Mahjong began in China in the 1800s and reached America in the 1920s, where players slowly shaped it into its own style with jokers, the Charleston, and a yearly card of winning hands. The American game still carries its Chinese roots in every tile, from the characters on the Craks to the dragons.
The goal is simple: be the first player to build a hand of 14 tiles that matches one of the hands printed on the card. Everything else is just the steps that get you there.
What's in the set
An American set has 152 tiles: three suits (Bams, Craks, and Dots, numbered 1 to 9), four Winds, three Dragons, eight Flowers, and eight Jokers. Each player also gets a rack, and you need two dice and a current card. For a full tour with pictures, see what's in an American mahjong set, and practice telling the tiles apart with our tile quiz.
Choosing East and taking your seats
American mahjong is played with four people. Each player rolls the dice, and the highest roll becomes East, the dealer. The seat to East's right is South, across is West, and to East's left is North. After each hand, the job of East moves one seat to the right. (Fewer players? See our guide to 2- and 3-player mahjong.)
Building the wall
Turn all the tiles face down and mix them gently. Each player then builds a wall in front of her rack: 19 stacks, two tiles high, so 38 tiles each. Line your wall up against your rack, then use the rack's pusher arm to slide it forward a little. The four walls form a square in the middle of the table.
Breaking the wall and dealing
East rolls the dice, counts that many stacks along her own wall, and separates the wall there. Dealing starts from that break. Exactly how you count is one of those details where house rules vary, so just follow your table.
- East takes two stacks (four tiles). Then each player to the right takes four tiles in turn.
- Go around three times, so everyone has 12 tiles.
- East then takes two more tiles, and everyone else takes one.
East ends up with 14 tiles and everyone else has 13. Stand your tiles up on your rack so only you can see them, and sort them however helps you think.
Step 1: East rolls the dice
East, the dealer, rolls two dice and adds them up.
Step 2: Count and break the wall
East counts that many stacks from the right end of their own wall and pushes the wall apart there. Dealing starts at the break.
Exactly how you count varies by table.
Step 3: Take 4 tiles at a time
Starting with East and moving to the right, each player takes 4 tiles (two stacks). Go around three times, so everyone has 12.
Step 4: Finish the deal
East takes 2 more tiles and everyone else takes 1. East has 14 tiles and everyone else has 13.
The Charleston
Before play begins, everyone trades unwanted tiles in a passing dance called the Charleston. You always pass three tiles at a time: first to the right, then across, then to the left. After that there may be a second round and a small optional pass with the player across from you. Jokers are never passed. The full steps are on our Charleston rules page, and you can try it yourself with the Charleston simulator.
Picking a hand to aim for
While you sort and pass, look at the card and find two or three hands that fit the tiles you already have. Every hand on the card is a pattern: groups of the same tile, in certain numbers and suits. Here is one of our own practice hands so you can see what that looks like.
Consecutive run
Stepping Stones
X25¢
11122223334444
Any four numbers in a row, all in one suit. 1-2-3-4 is just the pattern; 5-6-7-8 works too.
One way to complete it:
If the notation looks like a secret code right now, don't worry. Our guide on how to read the mahjong card walks through it slowly.
Taking turns: draw, then discard
East starts by discarding one tile, since she already has 14. From then on, play moves to the right. On your turn you:
- Draw the next tile from the wall.
- Decide whether it helps your hand.
- Discard one tile face up in the middle of the table, and say its name out loud, like "four Bam" or "North."
You always finish your turn with 13 tiles. Naming your discard clearly is good manners and helps everyone play along. For more table habits, see our mahjong etiquette guide.
Step 1: Draw from the wall
Take the next tile from the wall. For a moment you hold 14 tiles.
Step 2: Check your hand
Does it help? If it completes a hand on the card, say “Mahjong!”
Step 3: Discard and name it
Put one tile face up in the middle and say its name. You’re back to 13.
Then play moves right
The player on your right draws next.
Unless someone calls it
Someone can call your discard for an exposure or for Mahjong; a called tile jumps the turn to that player.
After that player exposes and discards, play continues to their right. Anyone skipped simply loses that turn.
Calling a discard
Here is the fun part. When someone discards a tile you need, you can say "call" and take it, even if it isn't your turn. You may call a discard in two situations:
- To make an exposure: a group of three or more matching tiles. A pung is three, a kong is four, and a quint is five.
- To declare Mahjong: if that tile finishes your winning hand.
To make an exposure, place the called tile face up on top of your rack along with the matching tiles from your hand (jokers can help fill the group). Then you discard, and play continues to the right of you. Players in between simply lose that turn.
A few things to remember. You can't call a discard for a single tile or a pair unless it gives you Mahjong. If the hand you're building is marked concealed (C), you can't expose anything and may only call the very last tile you need to win. And once the next player has drawn her tile, that discard is gone.
Jokers in a nutshell
The eight jokers can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more, but never in a single or a pair. A discarded joker can't be called. On your turn, you can also swap a real tile for a joker sitting in anyone's exposure. That's called a joker exchange, and there's a whole page on it: mahjong joker rules.
Dead hands
Sometimes a hand can no longer win. That's called a dead hand. Common reasons:
- Your exposures don't match any hand on the card.
- You have the wrong number of tiles, too many or too few.
- You declared Mahjong by mistake and showed your tiles.
A player with a dead hand stops drawing and discarding and waits for the hand to end. It happens to everyone, including people who've played for years, so laugh it off. Tables handle the details a little differently, so ask your group how they treat a dead hand.
Winning: "Mahjong!"
When your 14 tiles exactly match one hand on the card, say "Mahjong" and lay your whole hand face up so everyone can check it. You can win by drawing the tile yourself (called self-picked) or by calling someone's discard.
If the wall runs out and no one has won, it's a wall game. Nobody pays, and you mix the tiles for the next hand.
Paying the winner
Every hand on the card has a value, printed like 25¢. In the most common setup, if you won on a discard, the player who threw that tile pays double and the other two pay the listed value. If you self-picked, everyone pays you double. A hand with no jokers at all usually doubles the payment again. Many groups play for small change, chips, or just bragging rights. Let our payout calculator do the math for you.
You've got this. Your first few games will be slow, and that's exactly how everyone learns. Before your first night, skim our first game night checklist, and keep the mahjong glossary handy for any word you don't recognize.
