American Mahjong Guide

Beginner Guide

Your first game of American Mahjong can feel like a lot at once. This guide walks through what happens, in order, so you know what to expect before you sit down.

Before you sit down

Bring a copy of the current year's card if you have one — most tables have a few to share, but it's nice to have your own to mark up. You don't need to memorize anything. Even experienced players check the card constantly.

If this is your first time, just say so. Most tables are happy to slow down and explain things as you go.

How a hand gets started

  1. All four players build the wall together, stacking tiles into a square in the middle of the table.
  2. You deal out 13 tiles to each player, and 14 to the dealer (the dealer always goes first).
  3. Everyone arranges their tiles on their rack, usually sorting by suit, so they're easier to read.
  4. The Charleston happens next — a few rounds of passing tiles with other players to improve your hand before anyone draws or discards. See the Charleston guide for how this works.
  5. Once the Charleston is done, play begins: the dealer discards first, then players take turns drawing a tile and discarding one, working toward a hand on the card.

During play

On your turn, you'll draw a tile and decide whether to keep it or discard it. You're always working toward a specific hand from the card — pick one or two you think you can build early on, and adjust as your tiles change.

You can also call a tile another player discards if it completes a pung, kong, or quint you're building — you don't have to wait for your own turn. When you call a tile, you expose that group face-up in front of your rack so everyone can see it.

When your 14 tiles fully match a hand on the card, you call "Mahjong" and lay your hand down. Everyone checks it against the card before the win counts.

If nobody wins

Sometimes the wall runs out before anyone completes a hand. That's called a wall game — no one wins, and you reset for the next hand.

A few tips for your first few games

It's normal to feel slow at first — everyone does. Ask questions during the Charleston and early turns — that's when there's the most room to ask.

Keep an eye on what other players are exposing (their face-up groups). It's a hint about which hands they might be building, and over time you'll start reading the table.

Once the basics here feel familiar, the Rules guide covers the full game in more detail, and Scoring explains how points work once someone wins.