American Mahjong for Beginners: How the Game Works

American mahjong for beginners comes down to one idea: four players draw and discard tiles until someone builds a 14-tile hand that matches one of the hands printed on that year’s card. Before play begins, players trade tiles in a passing round called the Charleston, and jokers can stand in for tiles in larger groups. Once you understand the tiles, the Charleston and the turn, the rest falls into place quickly.

A quick note: our guides are independent and not affiliated with the National Mah Jongg League. To play, every player needs the current year’s card, which you buy from the League. We never reproduce the card or its hands.

What you need to play

• A set of 152 American mahjong tiles. American sets include jokers and flowers.
• Four racks, one per player, to hold your tiles and the wall in front of you.
• Dice to decide where to break the wall.
• The current year’s card for each player. The hands change every year, so last year’s card won’t work.
• Four players. There are variations for three or even two, but learn with four.

The tiles, explained

The tiles look like a lot at first, but they sort into a few simple groups.

Group	What’s in it	How many
Bams (bamboo)	Numbers 1 to 9, four of each	36
Craks (characters)	Numbers 1 to 9, four of each	36
Dots (circles)	Numbers 1 to 9, four of each	36
Winds	North, East, West, South, four of each	16
Dragons	Red, green and white (often called “soap”), four of each	12
Flowers	Eight flower tiles	8
Jokers	Eight wild tiles	8

That adds up to 152. In many hands, each suit pairs with a dragon: green with bams, red with craks and white with dots. Your card shows how hands combine numbers, winds, dragons and flowers.

Setup and the deal

1. Build the wall. Each player builds a row 19 tiles long and two tiles high on their rack, face down.
2. Pick East. East is the dealer and rolls the dice to decide where to break the wall.
3. Deal. Players take tiles from the wall in turn until East has 14 tiles and everyone else has 13.
4. Look at your tiles and your card. Find two or three hands your tiles seem to lean toward. Don’t commit yet.

The Charleston, step by step

The Charleston is the part that confuses almost every new player, and it’s also what makes American mahjong different. Before play begins, everyone passes unwanted tiles to improve their hand.

• First Charleston (required): pass three tiles to the right, then three across, then three to the left.
• Second Charleston (optional): pass three to the left, then three across, then three to the right. Any player can choose to stop it after the first Charleston.
• Courtesy pass (optional): players across from each other can agree to trade zero to three tiles.

Two rules to remember: you can never pass a joker, and on the last pass of each Charleston you may pass tiles you just received without looking at them, often called a blind pass. House rules vary a little, so ask your group how they play.

How a turn works

East starts by discarding one tile, and play moves to the right. On your turn you either:

• Draw a tile from the wall, then discard one, or
• Call the last discarded tile if it completes a group you’ll show face up on your rack (an exposure), or if it gives you mahjong.

You can call a discard for a group of three, four or five matching tiles, but not for a single tile or a pair, unless that tile wins the game. Once you call, your exposed tiles are locked in, so call only when you’re confident about your hand.

Jokers: when you can and can’t use them

Jokers are wild, but with limits:

• Yes: in any group of three or more identical tiles (a pung, kong or larger group).
• No: as a single tile or in a pair, ever.
• Joker exchange: on your turn, if someone has a joker in an exposed group and you hold the real tile it stands for, you can swap your tile for their joker.

Beginners often hold on to jokers too long or toss them away by mistake. Never discard a joker you could use.

How a hand is won

You win when your 14 tiles exactly match one hand on the current card. Call out “Mahjong,” lay your tiles face up and let the table check it. The card lists a value for each hand, and how much each player pays depends on how the hand was won and your group’s house rules.

If your exposures can no longer match any hand on the card, your hand is “dead.” You stop drawing for the rest of that game but still pay if someone wins.

American mahjong for beginners: first-game tips

• Stay flexible. Keep two or three possible hands in mind through the Charleston.
• Watch the discards. If the tiles you need are being thrown, someone else probably doesn’t want them.
• Say what you’re doing. New players are welcome to think out loud, and most groups love helping.
• Keep a reference card at your seat for the tile groups and Charleston order.

Our American Mahjong Beginner Guide is a friendly, illustrated guide that takes you through setup, the Charleston, calling, exposures and jokers, with answers to beginner questions and cut-out reference cards for the table. It works with any year’s card. If you’re the one teaching your friends, the American Mahjong Teaching Course and our post on how to teach a mahjong class will help. For more ways to fill a game night, see our printable game night ideas.

FAQ

Is American mahjong hard to learn?

Not as hard as it looks. Most beginners understand the basics in an evening and feel comfortable after a few games. The Charleston and the card take the most practice.

Why do I need a new mahjong card every year?

The National Mah Jongg League changes the winning hands every year. Each player needs the current card from the League to know which hands count.

How is American mahjong different from other styles?

American mahjong uses jokers, a yearly card of winning hands and the Charleston passing round, which other common styles don’t use.

Can you play American mahjong with three players?

Yes, groups play with three using adjusted rules, but it’s easiest to learn with four.