How to Play American Mahjong

American Mahjong is its own game. It shares the tiles and the bones of the Chinese tradition, but the Card, the Charleston, and the jokers belong to nothing else in the world. This guide is everything a new player actually needs to know — written for the kitchen table you'll be sitting at, not the textbook you won't.

If you've watched a friend or a grandmother play American Mahjong and felt completely lost, this page is for you. By the time you finish reading, you'll understand the seven things that make American Mahjong different from every other version of the game, you'll know how to read the Card, you'll have the Charleston memorized, and you'll be ready to sit down for your first hand.

Bookmark this page. Most people read it twice — once before their first game, and again right after.

Before the rules, a quick orientation. American Mahjong differs from Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese mahjong in seven specific ways. Every one of these matters.

• You must match a hand printed on the Card. No freestyle winning combinations.
• The Card changes every year. The 2026 Card replaces the 2025 Card on April 1, 2026.
• Eight joker tiles are included — wilds with strict rules about how they're used.
• The Charleston is a ritualized opening tile exchange before any draws.
• Tiles are larger than Asian sets — designed to be read from a rack.
• Racks (with pushers) are standard equipment, not optional.
• Scoring is fixed per hand, printed next to each pattern on the Card.

If you've played Chinese or Japanese mahjong, set those rules aside. They will confuse you here.

Before your first game, gather:

• A 152-tile American Mahjong set (the standard 144 tiles plus 8 jokers).
• The current year's NMJL Card. Order directly from the National Mah Jongg League, or get one from a friend who's a member. This is non-negotiable — without it, you can't play.
• Four racks, ideally with pushers. American tiles don't fit well in Chinese-sized racks.
• A mahjong mat, roughly 31 inches square. Protects tiles and your table, and quiets the game.
• Two dice to determine the dealer and the wall break.
• Pencil and scorecard for tracking scores across hands.

Optional but useful:

• A "money plate" or chip set if your group plays for small stakes (quarters, chips, points — varies by community).
• A timer if your group enforces turn timing (most casual groups don't).

The National Mah Jongg League publishes a new Card every spring — generally arriving in member mailboxes in late March or early April. The Card lists every winning hand legal for the coming year, and your job, every hand, is to build your tiles to match exactly one of those patterns.

The 2026 Card contains 72 hands across nine sections. Here's how to read it.

Each section groups hands by a common feature. The exact section names rotate slightly year to year, but you'll typically see:

• Year hands — incorporating the digits of the current year (e.g., 2-0-2-6 patterns in 2026).
• 2468 — hands built from even numbers only.
• 13579 — hands built from odd numbers only.
• Quints — hands requiring five of a kind (only possible with jokers).
• Consecutive Run — hands built on sequences of consecutive numbers.
• Singles and Pairs — concealed-only hands made of single tiles and pairs, no triplets.
• 369 — hands built from 3s, 6s, and 9s.
• Winds and Dragons — hands featuring honor tiles prominently.
• Any Like Numbers — hands using any single number across multiple suits.

Each hand on the Card is written in a compact notation. A typical line looks like this:

FF 2024 2222 6666 (Year section)

This translates as: two Flowers (FF), then the tiles 2-0-2-4 (using winds for 0 — North or South — and dragons for some numbers depending on the year's notation), then four 2s, then four 6s. Color coding on the Card shows whether tiles must be in the same suit or different suits.

Each hand has:

• A value printed next to it (typically 25 to 75 points).
• A concealed-or-open notation. Some hands must be made entirely concealed (no calls allowed); others can be built with exposures.
• Color requirements (one suit, two suits, three suits — shown visually on the Card).

Mark these dates:

• March–April: New Card arrives.
• April 1: Previous year's Card becomes invalid. Tournaments switch to the new Card.
• Spring/Summer: Players learn the new Card together. Study groups, classes, and online forums dissect the new hands.
• Year-round: Card stays in your wallet, on your table, in your bag. You'll consult it dozens of times per game.

Here is how every American Mahjong hand begins.

1. Shuffle the tiles face-down on the table. Everyone shuffles. The sound is the first signature of the night.
2. Build the wall. Each player builds 19 stacks of two tiles in front of them — for a total of 76 tiles per player × 4 players = 304 tile-faces, equaling all 152 tiles, two-sided. The four walls meet at the corners.
3. Roll for East. Each player rolls the dice. Highest roll becomes East and is the first dealer.
4. Break the wall. East rolls the dice again and counts that many stacks in from the right end of their wall. That's where the deal begins.
5. Deal 13 tiles to each player; 14 to East. Tiles are dealt in groups of four at first, then individually for the last tile or two. East has one extra tile and begins play.
6. Place tiles on your rack face-up, sorted by suit (you choose how to organize).
7. Begin the Charleston (see next section).

The Charleston is the ritualized opening tile exchange that opens every American Mahjong hand. It is unique to American mahjong. It is also, after the call of "Mah Jongg!" itself, the most beloved ritual in the game.

The mnemonic is R.O.L.L.O.R. — Right, Over, Left, Left, Over, Right.

• Right. Each player selects 3 tiles to pass to the player on their right. All players reveal simultaneously.
• Over (Across). Each player selects 3 tiles to pass to the player across the table.
• Left. Each player selects 3 tiles to pass to the player on their left.

After the first Charleston, the group decides — usually by silent agreement, sometimes by vote — whether to continue. If yes:

• Left. Each player passes 3 tiles to the left.
• Over. Each player passes 3 tiles across.
• Right. Each player passes 3 tiles to the right.

After the second Charleston, the two players sitting across from each other may, by mutual agreement, exchange 0–3 tiles. This is called the courtesy pass. If one player wants to pass 2 tiles and the other wants to pass 3, the lower number wins — 2 tiles each.

• You may never pass a joker. Period. Jokers are too valuable to be exchanged.
• You may "blind pass." If you don't have 3 tiles you want to give up, you may pass 1, 2, or 3 of the tiles you just received from the previous pass — face-down — without looking at them.
• You may "stop" the second Charleston. Any player can refuse to continue past the first Charleston. The group either accepts or briefly negotiates.

The Charleston is when your hand actually takes shape. The tiles you start with are rarely the tiles you finish with. The Charleston gives you three chances (or six, with the second round) to shed what you don't need and receive what you do — and it gives you information about what other players are pursuing, based on what they pass.

After the Charleston ends, play begins.

• East plays first. East has 14 tiles and discards one to start the game, calling out the discarded tile's name.
• Play moves counterclockwise (to the right).
• On your turn: Draw one tile from the wall (giving you 14 tiles total). Decide what to keep. Discard one face-up into the center, calling out its name.
• The center of the table becomes a pile of face-up discards. Players study this pile constantly for information.

When another player discards a tile, you may call it if you can use it for an exposure that matches your target hand on the Card. There are three types of calls in American Mahjong:

• Pung — calling three of a kind (three identical tiles).
• Kong — calling four of a kind.
• Quint — calling five of a kind (only possible if you're using one or more jokers).

You may not call a sequence (chow) in American Mahjong. American hands are built from sets of identical tiles, not sequences. This is a fundamental difference from Chinese and Japanese play.

When you call:

1. Announce the call ("Pung!" / "Kong!" / "Quint!") immediately after the discard.
2. Display the completed exposure face-up on your rack.
3. Discard one tile from your hand — you now have 13 tiles plus the exposure.
4. Play continues from your position.

An exposure is a set of tiles displayed face-up on your rack after calling a discard. Exposures are the most distinctive strategic feature of American Mahjong — and they require care.

Some hands on the Card are marked C for concealed-only. These hands cannot be exposed — you must build them entirely from your own draws and the Charleston. Concealed hands score higher in exchange for the difficulty.

You may change your target hand as the game develops — but only if your existing exposures are still consistent with the new target. Once you've exposed a pung of 5-Crak, you can only pursue hands that include three 5-Craks.

Eight joker tiles are included in every American Mahjong set. They are the single biggest difference between American and every other tradition. Their rules are precise.

A joker can substitute for any tile within a set of three or more. Triplets, quads (kongs), and quints (fives of a kind).

A joker cannot be used in a pair. Pairs in American Mahjong must be two natural, identical tiles. No exceptions. This is the most-violated rule by new players. Memorize it.

If another player has an exposed set that includes a joker, you may rob that joker on your turn by offering the natural tile in exchange. For example, if your opponent has an exposed pung of three 5-Bams that includes one joker, and you draw or hold a 5-Bam, you may exchange your 5-Bam for their joker. This is called redeeming or robbing the joker.

Rules of joker robbing:

• You can only rob jokers from exposed sets, never from concealed hands.
• You must give up the exact natural tile the joker is substituting for.
• The robbed joker becomes yours immediately and goes onto your rack.

• Never pass a joker in the Charleston. This is the cardinal rule.
• Keep jokers concealed until you need them. Jokers in your hand are flexible; jokers in an exposure are vulnerable to robbing.
• Use jokers for high-tile-count sets. A joker in a quint (5 of a kind) is more valuable than a joker in a pung — quint hands are rare and high-scoring.
• A hand without a joker scores a bonus. The Card awards extra points for "jokerless" wins.

To win a hand of American Mahjong, you must:

1. Build a hand that exactly matches one of the patterns on this year's Card.
2. Complete the pattern with either a draw from the wall or a final call (claiming another player's discard).
3. Call out "Mah Jongg!" before the next player takes their turn.

Your final hand must have exactly 14 tiles — including all exposures, jokers in their substituted positions, and concealed tiles on your rack.

When you declare Mah Jongg, you must:

1. Display all tiles face-up.
2. Identify which hand on the Card you've completed.
3. Allow opponents to verify the match.

If your hand doesn't actually match a Card pattern — a not-uncommon beginner error — the win is invalid and you may incur a penalty.

Each hand on the Card has a fixed point value, typically:

• 25 points — simpler, more common hands.
• 30–35 points — moderate difficulty.
• 40–50 points — challenging hands.
• 50–75 points — limit hands and complex patterns.

Modifiers that affect scoring:

• Self-drawn win (Mah Jongg from the wall, not from a discard): typically doubles the value.
• Jokerless win: typically doubles the value.
• Concealed hand (C on the Card): already scored at the printed concealed value.
• The discarder of the winning tile (if Mah Jongg was declared by call) typically pays double — penalizing the player whose tile completed the win.

The terms you'll hear at the table.

Bettor

A fifth person who sits out and bets on which active player will win. A traditional accommodation for an odd group.

Charleston

The opening tile-exchange ritual.

Concealed Hand

A hand built with no calls or exposures. Higher scoring.

Exposure

A set of tiles called from a discard and displayed face-up on the rack.

Joker

A wild tile. 8 per set. Cannot be used in pairs.

Mah Jongg

The winning call.

Pair

Two identical natural tiles. Cannot include jokers.

Pung

Three identical tiles.

Kong

Four identical tiles.

Quint

Five identical tiles. Requires at least one joker.

Robbing the Joker

Exchanging a natural tile for a joker in another player's exposure.

R.O.L.L.O.R.

The Charleston mnemonic: Right, Over, Left, Left, Over, Right.

The Card

The annual NMJL list of legal winning hands.

Wall Game

A hand that ends with no winner because the wall runs out. No points awarded.

The mistakes we see most often, in order of frequency.

1. Using a joker in a pair. The most-violated rule in American Mahjong. Pairs must be natural. Always.
2. Failing to check the Card during the Charleston. New players pass tiles randomly. Experienced players study the Card while passing and decide which section they're pursuing in real time.
3. Calling a tile for an exposure that doesn't match any Card hand. Always verify the exposure is legal before announcing the call.
4. Forgetting to call "Mah Jongg!" before the next discard. If the next player draws, your win is no longer valid. Speed matters at the moment of completion.
5. Passing a joker in the Charleston. Never. Not even by accident. Not even if you don't see how you'll use it. Jokers are gold.
6. Not knowing the Card by heart. Or at least by recognition. Carrying the Card and looking up every hand mid-game slows the table and frustrates everyone. Study the new Card before your first game with it.
7. Playing too defensively or too aggressively. New players either commit to a hand too early and miss better opportunities, or they switch hands constantly and never complete one. The middle path comes with practice.

1. Watch the discards. What other players throw away tells you what they don't need — which is the first clue to what they do.
2. Study your hand against multiple Card sections. Your starting 13 tiles often have potential in two or three sections. Pick the one with the most natural pairs already in hand.
3. Don't fall in love with a hand too early. The Charleston will reshape your hand significantly. Stay flexible through the first two passes.
4. Ask questions. Every American Mahjong table has a teaching tradition. Tuesday-afternoon groups, NMJL clubs, and family games all expect newcomers to ask. The game is older than any of us and is passed down by being taught.
5. Order the Card before your first game. Borrowing a friend's Card works for an evening, but you'll want your own in your wallet. Order from nationalmahjonggleague.org each spring.

A few next steps for new American Mahjong players.

• Join the National Mah Jongg League. Membership includes the annual Card and supports the league's philanthropic work (Alzheimer's research, the American Heart Association, and other causes). nationalmahjonggleague.org.
• Find a local group. NMJL clubs operate in most US cities and many suburbs. Search for "mahjong club" or "mahjong meetup" in your area. Senior centers, Jewish community centers, and Asian American cultural centers frequently host games. New diaspora-led clubs in major cities welcome players of all backgrounds.
• Practice online. I Love Mahj, Real Mah Jongg, and MahJongg Anywhere all offer NMJL-rules online play, often with current Cards built in.
• Read the deeper books. Mah Jongg: The Art of the Game by Ann Israel and Gregg Swain (Tuttle, 2014) is the great visual history of American Mahjong sets and play. Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture by Annelise Heinz (Oxford University Press, 2021) is the definitive cultural history.
• Outfit your table. Once you've played a few games, you'll know what you want — a quality American set, racks with pushers, a proper mat, and the year's Card. We can help. Our American Mahjong collection is curated for actual play, not just display.