Learn American Mahjong
From your first tile to Mahjong.
Plain-English guides for new players: how a hand works, the Charleston, jokers, calling discards and more. Read one, then play it in the app’s guided first game.
American Mahjong is a tile game for four. Everyone draws and discards, racing to be the first to make 14 tiles match one line on this year’s card. Here are the rules a beginner needs, in the order you’ll use them.
The basicsAmerican Mahjong Tiles: A Guide to All 152An American Mahjong set has 152 tiles: three suits numbered 1 to 9, four winds and three dragons, with four of each of those tiles, plus eight flowers and eight jokers. Here’s every tile, what it does, and what to check before you buy a set.
The basicsMahjong Charleston Rules, Step by Step
The Charleston is the tile trade at the start of each American Mahjong hand. You pass three tiles right, across, then left. If everyone agrees, you pass three more the other way. Then you and the player across may swap up to three more.
Playing a handHow to call a tile in mahjongYou call a tile by claiming the newest discard before the next player draws, then laying it face up with your matching tiles. In American Mahjong you can only call to finish a group of three or more of the same tile, or for the very last tile that wins you the hand.
The rulesAmerican Mahjong Joker Rules, ExplainedA joker can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more of the same tile, but never in a pair, a single or a run. On your turn, you can also trade the real tile for a joker in anyone’s exposed group, your own included.
Reading the cardHow to read a mahjong card
A mahjong card lists every hand you’re allowed to win with, written in a short code. Each digit or letter is one tile, the ink colors show which groups share a suit, and the C or X beside a line tells you whether you may call discards for it.
Playing betterAmerican Mahjong Strategy for BeginnersGood American Mahjong strategy starts before the first turn: find two or three lines your tiles already lean toward, keep every joker, and let the Charleston and the discards tell you which one to finish. Late in the hand, you add one more job: throwing safer tiles.
Ways to playHow to Play American Mahjong With 3 Players (or 2)
Yes, you can play American Mahjong with three players or with two. With three, the by-the-book game skips the Charleston, though some groups add one back; with two, you play Siamese Mahjong, where each player builds two hands at once.
At the tableMahjong etiquette: table manners for beginners
Good mahjong etiquette comes down to a few habits: name every discard out loud, call or let a tile go while it’s live, ask before you swap for a joker, and keep advice to yourself unless the table has asked for it. Here’s what’s a rule, what’s custom, and how to handle a mistake kindly.
Play togetherHow to host a mahjong night
To host a mahjong night, invite players in groups of four, set out one tile set, four racks and a card for every player, and agree your house rules before the first deal. Here’s the rest, from teaching new players to running a weekly open play.
The basicsMahjong Glossary: American Mahjong Terms, A to Z
The American Mahjong terms you’re most likely to hear, in plain English. A pung is three of the same tile, a kong is four, a quint is five, and a dead hand is one that can no longer win that round.
