What are Flower and Season tiles?
Flowers and Seasons are the only tiles that come as a set of four unique pictures instead of matching copies. They are a small, colorful shortcut in the game.
What they show
The four Flowers usually show Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo blossoms. The four Seasons show Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In a real mahjong set these are often numbered 1 to 4 and paired with player seats, but for Solitaire the artwork is the fun part.
Their special matching rule
Here is what makes them different: any Flower can be matched with any other Flower, and any Season with any other Season. You do not need two of the same picture. Because there are only four of each and they all match within their group, they tend to be easier pairs to spot and remove.
How many are in a game
A full 144-tile layout includes all 8 bonus tiles, so exactly 4 Flowers and 4 Seasons. That is 4 pairs out of the 72 in a game. They add variety and a splash of color without changing the core challenge. See how they fit the whole set in how many tile types are there.
Related questions
How do matching tiles work?
Most tiles match only another tile that looks exactly the same, such as two Bamboo 3s or two West Winds. The special case is bonus tiles: any Flower matches any other Flower, and any Season matches any other Season, even if the pictures differ.
How many mahjong tile types are there?
There are 42 different tile designs in a standard mahjong set. That is 27 suit designs (three suits numbered 1 to 9), four Winds, three Dragons, and eight unique bonus tiles (four Flowers and four Seasons). With four copies of most tiles, the designs add up to 144 tiles.
What are Wind and Dragon tiles?
Winds and Dragons are the honor tiles in a mahjong set. There are four Winds (East, South, West, North) and three Dragons (Red, Green, White), with four copies of each. That is 16 Wind tiles and 12 Dragon tiles, 28 honor tiles in all.
How many tiles are in a mahjong set?
A standard mahjong set has 144 tiles, which is exactly 72 matching pairs in Mahjong Solitaire. That total breaks down into 108 suit tiles, 16 Wind tiles, 12 Dragon tiles, and 8 bonus tiles (4 Flowers and 4 Seasons).