How to Play
American Mahjong Explained
If you've never held a tile, start here. This is the short version of how a game is set up and how a turn flows — enough to sit down at a table and enjoy yourself.
The essentials
Four players, one table
American mahjong is usually played by four. Three works with small adjustments, and most groups will happily seat a beginner between two patient regulars.
What's in the set
Three suits — dots, bams and cracks — numbered one through nine, plus winds, dragons, flowers and jokers. Jokers are the part that makes the American game feel distinct.
The card decides the hands
Instead of memorizing hands, everyone plays from the same annually published card. You pick a hand from it and collect tiles toward that pattern.
How long a game takes
A single hand often runs ten to twenty minutes. An evening is usually several hands, with plenty of talking in between.
Step by step
From shuffle to mahjong
Step 1
Shuffle and build
Turn all tiles face down and mix them well. Each player builds a wall in front of them, two tiles high, and the four walls are pushed together into a square.
Step 2
Deal the hands
Tiles are dealt around the table until every player holds thirteen; the dealer takes one extra to begin. Stand yours up so only you can see them.
Step 3
Choose a direction
Open your card and look for a hand that suits the tiles you already hold. Keep a backup in mind — you'll often change course as the game develops.
Step 4
The Charleston
Before play begins, players pass unwanted tiles in a set sequence of threes. It's the game's most social moment and your best chance to shape a hand.
Step 5
Take your turn
On your turn you draw a tile, then discard one face up and name it aloud. Play moves to your right, and the rhythm settles quickly.
Step 6
Call a discard
If a discarded tile completes a group you need, you may call it, expose that group on the table, and continue from there. Calling is how hands come together fast.
Step 7
Use jokers wisely
Jokers substitute for tiles in groups of three or more, never in pairs or singles. Holding one too long can cost you; spending one too early can too.
Step 8
Declare mahjong
When your fourteen tiles match a hand on the card exactly, declare mahjong and lay them down. The table checks it together, then the tiles are washed for the next hand.
A friendly note: this is an introduction, not a complete rulebook. Hands, scoring and the finer points change from year to year, so always play from the current National Mah Jongg League card for official hands and rules — and when in doubt, ask the table.
Download full rule book with visuals and practice guides
Watch and learn
Video walkthroughs
Video slot
Setting up the table
A tutorial video can be added to this slot from the studio desk.
Video slot
Your first Charleston
A tutorial video can be added to this slot from the studio desk.
Video slot
Reading the card
A tutorial video can be added to this slot from the studio desk.
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