The best mahjong games on iPhone and Android right now are Vita Mahjong for classic tile matching with big, easy-to-read tiles, Mahjong Blast for thousands of quick levels, and Mahjong Soul if you want real four-player mahjong instead of the solitaire version. Vita Mahjong is #4 on Apple’s US Top Free Games chart and #1 in Board games, with 1.8 million App Store ratings and 100M+ downloads on Google Play. Below are 12 picks, split into mahjong solitaire and rule-based mahjong, with each one’s developer, ratings, ads and the price of going ad-free. Charts, ratings and prices were checked at 03:25 UTC on October 22, 2026.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Best overall: Vita Mahjong (Vita Studio), 4.9 on both stores. Removing ads is a $5.99 purchase on iPhone.
- Most levels: Vigor Mahjong, which its listing says has over 20,000. Neither store lists any in-app purchases for it.
- Ad-free without a subscription: Mahjong Titan+ on Apple Arcade, or Brainium’s Mahjong with a one-time $11.99 “No Ads” purchase.
- Real mahjong: Mahjong Soul for Japanese riichi, Mahjong 4 Friends for American (NMJL) and Chinese rules with friends, American Mahjong Practice to learn the 2026 card.
- Skip: Mahjong Clash and Mahjong Rumble (#27 and #53 on the same chart). They’re “Win Real Cash” apps, and Apple labels both 18+ with Gambling content. More on that below.
The three chart-topping solitaire picks: Vita Mahjong, Mahjong Blast and Vigor Mahjong. Image: Vita Studio, Nebula Studio, Doodle Mobile
Best mahjong games compared
“Chart” is the position on Apple’s US Top Free Games chart, read from Apple’s top 100 feed, or on the Board games feed where marked; a dash means outside both top 100s. “Go ad-free” comes from each App Store listing’s top purchases. All 12 are free to download.
| Chart | Game | Type | App Store | Google Play | Go ad-free (iPhone) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (Board #1) | Vita Mahjong | Solitaire | 4.9 (1.8M) | 4.9 (6.5M) | $5.99 one-time |
| 24 (Board #5) | Mahjong Blast | Solitaire | 4.9 (622K) | 4.8 (2.5M) | Subscriptions only listed |
| Board #56 | Vigor Mahjong | Solitaire | 4.8 (289K) | 4.8 (263K) | No purchases listed |
| – | Arcadia Mahjong | Solitaire | 4.9 (138K) | 4.9 (21K) | No purchases listed |
| – | Mahjong Solitaire (MobilityWare) | Solitaire | 4.7 (267K) | 4.6 (111K) | Subscription from $1.99/month |
| – | Mahjong by Brainium | Solitaire | 4.8 (108K) | 4.7 (7.5K) | $11.99 one-time |
| – | Mahjong Titan | Solitaire | 4.7 (24K) | 4.7 (628K) | Apple Arcade version (Titan+) |
| – | Mahjong City Tours | Solitaire + travel | 4.9 (255K) | 4.9 (603K) | None listed |
| – | Mahjong Journey | Solitaire + story | 4.4 (89K) | 4.6 (325K) | None listed |
| – | Mahjong Soul | Riichi (4 players) | 4.9 (11K) | 4.6 (29K) | No ads label on either store |
| Board #46 | Mahjong 4 Friends | American, Chinese | 4.9 (25K) | 4.6 (1.9K) | $5.99 “Ad-Free” |
| – | American Mahjong Practice | American (NMJL) | 4.9 (23K) | 4.8 (112) | No ads label on either store |
Mahjong solitaire vs real mahjong: which one do you want?
Most “mahjong” apps in the charts are mahjong solitaire: a one-player matching puzzle that uses mahjong tiles. You clear a stacked layout by tapping identical pairs, and, as Brainium’s listing puts it, “a tile is playable if it is open on the left or right and isn’t covered by another tile.” No hands and no opponents. If you play at a table with three friends, you want the second group below: apps with real rules (riichi, American NMJL, Chinese), draws, discards and winning hands.
Best mahjong solitaire games
1. Vita Mahjong: the chart leader
Vita Studio’s game is #1 in Board games on the App Store and has the biggest numbers on this list: 4.9 from 1.8 million ratings on iPhone and 4.9 from 6.5 million on Google Play, where it has 100M+ downloads. The listing pitches large tiles, hints and undo, daily puzzles and offline play at seniors and casual players. Both stores say it contains ads. On iPhone, “Mahjong Ads Remove” is $5.99. Weekly ($2.99), monthly ($5.99) and yearly ($19.99) subscriptions are also listed, but the listing doesn’t say what they add.
2. Mahjong Blast: thousands of short levels
Mahjong Blast (Nebula Studio, formerly called Mahjong Wonders) is #24 on the Top Free Games chart and #5 in Board, with 4.9 from 622,000 App Store ratings and 100M+ Play downloads. Its description promises “100% Ad Free – No forced ads or pop-ups”, yet the App Store and Google Play both label it as containing ads. Expect optional ads rather than none. The iPhone purchases listed are subscriptions only: $1.99 a week, $4.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
3. Vigor Mahjong: the most levels
Doodle Mobile’s Vigor Mahjong (published as CanaryDroid on Google Play, with the same developer website) claims over 20,000 levels, daily challenges, hints, shuffles and offline play. It’s rated 4.8 on both stores. Neither listing shows in-app purchases, so there’s no paid way to remove its ads.
4. Arcadia Mahjong: big tiles, no time pressure
Metajoy’s Arcadia Mahjong is rated 4.9 on both stores, from 138,000 ratings on iPhone. Its listing promises larger tiles, no time pressure and more than 10,000 puzzles. The App Store shows no in-app purchases; Google Play lists both ads and in-app purchases.
Themed and classic layouts: Mahjong City Tours, Mahjong Journey's Taj Mahal stage and Mahjong Titan. Image: Jam City, G5 Entertainment, Kristanix
5. Mahjong Solitaire by MobilityWare: from the Solitaire people
MobilityWare, the studio behind the long-running Solitaire app, sells ad-free play as a subscription. The description gives $1.99 a month, $4.99 for three months or $14.99 a year, with a one-week free trial for new subscribers. The App Store’s purchase list also shows a six-month term at $2.99 and a 12-month term at $9.99, so check the price in the app before you subscribe. The subscription also unlocks future Daily Challenges. Ratings are 4.7 (267,000) on iPhone and 4.6 on Play.
6. Mahjong by Brainium: pay once, no ads
Brainium’s version is the cleanest one-time deal: “Mahjong No Ads” is $11.99 on iPhone, and it’s the only purchase the App Store lists. You get 26 board shapes, a daily puzzle, and an undo slider for rewinding when you hit a dead end. The catch: it was last updated in October 2025 on both stores.
7. Mahjong Titan: classic boards, and an Apple Arcade version
Kristanix’s Mahjong Titan has more than 3,000 boards, a new one every day, and 628,000 ratings on Google Play (4.7). The free version has ads and sells extra board packs at $3.99 each. On iPhone, Mahjong Titan+ is the Apple Arcade edition, “with all 3000+ boards unlocked from the start” according to its listing. If you already pay for Arcade, that’s the ad-free pick.
8. Mahjong City Tours: mahjong with a world trip
Jam City’s game wraps 3,000+ levels in a travel theme, with power-ups, obstacles and weekly tournaments. It’s rated 4.9 on both stores (255,000 ratings on iPhone, 603,000 on Play). Apple lists ads, loot boxes and chat. Its last update on both stores was July 7, 2026.
9. Mahjong Journey: story quests and landmarks
G5 Entertainment’s Mahjong Journey takes you past the Forbidden City, the Taj Mahal and Mount Fuji, with Shuffle and Firecracker boosters and timed gold stars. It has the lowest App Store score here (4.4), but 4.6 from 325,000 Play ratings. It plays offline and contains ads. Its purchases are diamonds and bundles from $0.99 to $19.99.
Best real mahjong games (rules, hands and opponents)
10. Mahjong Soul: Japanese riichi mahjong
Mahjong Soul, from Cat Food Studio and Yostar, is a free-to-play version of riichi mahjong that reached English-speaking players in April 2019, according to Wikipedia. Its listings promise fully voiced anime characters, an in-game tutorial, a friends system and tournaments. Neither store labels it as containing ads, but it runs on gacha: Apple lists loot boxes and Jade packs from $0.99 to $79.99. Apple rates it 13+ and Google Play rates it Teen. The iPhone download is 2.9 GB.
Mahjong Soul teaches riichi tiles in its tutorial: 34 kinds, 136 tiles in all. Image: Yostar
11. Mahjong 4 Friends: American and Chinese rules with your group
Unwind Media’s app is built for a weekly game that’s gone online. It supports the NMJL 2026 and Marvelous cards with Charleston rounds and jokers, plus Chinese, Hong Kong and British 13-tile variants. You can fill empty seats with AI players or join public tables. It’s #46 in Board games and rated 4.9 on iPhone. The listing says there are “no paywalls for continued play”. On iPhone, “Ad-Free” is $5.99, and NMJL, Marvelous and Chinese “Pro” add-ons are $5.99 each.
12. American Mahjong Practice: learn the 2026 card
Eight Bam’s app is a trainer, not a social game. You play hands to completion offline, see suggested hands ranked by matching tiles, and get corrections when you declare a pattern that doesn’t exist. Hands from the 2018 card are free. The 2026 hands are $17.99 one-time or come with a $3.99 monthly subscription, which also adds the Daily Challenge and leaderboard. Neither store labels it as containing ads.
Warning: “Win Real Cash” mahjong apps
Two of the mahjong apps high on the Top Free Games chart are paid-entry cash tournaments, not casual games: Mahjong Clash: Win Real Cash (#27) and Mahjong Rumble: Win Real Cash (#53), both from Aviagames. Their App Store listings carry an 18+ rating with “Gambling” in the content labels. The descriptions say players must be at least 18 and that cash games aren’t available in Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, South Dakota or Puerto Rico. We don’t recommend them: you risk real money against strangers.
Be careful on Google Play too. A Play search on October 22 found no Aviagames listing, but it did show lookalikes with the same names from unrelated developers. One example: “mahjong clash: win real cash”, listed by a company called ALSHIKH CARS LIMITED with 500+ downloads. Always check the developer name before you install. If cash games stop feeling like a game, the US National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (call or text).
More puzzle lists
Next, try our best color sort games, the trending puzzle games on iPhone and Android, the best offline mobile games for flights, or our Meowdoku tips.
FAQ
How do you remove ads in Vita Mahjong?
On iPhone, buy “Mahjong Ads Remove” for $5.99 in the game’s store. The App Store also lists weekly, monthly and yearly subscriptions ($2.99, $5.99, $19.99) without saying what they add. Google Play shows the game has ads and in-app purchases, but doesn’t list item prices.
What’s the best mahjong game with no ads?
Mahjong Titan+ on Apple Arcade has no ads and no purchases, but it’s iPhone and iPad only and needs an Arcade subscription. Pay once instead with Brainium’s Mahjong ($11.99 “No Ads”) or Mahjong 4 Friends ($5.99 “Ad-Free”). Neither store labels Mahjong Soul or American Mahjong Practice as containing ads.
Is Mahjong Clash real money?
Yes. Mahjong Clash: Win Real Cash runs skill-based cash matches with real money prizes, according to its App Store description, for players 18 and over, and not in five US states and Puerto Rico. Apple labels it 18+ with Gambling content. It isn’t a casual mahjong game.
Can you play mahjong offline on your phone?
Yes. Google Play tags Vita Mahjong, Mahjong Blast, Vigor Mahjong, Mahjong Titan, Mahjong City Tours and Mahjong Journey as Offline. American Mahjong Practice also needs no connection, and Mahjong 4 Friends works offline against AI players.
Sources: Apple App Store listings and US Top Free Games and Board games charts, Google Play listings (all checked October 22, 2026, 03:25 UTC), Wikipedia: Mahjong Soul, National Council on Problem Gambling.
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