Playing Mahjong (also called Mah-jongg) isn’t only about being the first to obtain the winning hand. It’s about experiencing cultural heritage and appreciating tradition while enjoying a competitive sport with family and friends. Mahjong has many variations thanks to its influence outside of East Asia. You can play Chinese Mahjong, Korean Mahjong, Japanese Mahjong, and American Mahjong. The rules vary slightly but ultimately come down to matching identical tile pairs using a game board.
Many free Mahjong apps exist on the Google Play Store and App Store. You can use these apps to play and practice all types of Mahjong, from classic Chinese Mahjong to the trickier Japanese style. How do you grow your library of great Android games? Here are the best free Mahjong games you can add to your Android gaming phone.
Mahjong Master combines style and customization into one game. You can enjoy a relaxing game of Mahjong alone or with a friend. The app includes over 1,700 game levels, and you can play offline.
The beautiful tile art and the customizable background are partly why Mahjong Master is renowned. You don’t need to pay out of pocket to access these options in-game. The game has a pleasing aesthetic, and you won’t surf through ads to play. It also includes the crucial functions required to play: the ability to shuffle, check hints, and undo your moves. This Mahjong-focused app brings out the spirit of a classic Chinese game without breaking the bank.
Mahjong Epic improves on the classic Chinese Mahjong game. Matching tiles to complete the board feels more addictive than ever. The slick movement between the matching tiles and how Mahjong tiles glimmer upon contact is perfectly satisfying.
Objectives needed to complete goals are clear. It includes a progress bar showing how close you are to completion (such as how many wins are required). The app has options for the background wallpaper and the tileset. It requires an additional download to obtain new ones. You can also hide the time.
The only in-app purchases available in Mahjong Epic are for new game boards. Each pack introduces 200 new game boards. If you’re new to the app, you’ll have 1,925 game boards to select from.
Mahjong Titan has a vast selection of game boards (over 2,000) compared to other apps. The tilesets are visible and clear, which you want to see from an app that supports portrait mode on mobile devices. It also includes multiple difficulty levels, so veterans and beginners can get the most out of playing Mahjong Titan.
Even though Mahjong Titan contains ads, you can opt into an ad-free version with Google Play Pass. Outside of ads, the app doesn’t hold back. It offers a premium-quality feel while including all the desired Mahjong features.
The Mahjong Journey: Tile Match provides an excellent landscape overview of the classic Chinese game of Mahjong. The wallpapers are more detailed than other apps on this list, and it has a clear layout of the entire gameboard. Previous apps cut off the view for seeing the last pair of tiles. The scenery changes as you get closer to completing the game board. Visually, this Mahjong app is the most impressive one on this list.
The game introduces maps for each board game level. You select a level to load the game board. It has in-game monetization, where you spend premium currency on boosters to shortcut your way to victory. None of that’s required to finish any level.
MobilityWare has a collection of card games, including Solitaire. The same publishers have released an app focused on Mahjong (Mahjong Solitaire). Similar to the other apps, ads display while you play, generally at the top of the screen. You can also access a shuffle, hint, and undo button. If you prefer a simplistic gaming experience, reduce the animations and tile highlighting and outlining inside the game settings.
To eliminate ads, subscribe in-app or download the version included in Google Play Pass. MobilityWare keeps the playing experience consistent across its other games. Downloading this Mahjong app is a safe bet if you’ve dabbled with other MobilityWare apps.
Mahjong Infinite supports landscape mode, and it does it well. Mahjong Infinite offers simplicity in its gameplay and structure. You can select any level or jump back into the game you were playing. You can also customize brightness, sound effect volume, and background music (though the music is peaceful). Like other apps, you can change the tileset and background art. The Mahjong-inspired app doesn’t do anything different compared to other Mahjong apps, but sometimes, not breaking the formula is the way to go.
Mahjong Infinite supports ads, but they are at the bottom of the screen, away from the game view. As long as these ads don’t obstruct your view of the Mahjong board, it’s acceptable.
Sometimes, we don’t need all the bells and whistles to learn traditional Mahjong, especially when you’re trying to get used to the Japanese version of Mahjong (also called Riichi Mahjong). Other times, we benefit more from practicing using a simulator before diving into real matches.
This is where Riichi Mahjong shines as one of the best Mahjong games. It’s a simulator app for Japanese Mahjong. The only downside is that it’s somewhat bare. It has limited AI opponents, and most of the fun gaming experience comes from competing in multiplayer. Otherwise, the app is a fantastic choice to learn the traditional Japanese Mahjong ruleset without stress.
We covered many Mahjong games using the traditional Chinese rules. Mahjong, with the Japanese ruleset, plays differently. The pacing is different in Riichi Mahjong. You’re enticed to play slower and deliberately to acquire a winning hand. Mahjong Soul features the Japanese ruleset, and the app is published by Yostar, the company responsible for localizing some of the best gacha games on Android.
Mahjong Soul is a great entry point for experiencing the differences between the traditional Chinese and Japanese rulesets while picking up on the Japanese playing style. It feels like playing Mahjong in an anime while offering beautifully anime-inspired graphics as a perk. The app provides all the opportunities to play and practice Riichi Mahjong leisurely and competitively. You can play matches against AI, your friends, or people worldwide in ranked tournaments. If you’re ready to show off your skills and gameplay, Mahjong Soul might be the app to try.
Mahjong is one of those games that brings matching tiles to life. The game has been around since the mid-1800s and has spread like wildfire in China, starting in Shanghai and Beijing. Now, you can play the famous puzzle game on your computer, phone, and tablet. It’s astonishing to see a game with such a deep history still alive today. If taking a trip down memory lane is your thing, you’ll find many great retro ports on Android.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
