How to play Yila Mahjong
Match pairs of the same tile until the board is clear. In tray mode you tap free tiles into a 4-slot tray and pairs clear; in classic mode you tap two matching free tiles.
The game's own illustrated How to Play screen (Settings, then How to Play) teaches whichever mode you have switched on, and your first board shows three gentle tips, once.
Which tiles can you tap?
A tile is free when nothing sits on top of it and its left or right side is open.
- Tap the top tiles to unlock the tiles beneath them.
- Tap the tiles at the left or right end of a row to unlock the inner tiles.
- Standard tiles must match exactly. Flowers and Seasons match by group.
The board generator and the live game use the exact same "is this tile free?" rule. That shared rule is why a board dealt as clearable stays clearable while you play.
How does tray mode work?
Tap a free tile and it flies into the 4-slot wooden tray at the top of the screen. Two of the same tile in the tray clear automatically.
- Tap a free tile. It flies into the 4-slot wooden tray at the top of the screen.
- Two of the same tile in the tray clear automatically. They do not need to be next to each other on the board.
- If the tray ever fills with 4 tiles that do not match, you get a free shuffle. Never a game over.
- Undo returns the last tile that is still in the tray, and Shuffle re-deals.
Tray mode is on by default for new players. Tray games are just for you: they are not recorded and never feed the leaderboard.
How do combos work?
Collect again within 9 seconds to keep a chain going, and each collect in the chain scores more.
Each collect scores 100 points plus 25 for every step of the chain after the first. A wooden combo plaque under the tray shows the chain and a draining timer bar.
| Collect | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st collect | 100 |
| 2nd collect | 125 |
| 3rd collect | 150 |
| 5th collect | 200 |
| 8th collect | 275 |
Reach a x5 combo to earn the Flowing badge, and a x8 combo for In the Zone.
How does classic mode work?
Tap two matching free tiles to clear them. There is no tray.
To switch, open Settings and turn off the Tray mode switch. Its label reads "Tap tiles into the tray, pairs clear. Off = classic tap-two." The change applies to your next game.
The daily challenge always plays classic tap-two, whatever your setting, because the leaderboard checks runs by replaying classic moves.
What do Hint, Shuffle and Undo do?
They are the three boosters: round buttons in the dock at the bottom of the screen, or on a rail at the right in landscape.
Shuffle re-deals the tiles. In tray mode, Undo returns the last tile that is still in the tray. Using a hint or an undo never costs you a star.
New players also start with 50 coins. In the Shop's own words, boosters are "earnable with coins from normal play, never a paywall."
| Booster | Start with | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hint | 3 | 30 coins |
| Shuffle | 3 | 40 coins |
| Undo | 5 | 20 coins |
How do Flowers and Seasons match?
Any Flower matches any Flower and any Season matches any Season. Every other tile must match exactly.
| Group | Faces | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Dots | 1 to 9 | Exactly |
| Bamboo | 1 to 9 | Exactly |
| Characters | 1 to 9 | Exactly |
| Winds | East, South, West, North | Exactly |
| Dragons | Red, Green, White | Exactly |
| Flowers | Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo Flower | With any Flower |
| Seasons | Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter | With any Season |
Early levels use fewer faces: 8 different faces at level 1, rising to all 34 standard faces from level 19. See every face style on the tile sets page.
How are stars and points worked out?
Finishing a board always earns at least 1 star, and hints, undos and rescues never cost you one.
- 1 star
- Finishing the board. Always.
- 2 stars
- A steady pace, or a 3-chain combo.
- 3 stars
- Beating par by 20%, or a 5-chain combo.
The clock runs silently. Speed only ever adds a bonus at the end, revealed on the win card: never a countdown, never a penalty. Par is 2.2 seconds per tile.
Every finished board also earns a clear bonus of 300 points plus 50 per board-size tier, and you collect 20 coins for the clear plus 10 coins per star.
What happens if you get stuck?
The game rescues the board for free. There is no game over.
- If a board has tiles left and no legal moves, the game rewinds past positions no shuffle could save, then reshuffles.
- In tray mode, a full tray of 4 tiles that do not match gets a free shuffle.
- A rescue is never tied to an ad.
- Free automatic rescues do not count against the Unassisted badge.
- On your first board, three gentle tips appear once. The last one says you can never hit a dead end, because rescues are free.
Which comfort settings can you change?
Six switches in Settings change how the game plays, sounds and looks. Tray mode, sound effects, vibration feedback and extra-large tiles are on by default.
- Tray mode
- Tap tiles into the tray and pairs clear. Off means classic tap-two.
- Sound effects
- Turns the game sounds on or off.
- Vibration feedback
- Uses the phone's vibration where the browser supports it.
- Calm mode
- Softer effects.
- Extra-large tiles
- Keeps the tiles big and easy to read.
- Colour-blind patterns
- Adds a small corner pattern per suit, so suits never rely on colour alone.
In the game's words: "Every one of these is a real toggle, nothing is forced on you."
Ready to try a board?
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