Cathedral Mahjong Solitaire
About the Cathedral Layout
The Cathedral is the largest board in this category at 140 tiles, laid out as a true church floor plan: a long nave running down the middle, a transept crossing it to form arms on either side, and a rounded apse closing one end in a graceful curve. The cruciform shape is unmistakable from above, the long axis of the nave intersected by the shorter transept and finished by the semicircle of the apse, giving the layout a stately, processional sweep that none of the more compact shapes share.
At 4 out of 5 the Cathedral is genuinely challenging, its difficulty coming from sheer scale and the way its distinct regions connect. The long arms of the cross offer plenty of exposed edges, so the opening is roomy, but the crossing where nave and transept meet stacks tiles deeply, and the curved apse forms its own enclosed pocket. Managing four linked areas, the nave, the two transept arms and the apse, while the crossing knots them together is what gives this grand layout its bite.
Difficulty: Expert (4/5) | Tiles: 140
How to Clear the Cathedral Layout
Open at the far ends of the cross: the foot of the nave and the outer tips of the two transept arms. These extremities have the most exposed edges and give you the widest selection of matches, and clearing inward from all three ends keeps the board opening evenly rather than lopsidedly.
Treat the nave, the transept arms and the apse as connected regions and work to keep all of them progressing together. Because they all feed through the central crossing, starving one area while overclearing another can leave you with a tile in one wing whose partner is locked in a region you can no longer reach.
The crux is the transept crossing where the two axes intersect. It carries the deepest stacking on the board and stays blocked until the arms feeding into it are well cleared, so it tends to be the final knot. Before you commit to unpicking it, verify that both copies of any tile buried in the crossing are still live, since this dense junction is where the Cathedral most often dead-ends.
Save the curved apse, or a few easy pairs within it, for late insurance. As an enclosed pocket it holds tiles cleanly until you need them, giving you fallback moves while you work the crossing. If the junction does seal up, Shuffle re-deals the remaining tiles into a solvable arrangement and lets you finish the long walk down the nave.
The Story Behind the Cathedral Layout
The Cathedral is built on the cruciform plan that has shaped great churches for centuries: the long nave as the body, the transept as the outstretched arms, and the crossing at their meeting point, the whole footprint forming a Latin cross. That symbolic geometry becomes literal play here, the arms of the cross opening first and the crossing at the center holding out as the hardest knot, much as the crossing is the structural heart of a real cathedral.
The rounded apse at the end recalls the curved sanctuary that closes the eastern end of a church, often the most sacred and ornate space within it. On the board it forms a distinct semicircular pocket, a quiet enclosed region set apart from the long straight lines of the nave, echoing how the apse stands apart from the great hall it terminates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to start on the Cathedral?
Open at the extremities of the cross: the end of the nave and the outer tips of both transept arms. These have the most exposed edges and the widest choice of matches, and clearing inward from all three keeps the board opening evenly.
What makes the Cathedral difficult despite its open arms?
Its scale and connectivity. The long arms give a roomy start, but the central crossing stacks tiles deeply and ties the nave, transepts and apse together. Coordinating four linked regions while that dense junction knots them is the real challenge.
How do I deal with the transept crossing?
Treat it as the final knot. It stays blocked until the arms feeding it are cleared and holds the deepest stacks, so before you dig into it confirm both copies of any tile buried there are still in play. Keep a few apse pairs in reserve as fallback moves.
Is every Cathedral deal solvable?
Yes. The board is generated by reversing a solved layout, so a complete solution always exists. If you run out of legal moves, Shuffle re-deals the remaining tiles into another solvable arrangement.
