1. The basics

What is American Mahjong?

Mahjong is a tile game for four players. Think of it like rummy, played with engraved tiles instead of cards.

The American version has its own twist: everyone plays toward a list of winning hands printed on a card, and a new card comes out every year.

• 4 players
• 152 tiles in a set
• 13 tiles in your hand
• 45–60 minutes a game

Your goal

Pick a hand from the card and collect the exact tiles it calls for. The first player to complete a 14-tile hand says “Mahjong!” and wins the round.

That's the whole game in a sentence. Everything else is how you get there.

For example, two Flowers, three 2 Dots, three 4 Dots, four 6 Dots and two 8 Dots make 14 tiles that match one line on the card.

How a game flows

1. Set up: build the walls, pick East and deal. East gets 14 tiles, everyone else 13.
2. The Charleston: everyone trades unwanted tiles, 3 at a time.
3. Draw and discard: take turns drawing a tile and throwing one away, or calling someone's discard.
4. Win: the first to match a hand on the card says “Mahjong!”

Each of these has its own lesson next.

Three tips for your first game

• Keep the card close. Prop it up where you can see it and glance at it every turn.
• Stay flexible early. Don't lock into one hand too soon. Let the Charleston and your first few draws show you what's realistic.
• Just start playing. Mahjong clicks fastest at the table. A few practice rounds and it falls into place.

Quick check: How many tiles are in a winning hand? 14. Every hand on the card is exactly 14 tiles. You hold 13 between turns and win with your 14th.

2. Meet the tiles

An American set has 152 tiles

Before you learn a single rule, get to know your tiles. Every American mahjong set has the same mix:

Count your set before your first game. A missing tile changes the odds for everyone.

Three suits

Most of the set is three suits, each numbered 1 to 9. Look at the little number in the corner of each tile.

Bams are bamboo sticks.

Craks show the character 萬.

Dots are circles.

Winds and Dragons

Winds (North, East, West, South) belong to no suit. When the card says NEWS it means one of each.

Dragons each pair up with a suit. This matters when a hand asks for a “matching” dragon:

• Red dragon goes with Craks
• Green dragon goes with Bams
• White dragon (“Soap”) goes with Dots. Soap is also the 0 in year hands.

Memory trick: Red for cRaks, Green for Grass (Bams), and Soap is white, like the background of a Dot.

Flowers and Jokers

Flowers are all the same in play, no matter which picture is on them.

Jokers are the wild cards of the game. You'll learn exactly where they work in the Jokers lesson. For now: they're precious, and you never pass them away.

Quick check: Which suit does the White dragon (Soap) go with? Dots. Soap matches Dots. It also doubles as the zero in year hands.

3. Read your card

The card is the whole game

In American mahjong you can only win with a hand printed on the card. Each line is one exact winning hand of 14 tiles.

Cards are reissued every year, so the hands change. Always play from the current year's card, and make sure everyone at the table uses the same one.

Lines are grouped into families, such as:

• Year hands built on the current year
• 2468 (even numbers) and 13579 (odd numbers)
• Like numbers (the same number across suits)
• Consecutive runs (numbers in a row)
• 369, Addition hands, Quints, Winds & Dragons and Singles & Pairs

The exact sections shift a little each year, but the shape of the card stays familiar.

Read a line, group by group

A line such as FF 222 444 6666 88 (one color, worth 25, marked X) means two Flowers, a pung of 2s, a pung of 4s, a kong of 6s and a pair of 8s, all in one suit of your choice. Jokers may fill in for tiles in the pungs and the kong, but not in the Flowers pair or the pair of 8s.

Colors mean suits, not specific suits

The colors on the card don't mean “green is Bams.” They only tell you how many different suits to use:

• All one color: every numbered group uses the same suit, any suit you like.
• Two colors: two different suits.
• Three colors: all three suits, one suit per color.

At the right end of each line you'll see the hand's value (like 25 or 30) and a letter:

• X means exposed. You may call discards to build it.
• C means concealed. You must build it from tiles you draw, and may only call a discard for your very last, winning tile.

Letters and notes on the card

• Numbers are the tiles to collect. A 4 means the 4 tile.
• F is a Flower, D is a Dragon, and N E W S are the Winds.
• 0 is the White dragon (Soap), used in year hands.
• Joker notes: some hands print a limit, like “Max 1 Joker”, and Singles & Pairs hands use none.

Every player at the table needs the same card. Ours is The American Mahjong Card 2027, with its own 50 hands. It is separate from the National Mah Jongg League card, so agree which card you're playing before you start. Have it on hand before your first game.

How beginners pick a hand

1. After the deal, sort your tiles by suit, then honors.
2. Look for what you have plenty of: pairs, Flowers, lots of even numbers, one strong suit.
3. Choose 2 or 3 card lines that use those tiles.
4. Stay flexible through the Charleston, then settle on one.

Jokers make big groups easier. Hands full of pungs and kongs are friendlier to beginners than Singles & Pairs hands, which can't use Jokers at all.

Quick check: A card line is printed in three colors. What does that mean? Use three different suits, whichever you like. Colors only tell you how many different suits. You choose which suit goes with which color.

4. Set up and deal

Build the walls

1. Turn all 152 tiles face down and mix them.
2. Each of the four players builds a wall 19 tiles long and 2 tiles high (38 tiles) in front of their rack.
3. Push the four walls together into a square in the middle of the table.

If your set uses racks with pushers, the wall sits on the pusher arm so you can slide it forward.

Choose East

Each player rolls the dice. Highest roll is East, the dealer. After every game, the role of East passes to the right.

East rolls again and counts that many stacks from the right end of their own wall, then separates the wall there. That's where the deal starts.

The deal

1. Starting with East and going to the right, each player takes 2 stacks (4 tiles) at a time.
2. Go around three times, so everyone has 12.
3. East then takes 2 more tiles. Everyone else takes 1.

• East starts with: 14
• Everyone else: 13

East has the extra tile because East makes the first discard.

Look at your hand

Stand your tiles on your rack so no one else can see them. Sort by suit, then Winds, Dragons, Flowers and Jokers.

Get out your card and start matching (see the card lesson). If East already holds a winning hand, East declares Mahjong right away. It's rare, but it happens.

After each game

The next game gets a new dealer: East passes to the right. Some groups let East deal again after winning. Settle it with your table before the first deal.

Three or five players? The game is built for four. A fifth player can sit out each game and rotate in. With three, you'll need house adjustments, so four is much easier while you're learning.

Quick check: How many tiles does East start with? 14. East takes one extra tile because East goes first by discarding.

5. The Charleston

What the Charleston is

Before anyone plays, everyone trades unwanted tiles. This is the Charleston, and it's unique to American mahjong.

• Each pass is 3 tiles, placed face down.
• Everyone passes at the same time, in the same direction.
• Pick up the tiles passed to you only after you've passed yours.
• Jokers can never be passed.

Step through the passes

The first Charleston goes right, across, then left. The optional second Charleston goes left, across, then right, and a courtesy pass across can follow.

Blind passing

On the last pass of each Charleston (the first Left and the second Right), you may “steal”. That means passing on 1, 2 or all 3 of the tiles you were just given without looking at them, and adding tiles of your own to make 3.

Use a blind pass when you have nothing left you want to give away.

Second Charleston and courtesy pass

After the first Charleston, the table may do a second one in reverse: Left, Across, Right. It's optional, and any single player can stop it before it starts.

Finally, you may make a courtesy pass with the player across from you: 0 to 3 tiles, by agreement. If one of you wants 1 and the other wants 3, you both pass the smaller number.

Every pass is exactly 3 tiles, except the courtesy pass.

Then East discards and play begins.

Quick check: What is the order of the first Charleston? Right, Across, Left. First Charleston: Right, Across, Left. The optional second one reverses it: Left, Across, Right.

6. Taking your turn

East goes first

East has 14 tiles, so East begins by discarding one tile. Play then moves to the right (counterclockwise) around the table.

Every turn has three parts

1. Draw the next tile from the wall.
2. Rack it, then decide which tile you don’t need.
3. Discard one tile face up in the middle and say its name out loud, like “3 Bam” or “Soap”.

Naming every discard matters. If you name a tile wrong (“5 Dot” when it’s a 6 Dot), no one can call it for an exposure until it’s named correctly. But if someone wins Mahjong on your misnamed tile, you pay that winner 4 times the hand’s value.

Keep count

• After your discard: 13
• To declare Mahjong: 14

Your hidden tiles plus your exposed groups should always add up to 13 after you discard. If you end up with the wrong count, your hand is dead.

Smart habits

• Discard tiles that don't fit any of your target hands first.
• Watch other players' exposures. They tell you what those players need.
• Late in the game, avoid throwing a tile someone obviously needs.
• Don't discard a Joker unless you truly can't use it.

Quick check: Which way does play move? To the right (counterclockwise). In American mahjong, play moves to the right, counterclockwise.

7. Calling a discard

Only for a group or for the win

You may take a tile someone just discarded only to:

• complete a pung (3), kong (4), quint (5) or sextet (6) that your hand needs, or
• finish your hand and declare Mahjong.

You can't call a discard for a single tile or a pair, unless it's the last tile that wins the game. Groups of different tiles, like NEWS or 2027, count as singles, not a kong, so you can only call a tile for them to win.

Holding two 7 Dots and someone throws one? Call it to make a pung.

How to call

1. Say “Call” (or “Mahjong!” if it wins).
2. Take the discard.
3. Place the full group face up on top of your rack. This is an exposure. You may use Jokers in it.
4. Discard a tile. You don't draw from the wall on a turn you call. Play continues to your right, so players in between lose their turn.

Once a group is exposed, it can't be taken back or rearranged, except when someone swaps a Joker out of it.

Exposures commit you. Once a group is face up, you must finish a hand on the card that uses it. Call only when you're sure of the hand you're building.

Can I call it? Try it.

In short: call a discard for a pung, kong, quint or sextet your hand needs, or for your winning tile. Never call for a pair or single unless it wins, never call a discarded Joker, and in a concealed hand only call your winning tile.

Timing and ties

• Too late: once the next player has drawn from the wall and racked it, or discarded, the tile is dead.
• Two callers: Mahjong beats an exposure. If both want it for an exposure (or both for Mahjong), the player whose turn would come first wins it.
• Changed your mind? You may take back a call only before you've exposed any tiles.

Quick check: Someone discards a North wind. You need a pair of Norths and hold one. Can you call it? Only if it gives you Mahjong. Pairs can never be called unless the tile completes your winning hand.

8. Jokers

Wild in groups of three or more

A Joker can stand in for any tile in a pung, kong, quint or sextet, meaning a group of 3 or more identical tiles.

A pung of 5 Dots with one Joker. ✔

A kong of Red dragons with two Jokers. ✔

Never in a pair or a single

A pair of Norths with a Joker. ✘ Not allowed.

• No Jokers in pairs or singles, including NEWS and year hands like 2027.
• That means Singles & Pairs hands can never use Jokers.
• Jokers can't be passed in the Charleston.
• A discarded Joker can't be called by anyone.
• Some hands print their own limit, like “Max 1 Joker”.

The Joker swap

If any player has a Joker in an exposure, and you hold the real tile it stands for, you may swap on your turn: give them your real tile and take the Joker.

Their exposure is 8 Crak, 8 Crak, Joker. You hold an 8 Crak. Swap it in and the Joker is yours.

• Swap after you draw from the wall, or after you call a discard and expose.
• You can swap with your own exposures too, and as many times as you like on your turn.
• You can't swap using a tile from the discard pile, and you can only take a Joker from a face-up exposure, never from someone's rack.
• You can't swap while your own hand is dead.

Courtesy: say what you're swapping out loud so the whole table sees the trade.

Joker or not? Quick quiz

Examples: a pung of 5 Dots with a Joker is allowed. A pair of Norths with a Joker is not. A kong of Flowers with a Joker is allowed. NEWS with a Joker is not.

Quick check: Your hand needs “2027”. Can a Joker stand in for the 0 (Soap)? No. Each tile in 2027 is a single. Jokers only work in groups of 3 or more of the same tile.

9. Winning and paying

Declaring Mahjong

When your 14 tiles exactly match one line on the card, say “Mahjong!” and lay your whole hand face up.

• You can win on a tile you draw from the wall, or by calling a discard.
• Other players should check the hand against the card before anyone pays or moves a tile.
• Leave the winning hand in place until it's checked.

Who pays what

The hand's value is printed on the card. Players usually pay in chips, coins or points.

• Won on a discard: the player who threw it pays double. Everyone else pays the value once.
• Drew the winning tile yourself (self-pick): everyone pays double.
• Jokerless hand (no Jokers at all): all payments double again. This bonus doesn't apply to Singles & Pairs hands, since they can't use Jokers anyway.

Plenty of groups skip scoring while they're learning. That's fine too.

Payment calculator

Example: a 25-point hand won on a discard pays 50 from the discarder and 25 from each other player (100 total). The same hand drawn from the wall pays 50 from each player (150 total). Jokerless doubles every payment.

Dead hands and wall games

A hand becomes dead when it can no longer win, for example:

• your exposures don't fit any hand on the card,
• you have the wrong number of tiles,
• a Joker is in a pair or single, or
• you declared Mahjong by mistake and exposed your hand.

A dead player stops drawing and discarding, but still pays if someone else wins. Any player may point out a dead hand. Keep it friendly, and in casual games, let beginners undo a mistake that hasn't affected anyone.

If the wall runs out and no one wins, it's a wall game. Nobody pays, and the next game begins with a new East.

Quick check: You win by drawing your last tile from the wall, with a 25 point hand that has Jokers. What does each player pay? 50. Self-picked wins mean everyone pays double: 25 × 2 = 50 each.

10. Table manners

Small habits that make the game smooth

• Name every discard out loud, clearly.
• Don't touch the wall or discards out of turn.
• Don't say what you need or which hand you're playing.
• Keep your rack tidy so you don't misplace tiles.
• Check the winner's hand before paying.
• Agree on house rules (table stakes, scoring, time limits) before the first game.

You’re ready to play

That's the full game. Come back any time: Quick look-up answers mid-game questions in seconds, and Practice keeps the rules fresh.

Quick check: What should you do every time you discard? Say the tile’s name out loud. Naming the discard lets everyone decide whether to call it.

American Mahjong rules: quick answers

Can I call this discard?

Only to complete a pung, kong, quint or sextet your hand needs, or to win. You cannot call a discard for a pair or single unless it is your winning tile, you can never call a discarded Joker, and a concealed (C) hand may only call its winning tile.

How much does everyone pay?

If you win on a discard, the discarder pays double the hand value and the other two players pay the value once. If you draw your winning tile from the wall, all three players pay double. A jokerless hand doubles every payment (except Singles and Pairs hands).

What is the Charleston order?

First (required): Right → Across → Left Second (optional, anyone can stop it): Left → Across → Right Courtesy pass: 0–3 tiles with the player across, by agreement 3 tiles per pass. Never pass Jokers.

When can I blind pass?

Only on the last pass of each Charleston: the first Left and the second Right. You may pass on 1–3 of the tiles you just received without looking at them.

Where can Jokers be used?

Yes: any group of 3 or more identical tiles (pung, kong, quint, sextet). No: pairs, singles, NEWS, year hands, Singles & Pairs hands. Never passed in the Charleston. A discarded Joker can't be called.

How does a Joker swap work?

On your turn, if you hold the real tile a Joker stands for in any exposure (yours or another player's), give the real tile and take the Joker. Do it after drawing, or after calling and exposing. Not with a tile from the discards.

How many tiles should I have?

13 after you discard (counting exposed tiles). 14 when you declare Mahjong. East starts with 14.

Which way does play go, and who starts?

East starts by discarding. Play moves to the right (counterclockwise). After a call, play continues to the right of whoever called.

Two players want the same discard

Mahjong beats an exposure. Otherwise the player whose turn comes next wins the tile.

Is it too late to call?

Yes, once the next player has drawn from the wall and racked the tile, or has discarded.

What does X or C mean on the card?

X = exposed: you may call discards to build it. C = concealed: build it from the wall; you may only call a discard for your final, winning tile.

What do the colors on the card mean?

The number of different suits. One color = one suit, two colors = two different suits, three colors = all three. You choose which suit goes with which color.

Which dragon goes with which suit?

Red ↔ Craks, Green ↔ Bams, White (Soap) ↔ Dots. Soap is also the zero in year hands.

What makes a hand dead?

Exposures that fit no hand on the card Wrong number of tiles Declaring Mahjong by mistake and exposing your hand A dead player stops playing but still pays the winner.

Who deals the next game?

East passes to the right after every game. Some groups let East deal again after winning, so agree on it before you start.

Can we play with 3 or 5 people?

The game is built for four. With five, one player sits out each game and rotates in. With three, you'll need house adjustments.

What if nobody wins?

When the wall runs out with no winner, it's a wall game. No one pays. East passes to the right and you deal again.

How many of each tile are there?

4 of each suit tile (1–9 in Bams, Craks, Dots), 4 of each Wind, 4 of each Dragon, 8 Flowers, 8 Jokers. 152 in total.

American Mahjong glossary

Single

One tile. No Jokers.

Pair

Two identical tiles. No Jokers.

Pung

Three identical tiles.

Kong

Four identical tiles.

Quint

Five identical tiles. Needs a Joker, except for Flowers.

Sextet

Six identical tiles.

Exposure

A group placed face up after calling a discard.

Rack

The stand that holds your tiles.

East

The dealer, who starts with 14 tiles.

Charleston

The tile-passing round before play.

Soap

The White dragon. Also used as 0.

NEWS

One of each Wind: North, East, West, South.

Like numbers

The same number in different suits.

Run

Consecutive numbers, like 3-4-5.

Self-pick

Winning with a tile you drew from the wall.

Jokerless

A winning hand with no Jokers. Pays double.

Dead hand

A hand that can no longer win.

Wall game

A game where the wall runs out with no winner.

The wall

The rows of face-down tiles you draw from.

Concealed hand

A hand marked C. No exposures until your winning tile.

Blind pass

Passing on tiles you just received without looking at them.

Courtesy pass

The last, optional swap of 0–3 tiles with the player across.

Joker swap

Trading the real tile for a Joker in a face-up exposure. Also called redeeming a Joker.