Mahjong Shanghai
Ready for the trickiest Mahjong version ever? Play Mahjong Shanghai Dynasty and discover the magic flow.
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Mahjong Shanghai – The Classic from China
Are you ready for a puzzling gaming experience that takes you straight to China? Surrounded by Chinese symbols and a board resembling a classic Chinese pagoda, you face the challenges of Mahjong Shanghai Dynasty. Just like when you played Mahjong Shanghai on DER SPIEGEL, on the zaphira.games playground you need to clear the starting layout of tiles by matching two tiles with the same symbol. All matched pairs disappear from the board. You win once every tile has a matching pair and the board is cleared. Got it? Then enjoy Mahjong Shanghai!
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Key Information About Mahjong Shanghai
To truly dive into the world of Mahjong Shanghai, you should know the following facts about the game:- Beginners often underestimate Mahjong Shanghai because it looks like a memory game with open tiles. But appearances are deceiving. The tiles are stacked, blocking and covering each other. You can’t see all the tiles from the start. Of the ones you can see, only those on the edges and on top can be matched and cleared. Your task is to gradually free the other tiles, which requires thinking ahead! Not so simple anymore, right?
- Mahjong Shanghai was originally designed as a board game for four players. To make the Chinese classic accessible internationally, it was brought online as a single-player game. Today, it’s one of the world's most popular online puzzle games and is available in several versions. Other well-known Mahjong games include Mahjong Solitaire and Mahjong Alchemy.
- The symbols on the tiles all come from Chinese culture. They are characters representing wealth, luck, longevity, and harmony. The colorful rectangular symbols represent bamboo, symbolizing growth, diligence, and education. The round symbols depict ancient Chinese coins. You’ll also find the four cardinal directions, or winds, symbolizing order and balance. Plants and flowers are classic motifs in Chinese art.
- If you’re already a pro player aiming for the high-score list and trying to complete every game in record time, you shouldn’t waste a second from the start. On zaphira.games, the timer begins as soon as you start the game — not when you click your first tile, as is the case on many other playgrounds.
Tips & Tricks for Mahjong Shanghai
Tip #1: Match the Symbols
To form pairs, the tiles with bamboo, coins, and characters must match exactly. For winds and flowers, however, the symbols can differ slightly.
Tip #2: Think Ahead
Often, you have several options to find a matching tile. The important thing is to choose the combination that, when cleared, frees up useful new tiles.
Tip #3: Undo Move
To see which combination is the smartest, you can use the undo button to test several pairs while keeping an eye on the number of open pairs in the top-left corner.
Tip #4: Understanding the Score
Once you’ve completely cleared the board, you’ve achieved the goal and won — regardless of your score. The score only matters if you’re signed up on the high-score list.
Tip #5: Out of Help?
Sometimes the situation is so tricky that the three help functions aren’t enough. If you watch a short ad video, your jokers are “refilled”, and you get a new chance!Advertisement
Instructions for Mahjong Shanghai
1. Basics
The most important thing is to find a matching tile for each one and clear the pairs from the board. That’s all it takes to win the game. If you get stuck, you can safely reshuffle the board or use the lightbulb hint to reveal another pair. But be careful: there are often multiple matching options, and the lightbulb only shows one possible pair — not necessarily the one that will give you the most progress.
2. Progress
You’ll only get better at Mahjong Shanghai by playing Mahjong Shanghai for free regularly on zaphira.games. Practice makes perfect. Over time, you’ll spot free tiles and distinguish symbols much faster, and your score and completion time will improve. Amid all this ambition, don’t forget to take breaks, enjoy your successes, and accept defeats — otherwise, the fun of the game can quickly fade.
3. Bonus Points
Signing up for the high-score list takes things to the next level. To improve your game even further and boost your score, you can go after bonus points. If you match the tiles that light up, you’ll earn 100 bonus points. Speed is rewarded too: click at least three pairs in quick succession, and you’ll get 50 bonus points. Ready? Then all the other players better watch out!
FAQ for Mahjong Shanghai
Mahjong Shanghai can be played for free without any download, directly in your browser. Thanks to a short ad before each round, this free game offer is available to you without any restrictions. On zaphira.games you can also discover even more Mahjong games and browser games that you can play online for free.
When the message pops up saying that no more combinations are available, you can restart the game or use the shuffle function to reshuffle the board. You can do this three times, because even if you reshuffle the remaining tiles once, the new layout unfortunately doesn’t guarantee success. It’s even possible that after three shuffles, no pairs can be found at all. In that case, you can either watch an ad to receive new shuffle jokers or accept defeat and start a new game.
No, on zaphira.games you can play as many rounds of Mahjong Shanghai for free as you want. So it’s no big deal if a game doesn’t work out and you end up losing a round. You get unlimited chances to try again and do better.
That's no problem at all! Since you're playing Mahjong Shanghai directly in your browser, you just need a stable internet connection. As long as that's available, you can play Mahjong on your smartphone or tablet from anywhere.
You can pause the game at any time and close all tabs. When you return to the Zaphira Playground, you can continue the round exactly where you left off.
Mahjong is incredibly good for your brain - on several levels at once. While playing, you train your concentration, visual perception, memory, and logical-strategic thinking. Studies show that the combination of pattern recognition, planning, and quick decision-making strengthens cognitive abilities and can even help keep your brain fit as you get older.
