Mahjong Slot Series Mahjong Slots (Mahjong Ways)
A term for slots that use mahjong tiles as symbols. The structure created by PG Soft's Mahjong Ways in 2020, "chain wins + golden tiles turning wild + stepped multipliers," spread as a standard, and Pragmatic Play and Microgaming now release games in the same family.
| English | Mahjong Slots (Mahjong Ways) |
|---|---|
| Classification | Game Features |
| Flagship game | Mahjong Ways (PG Soft, January 2020) |
| Main providers | PG Soft, Pragmatic Play, Microgaming, Play'n GO |
| Basic structure | 1,024 ways or 2,000 ways, tumble |
| Key features | Golden tiles turning wild, multiplier trail |
| Free spins multiplier | Up to 10x (Mahjong Ways family) |
| Max win | 1,708x to 100,000x |
| Listed on AI Slot | 16 games |
Overview
Mahjong Slots is the umbrella term for slots that use the tiles from the traditional Chinese game mahjong as symbols. Among them, PG Soft‘s Mahjong Ways, released on January 15, 2020, and Mahjong Ways 2, released on April 14 of the same year, became hugely popular. As a result, the “Mahjong Ways style” settled in as a genre of its own.
Since then, several providers have released games with similar rules, such as the Mahjong Wins series from Pragmatic Play and Pong Pong Mahjong and Mahjong Reels from Microgaming. As of October 2026, AI Slot lists 16 games with mahjong in the name. You don’t need to know the rules of mahjong, since the tiles are just artwork.
The basic formula of the Mahjong Ways style
Games in the Mahjong Ways family generally run in the order below, even when the providers differ.
- Ways layout: These games use a 5-reel, 4-row grid with 1,024 ways, or a 4-5-5-5-4 layout with 2,000 ways where the middle reels are one row taller. Matching tiles on consecutive reels starting from the left reel make a win.
- Chain wins: Winning tiles disappear and new tiles drop in through a tumble (cascade), so wins can continue within a single spin.
- Golden tiles: Tiles with gold borders can appear on reels 2 to 4. When they are part of a win, they don’t disappear but turn into wilds, which helps the next chain.
- Multiplier trail: The multiplier rises with each chain. In Mahjong Wins and Mahjong Reels, the base game goes 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, and free spins go 2x, 4x, 6x, 10x.
- Free spins: Triggered by 3 scatters. Mahjong Ways and Mahjong Wins award 12 free spins.
Featured mahjong slots on AI Slot
| Release | Games | Providers | RTP | Max win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019.05 | Mahjong 88 | Play'n GO | 94.63% | 5,000x |
| 2020.01 | Mahjong Ways | PG Soft | 96.92% | 2,893x |
| 2020.04 | Mahjong Ways 2 | PG Soft | 96.95% | 1,708x |
| 2022.07 | Mahjong Panda | Pragmatic Play | 96.48% | 5,000x |
| 2023.09 | Mahjong Wins | Pragmatic Play | 96.48% | 5,000x |
| 2023.10 | Pong Pong Mahjong | Microgaming | 96.55% | 5,450x |
| 2023.11 | Mahjong X | Pragmatic Play | 96.51% | – |
| 2024.06 | Mahjong Wins 2 | Pragmatic Play | 96.5% | 100,000x |
| 2025.05 | Mahjong Wins Super Scatter | Pragmatic Play | 96.5% | 100,000x |
| 2025.12 | Mahjong Reels | Microgaming | 96% | 5,000x |
Release month, RTP, and max win follow the game info on AI Slot. There are 16 games in total, including Mahjong Wins Bonus, Mahjong Wins Triple Pot, Pong Pong Mahjong Jackpots, Pong Pong Mahjong 2, Mahjong MaxWin, and Mahjong Wilds Link&Merge.
Twists added to the same formula
- Mahjong Ways 2: Expanded to 2,000 ways with a 4-5-5-5-4 layout. When free spins start, all regular tiles on reel 3 turn into golden tiles.
- Mahjong Wins 2: Keeps the same 2,000-ways structure and raises the max win sharply to 100,000x.
- Mahjong Wins Super Scatter: When the bonus opens, it awards an instant prize from 50x to 100,000x depending on the number of Super Scatters.
- Mahjong Wins Triple Pot: Adds a Triple Pot mechanic where blue, red, and purple coin scatters collect in three pots. When a pot pops, 8 free spins begin.
- Mahjong Reels and Mahjong MaxWin: Include a “Fortune Draw” feature that redraws spins with no win.
Different from the Mahjong Ways style
Some mahjong-themed games use completely different rules. Play’n GO’s Mahjong 88 is a cluster pays game on an 8×8 grid where 4 or more matching tiles touching each other make a win, and a different wild appears each season. Pragmatic Play’s Mahjong X is a scatter pays game where 8 or more matching tiles anywhere on the 6×5 grid make a win.
