American Mahjong Rules: How to Play, Step by Step
American mahjong is a game for four players with 152 tiles. You pass tiles in the Charleston, then draw and discard until your 14 tiles match one of the hands printed on a card. Jokers help, and you can call other players’ discards. This guide explains the whole game for beginners, in plain English.
American mahjong at a glance
- Players: four, each playing for themselves. (Two- and three-player versions are below.)
- Tiles: 152, including 8 jokers and 8 flowers.
- Goal: be the first to make a hand of 14 tiles that matches a hand on the card exactly, and call “Mahjong!”
- Order of a hand: build the walls and deal, pass tiles in the Charleston, then take turns drawing and discarding.
- Direction: play moves to the right (counter-clockwise).
American mahjong is different from Chinese or Hong Kong mahjong: it has jokers, the Charleston, and a card of winning hands that changes every year.
The tiles
| Tiles | What they are | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Bams (bamboos) | a suit, numbered 1 to 9; the 1 is often a bird | 36 |
| Craks (characters) | a suit, numbered 1 to 9 | 36 |
| Dots (circles) | a suit, numbered 1 to 9 | 36 |
| Winds | North, East, West and South, four of each | 16 |
| Dragons | Red, Green and White, four of each | 12 |
| Flowers | all flowers count as the same tile | 8 |
| Jokers | stand in for other tiles (see joker rules) | 8 |
Each dragon belongs to a suit: the Red dragon goes with Craks, the Green dragon with Bams, and the White dragon with Dots. The White dragon is often called “Soap”, and on the card it is also used as a zero.
The card, and how to read it
Every winning hand is printed on a card. In the United States the standard card is published each spring by the National Mah Jongg League, and most groups play with that year’s card; you can buy it from the League. Other cards exist too, and some groups write their own. The rules on this page work with any card.
Hands on the card are written in a shorthand:
- Numbers are suit tiles, and the number of times a digit is printed is the number of tiles: 222 is three 2s (a pung), 4444 is four 4s (a kong).
- Colors tell you about suits, not which suit. One color means one suit; two colors mean two different suits; three colors mean all three. You choose which suits.
- F is a flower. N E W S are the winds. D is a dragon, and its color tells you which suit’s dragon to use. A 0 is a White dragon.
- X after a hand means you may expose groups from it (call discards). C means the hand must be concealed: you can only call a discard to win.
- The number after the hand is its value in points. Harder hands are worth more.
Hands are grouped into sections by theme, such as even numbers, odd numbers, consecutive runs, like numbers in all three suits, winds and dragons, and singles and pairs.
Building the wall and dealing
- Turn all the tiles face down and mix them.
- Each player builds a wall in front of them: a row 19 tiles long, two tiles high (38 tiles each).
- Roll dice to choose the first dealer, called East. East rolls again to decide where to break the wall.
- Deal tiles in turn, to the right, until East has 14 tiles and everyone else has 13.
The East seat moves one place to the right after every hand.
The Charleston
Before play starts, everyone passes unwanted tiles, three at a time. It is how you shape a hand toward something on the card.
| Stage | Passes |
|---|---|
| First Charleston (always) | 3 tiles right, then 3 across, then 3 left |
| Second Charleston (optional) | 3 tiles left, then 3 across, then 3 right. Any player may stop it before it starts. |
| Courtesy pass (optional) | 0 to 3 tiles with the player across; you both pass the smaller number |
- Jokers may never be passed in the Charleston.
- On the last pass of each Charleston (the first left, and the second right) you may blind pass: pass on one, two or three of the tiles you were just given without looking at them, instead of tiles from your hand.
Taking a turn
- East starts by discarding one tile, since East already has 14.
- The next player to the right draws a tile from the wall, then discards one tile face up, naming it aloud.
- Play continues to the right. You always end your turn with 13 tiles, unless you have just made Mahjong.
Calling a discard
When someone discards a tile you need, you can call it instead of waiting for your turn:
- To expose a group: if the tile completes a pung (3), kong (4), quint (5) or sextet (6) for your hand, call it, put the whole group face up in front of you, and discard. Play then continues from your right. Jokers may be part of the group.
- To win: you may call any tile, even one that completes a pair or a single, if it gives you Mahjong.
- You can’t call a tile just to make a pair, and if your hand is concealed (C) you can only call a tile that wins.
- If two players call the same tile, a call for Mahjong wins; otherwise the player who is next in turn gets it.
Joker rules
- A joker can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more identical tiles: a pung, kong, quint or sextet. A group can even be all jokers.
- A joker can never be used for a single tile or in a pair. (That is why singles-and-pairs hands have no jokers.)
- Joker exchange: on your turn, if someone has an exposed group with a joker in it, and you have the real tile it stands for, you may swap your tile for their joker. The owner can’t refuse.
- A discarded joker is dead: nobody can call it.
- Jokers may not be passed in the Charleston.
Winning and scoring
When your 14 tiles match a hand on the card exactly (the right numbers, suits, groups, and exposed or concealed), say “Mahjong!” and show your tiles. The hand’s value is printed on the card. When playing with points or coins, payment works like this:
| How you won | Who pays |
|---|---|
| On a discard | the player who discarded pays double; the other two pay the value |
| On a tile you drew yourself | all three players pay double |
| With no jokers at all (“jokerless”) | the hand’s value is doubled first (except singles-and-pairs hands, which never have jokers) |
Many groups use their own scoring, and some don’t keep score at all. Agree before you start.
Dead hands and wall games
- A hand becomes dead if a player makes a mistake that can’t be fixed: the wrong number of tiles, or an exposure that doesn’t fit any hand on the card. That player can’t win the hand, but still pays if someone else does.
- If the wall runs out and nobody has made Mahjong, it is a wall game: nobody wins, nobody pays, and the next hand is dealt.
Playing with two or three players
The official rules say to skip the Charleston when there are fewer than four players, but many groups make their own table rules:
- Three players: deal as usual to three seats. Some groups skip the across passes; others deal a fourth “dummy” hand so the passes still work. Agree before you start.
- Two players: East takes 14 tiles and the other player 13, with no Charleston; East starts by discarding.
Whatever you choose, keep the same card and the same joker rules.
Mahjong words
- Pung, kong, quint, sextet: three, four, five and six identical tiles.
- Exposure: a group you called and laid face up.
- Charleston: the tile passing before play.
- Blind pass: passing on tiles you were just given, unseen.
- Courtesy pass: the optional last pass across.
- East: the dealer, who starts with 14 tiles.
- Soap: the White dragon, also used as zero.
- Jokerless: a winning hand with no jokers, worth double.
- Wall game: a hand nobody wins.
Common questions
Is American mahjong hard to learn?
The turns are simple: draw and discard. What takes practice is reading the card and choosing which hand to aim for. Most beginners pick it up in an afternoon of play with someone who knows the game.
How many tiles are in an American mahjong set?
152: three suits of 36 tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers and 8 jokers.
How many tiles do you start with?
East, the dealer, starts with 14; everyone else has 13.
Can you use a joker in a pair?
No. Jokers only go in groups of three or more identical tiles.
Which way do you pass in the Charleston?
Right, across, left for the first Charleston. The optional second Charleston goes the other way: left, across, right.
Which dragon goes with which suit?
Red with Craks, Green with Bams, White (Soap) with Dots.
Do I need this year’s card?
To play with most American groups, yes: hands change every year, and the standard card comes from the National Mah Jongg League. The rules of play stay the same from year to year.
What is the difference between American and Chinese mahjong?
American mahjong has jokers, the Charleston, flowers that all count alike, and a printed card of winning hands that changes every year. Chinese styles have no jokers, no card, and you win with four sets and a pair.