Raindrop Mahjong Solitaire
About the Raindrop Layout
Raindrop is a small, focused board of 60 tiles in the classic teardrop shape: a sharp point at the top widening into a smooth round bottom. It is the very picture of a falling drop of water frozen in mid-air. With only 60 tiles and a 2 out of 5 rating, it is a quick, satisfying layout you can clear in a short sitting without it ever feeling trivial.
The raindrop has a strong top-to-bottom personality. The narrow point up top is sparse and opens fast, while the heavier, rounder bottom is where most of the tiles and most of the layering gather. Playing it feels like working downward with gravity, thinning the slender tail first and then settling into the fuller pool below. The compact size keeps everything in view, so you can plan several moves ahead with ease.
Difficulty: Medium (2/5) | Tiles: 60
How to Clear the Raindrop Layout
Open at the point. The top of the raindrop tapers to a single narrow tip where tiles are exposed on nearly every side, so they come away easily and immediately loosen the slim upper neck of the drop.
Work top to bottom. The teardrop carries little weight up top and much more below, so clearing downward through the narrow neck steadily uncovers the rounded base. Resist diving straight into the bottom pool before the neck above it is gone, or you will be reaching past tiles that are still pinned in place.
The crux of Raindrop is the rounded bottom, where the few real stacks live. The wide base bunches its tiles close together with some layering, so this is where partners can hide beneath caps. Take any tile sitting on top of the pool the moment it frees, and clear the round bottom from its outer rim inward so the center is the last thing left rather than a sealed core.
For the endgame, reduce the drop to a single flat layer in the rounded bowl and read off the last pairs. On a 60-tile board the remaining options are easy to track, but if you do strand a match under a cap, Shuffle re-deals what is left into a fresh solvable layout so the drop always finishes.
The Story Behind the Raindrop Layout
A falling raindrop does not actually look like the pointed teardrop we draw; physics pulls small drops into near-spheres and larger ones into little flattened buns. The classic teardrop is really the shape of a drop hanging from a tap an instant before it lets go, stretched thin at the top by surface tension and bulging at the bottom under its own weight.
That hanging-drop form is exactly what the layout captures, and it is why the board is light at the point and heavy at the base. Symbolically the raindrop carries a sense of freshness, cleansing, and renewal, a single small unit of the rain that greens the leaf and builds the cloud elsewhere in this Nature set.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Raindrop layout take to clear?
It is one of the quicker boards here at just 60 tiles, so it suits a short session. The 2 out of 5 difficulty keeps it satisfying rather than trivial.
What is the best opening move on Raindrop?
Start at the pointed top. The narrow tip has tiles exposed on almost every side, so they come away easily and loosen the slim neck of the drop.
Why is the bottom of the raindrop trickier than the top?
The rounded base is where the tiles bunch together and where the small amount of stacking lives, so partners can hide under caps there. Clear the bottom from its outer rim inward and take cap tiles as soon as they free.
Can the Raindrop board become unsolvable?
No. Each deal is built by reversing a solved board, so a solution always exists. If you stall with blocked matches, Shuffle re-deals the remaining tiles into another solvable arrangement.
See more Nature Mahjong boards, or browse all layouts.
