A slightly misleading name. Shanghai is a solo game where the Mah-Jongg tiles are arranged in layers, and are then removed by matching free tiles in pairs. To be classed as free, a tile must be able to slide to the left or right (East or West) with no obstructions.

Mah-Jongg is actually played by four players who each have a hand of tiles. They then try to complete sets by picking up and discarding tiles.