American Mahjong Guide

What is American mahjong?

American mahjong is a four-player tile game played with a standard set, racks and the annual card of winning hands published by the National Mah Jongg League, founded in 1937. A new card comes out every year, so the winning hands change every season.

The tiles

A standard American set has 152 tiles: three suits (Bams, Cracks and Dots), Winds, Dragons, Flowers and eight Jokers. See our tile guide for a full breakdown.

How a game works

  1. Build the wall. Each player builds a wall of tiles in front of their rack.
  2. Deal. Every player receives 13 tiles; East takes 14 and starts.
  3. The Charleston. Players pass unwanted tiles to each other in a set sequence before play starts. This step is unique to American mahjong.
  4. Play. On your turn, pick a tile and discard a tile. You may call another player's discard to complete an exposed group.
  5. Win. The first player whose 14 tiles match a hand on the current card calls "Mahjong".

How jokers work

Jokers can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more identical tiles. They cannot be used in a single tile or a pair.

Want every rule explained step by step? Read how to play mahjong.

What you need to start