Mahjong 101: how to play American mahjong

Never touched a tile? You are the person this page is for. In about five minutes of tapping, not just reading, you will meet the tiles, build a hand, run the Charleston, and finish a worked win. No signup, no experience, nothing to install.

Every step asks you to do one small thing and answers you right away. Miss a question and the lesson explains and lets you try again. That is the design, not a bug.

The whole game on one screen

For reference after the lesson, and for anyone who reads faster than they tap: American mahjong is a game for four players, played with a set of 152 tiles. The tiles are three suits (Bams, Craks, and Dots, numbered 1 to 9, four copies of each), the four Winds, three colors of Dragon, eight Flowers, and eight Jokers. East is dealt 14 tiles and discards first; the other players hold 13.

The goalBuild 14 tiles that exactly match one hand printed on the current official card, and call Mah Jongg.
The groupsA hand is built from a pair (2), pungs (3), kongs (4), quints (5), and sextets (6). Quint and sextets always need a joker, since only four natural copies of any tile exist.
JokersA joker may stand in for any tile inside a pung, kong, quint, or sextet. It can never be a single or part of a pair, and it can never be passed in the Charleston.
The CharlestonBefore play, players pass three tiles Right, Over, Left (ROLLOR), then optionally a second Charleston runs Left, Over, Right. A courtesy pass of 0 to 3 tiles follows.
TurnsDraw one tile, rack it, discard one face up, naming it aloud. Any player may call the most recent discard to complete a group; the final tile for Mah Jongg may complete anything, including a pair.
ScoringThe winning hand pays its printed value. Win on a discard and the discarder pays double while the others pay single. Draw your own winner (a self pick) and all three pay double. The practice pattern and value in this lesson are invented for practice and are labeled as such.

What you need at a real table

A tile set with racks and pushers, and one copy of the current official card for every player. The card is sold only by the National Mah Jongg League, and it changes every spring, which is part of the game: the hands you chase are new each year. When you are picking a first set, the gear guide on the American Mahjong home page walks through the sets we checked, what they cost, and what to look for before you spend anything.

Want a teacher in the room instead of a screen? The teacher and club directory lists instructors, studios, and clubs in 37 states, free to browse. Many run beginner nights built for exactly the stage you are at after this lesson.

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About this lesson

This lesson is published by Oasis Investing LLC as part of Parlor and Play. It teaches the game in our own words, built from public sources, and reflects standard National Mah Jongg League play as we understand it in October 2026. It is not published by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the National Mah Jongg League. It does not reproduce or replace the League’s card, and every player at a real table needs the current official card. The practice pattern and practice value in this lesson are ours, invented for learning; they are not hands or values from the card. The Charleston demo uses a nine tile practice hand so the trade is easy to watch; real hands hold thirteen tiles. If your table plays a rule differently, the card and your table are the final word. Corrections are welcome at hello@oasisinvestingllc.com.