjong Essential's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 34 months). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mahjong Challenges sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Mahjong Essential sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mahjong Challenges ships an update every 34 months, Mahjong Essential every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Mahjong Challenges versus Mahjong Essential: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMahjong ChallengesMahjong Essential
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews29.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 34 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB64 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJose VarelaTommaso Tamantini

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Mahjong Challenges

One-time6
  • 3 extra lives$1.99
  • Undo button$1.99
  • Hint$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Double time$1.99
  • Shuffle$1.99
  • Set of 5 lives$2.99
1 purchases

Mahjong Essential

One-time1
  • No-Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Mahjong Challenges free?
Mahjong Challenges is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mahjong Essential free?
Mahjong Essential is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mahjong Challenges or Mahjong Essential have ads?
Mahjong Essential shows ads; Mahjong Challenges does not.
Which is updated more often, Mahjong Challenges or Mahjong Essential?
Mahjong Challenges ships an update every 34 months, and Mahjong Essential every 3 days. Most recently, Mahjong Challenges was updated on October 23, 2026 and Mahjong Essential on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons