Hexagon Mahjong Solitaire
About the Hexagon Layout
The Hexagon is a calm, orderly board: a regular six-sided figure made of a hundred and ten tiles arranged in concentric rings that shrink toward the middle. Think of it as a honeycomb cell seen from above, with the outermost ring tracing the full six-sided border and each inner ring sitting a step higher and a step smaller. The flat top and the even spacing give it a tidy, architectural look, and the play follows that order, ring by ring from the rim to the core.
Rated three out of five, the Hexagon is approachable but not trivial. Its great virtue is that the six straight edges and six corners offer a wide buffet of free tiles at the start, so beginners rarely feel stuck early. The challenge ripens slowly as the rings tighten, because the inner layers stack on top of one another and the final ring sits over the center like a lid. It is the kind of board you can settle into, the steady rhythm of peeling concentric rings making it genuinely relaxing.
Difficulty: Hard (3/5) | Tiles: 110
How to Clear the Hexagon Layout
Work the six corners before the six edges. On a hexagon the corner tiles have two exposed sides meeting at the vertex, which makes them the freest tiles on the board and the natural place to begin. Knocking out the corners first opens each straight edge from both ends, so the edge tiles start falling almost on their own.
Peel one full ring before diving into the next. The Hexagon's whole logic is concentric, so the cleanest approach is to clear the outer ring all the way around, then the next ring in, and so on. Plunging toward the center early just buries your own moves, because an inner-ring tile cannot come free while the ring outside and above it is still intact.
The crux is the transition from the middle rings to the small inner core. Those last couple of rings are stacked higher and packed tighter, so a tile near the center may be the only home for a value you have been saving. As you approach the core, slow down and match deliberately rather than grabbing the first legal pair, keeping your options open across suits so the center does not strand you.
For the endgame, the final ring acts like a cap over the very middle. Count the remaining tiles once you are down to the last ring or two and watch for any suit you are holding in odd numbers, since a lone leftover in the core is the classic way to lose. If two needed tiles end up stacked dead center with no other play, the Shuffle button re-deals everything remaining into a fresh solvable layout.
The Story Behind the Hexagon Layout
The hexagon is nature's favourite shape for filling space efficiently, the geometry of honeycomb, of basalt columns, of snowflakes and the eyes of insects. Bees settle on six sides because it packs the most cell area for the least wall, and this board carries that same sense of efficient, repeating order. Clearing it ring by ring feels a little like dismantling a honeycomb one course at a time, each layer a perfect smaller echo of the one before.
There is also a meditative quality to concentric hexagons, a quality shared with mandalas and rose windows, where rings of pattern draw the eye steadily toward a single center. That inward pull is exactly how the board plays. You begin at the broad six-sided rim and spiral your attention inward until everything narrows to the small stacked heart, and the symmetry of the six identical sides keeps the whole journey feeling balanced.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best opening move on the Hexagon?
Go for the six corners first. A corner tile sits where two edges meet, so it has two free sides and is the easiest tile on the board to remove. Taking the corners opens every straight edge from both ends, which loosens the rest of the outer ring quickly.
Should I clear ring by ring or dig toward the center?
Ring by ring. The board is built from concentric layers, and an inner-ring tile will not free up while the ring above and outside it is still in place. Peel the outermost ring all the way around before stepping inward, or you will bury your own moves.
Why does the very center give me trouble?
The inner rings are stacked higher and packed tighter than the rim, and the final ring sits over the middle like a lid. A central tile is often the only place a particular value can go, so save flexibility for the core and avoid grabbing every easy pair on the way in.
Is the Hexagon always solvable, and what does Shuffle do?
Every deal is winnable because the board is generated backwards from a completed solution. If your remaining tiles get awkward, especially a matched pair stacked in the center, press Shuffle to re-deal the leftovers into another guaranteed-solvable arrangement.
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