Tent Mahjong Solitaire
About the Tent Layout
The Tent board is a wide, clean triangle: two long sides slope up from a broad base to meet at a peak, forming the classic A-frame camping-tent outline. Right at the center of the bottom edge is a small vertical slit, the tent flap, a narrow gap of missing tiles where you would crawl in. The triangle is mostly a single layer with a slightly thicker band low and central, so the board feels broad and open near the ground and tapers to just a tile or two at the very top.
At 2 out of 5 this is an easy, breezy board, well suited to a calm session. The triangular shape means almost every tile sits along a sloping edge, and sloped edges expose a lot of free tiles, so matches are plentiful and you rarely feel cornered. The little door slit adds two extra open edges right in the middle of the base. It is a relaxing layout where the main pleasure is watching the tent dissolve evenly down to its last few tiles.
Difficulty: Medium (2/5) | Tiles: 140
How to Clear the Tent Layout
Use the peak and the slopes. The single tile or two at the very top of the tent is free immediately, and both diagonal sides are exposed along their outer edge, so you can clear inward from either slope. Sweeping the two slopes down toward the base is the natural flow of this board.
Open the door slit early. The vertical flap in the middle of the base creates two extra free edges facing into the gap, giving you a second front to attack from below. Pairing tiles around the doorway helps you eat into the central base, which is the densest part of the triangle.
The crux, mild as it is, is the wide base. It holds the most tiles and the only slightly stacked band, so don't strip both slopes all the way down before touching it; keep some slope tiles available so you always have open matches feeding the bottom. Clear the base from the door outward and from the slope ends inward at the same time.
The endgame is usually a thin scatter along the base and a couple of peak leftovers. Because the board is so open you'll rarely stall, but if you do, every Tent deal is guaranteed solvable, and Shuffle re-deals the remaining tiles into another solvable layout to finish.
The Story Behind the Tent Layout
The A-frame tent is one of the simplest shelters people have ever built, just two slopes leaning together to shed rain and wind, with a flap to duck through. That pure triangle with a little doorway is so elemental that a child would draw a campsite exactly this way, which is what makes it such a satisfying, legible Mahjong shape: there is no mistaking what it is.
Geometrically, a triangle is a gift to a tile layout because its sloping sides naturally expose tiles, keeping play open and friendly. The single vertical slit at the base is the one clever detail, breaking the solid bottom edge with a doorway that doubles as an extra opening for the player. Together they make a board that looks like a peaceful campsite and plays as relaxed as one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Tent such an easy board?
Its triangular shape puts almost every tile along a sloping edge, and sloped edges leave many tiles free at once. It's mostly a single layer, you can see everything, and the door slit adds two more open edges, so matches stay plentiful and you rarely get stuck. That's why it sits at 2 out of 5.
What is the door slit and how do I use it?
It's the small vertical gap at the center of the base, shaped like a tent flap. The tiles bordering it are free on the side facing the gap, giving you a second place to attack the dense central base from below. Clear outward from the doorway to open the bottom of the tent quickly.
How should I clear the Tent efficiently?
Come down both sloping sides from the peak while also eating outward from the door slit. The wide base is the only part with any stacking, so don't fully strip the slopes first; keep slope tiles in reserve so you always have open matches feeding the bottom row.
What if I run out of moves near the end?
You won't get stuck often on such an open board, but every Tent deal is guaranteed solvable from the start. If the last few base tiles do jam up, press Shuffle to re-deal the remaining tiles into another guaranteed-solvable arrangement.
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