American Mahjong Rules

American Mahjong (also spelled Mah Jongg) is a tile-based game for exactly 4 players. Originating from traditional Chinese Mahjong, the American version was standardized in 1937 by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL), which publishes an official card of valid hands each year.

The objective is to be the first player to complete a valid hand — a specific combination of 14 tiles (or more, with Jokers) matching one of the patterns on the current year's NMJL card.

A typical game takes 60–120 minutes for a full session (usually four rounds of four hands each).

An American Mahjong set contains 152 tiles:

The three numbered suits (Craks, Bams, Dots) each run from 1 to 9 with four copies of each tile.

Follow these steps to set up the game:

1. Determine Seating: Each player rolls the dice. The highest roller chooses their seat and becomes East (the dealer) for the first hand. Going counter-clockwise, the other seats are South, West, and North.
2. Place the NMJL Card: Every player should have a copy of the current year's National Mah Jongg League card for reference. This card lists all valid winning hands.
3. Mix the Tiles: Turn all 152 tiles face down on the table and shuffle them thoroughly. This is called "washing" or "swimming" the tiles.
4. Build the Walls: Each player builds a wall of tiles 2 tiles high and 19 tiles long (38 tiles per wall). Push the four walls together to form a hollow square in the center of the table.
5. Break the Wall: East rolls the dice. Count that many stacks from the right end of East's wall and break the wall at that point.
6. Deal the Tiles: Starting from the break, each player takes 2 stacks (4 tiles) at a time, going counter-clockwise around the walls. Repeat until each player has 12 tiles. Then each player takes 1 more tile for a total of 13 tiles. East takes 1 extra tile (14 tiles total) since East goes first.
7. Rack Your Tiles: Place your tiles on your rack so only you can see them. Organize them by suit and start looking for potential hands on the NMJL card.

Before gameplay begins, players exchange unwanted tiles in a ritual called the Charleston. This is a unique feature of American Mahjong.

First Charleston (Mandatory)

1. First Right: All players simultaneously pass 3 tiles to the right.
2. First Across: All players simultaneously pass 3 tiles across (to the player opposite).
3. First Left: All players simultaneously pass 3 tiles to the left. You may "blind pass" up to 3 tiles — passing tiles you received from the right without looking at them.

Second Charleston (Optional)

After the first Charleston, any player may stop the second Charleston. If all four players agree to continue:

1. Second Left: Pass 3 tiles to the left.
2. Second Across: Pass 3 tiles across.
3. Second Right: Pass 3 tiles to the right. Blind passing is allowed on this last pass.

Courtesy Pass (Optional)

After the Charleston(s), the player across from you may agree to a courtesy pass of 1, 2, or 3 tiles. Both players must exchange the same number of tiles.

Tip: Use the Charleston strategically to focus your hand toward one or two potential NMJL card hands.

After the Charleston, gameplay begins with East.

Turn Structure

Each turn follows these steps:

1. Draw: The current player draws 1 tile from the wall (East skips this on the first turn since they already have 14 tiles).
2. Evaluate: Check if you have a complete winning hand (Mah Jongg). If so, declare it!
3. Discard: Place 1 unwanted tile face up in the center of the table and announce its name clearly (e.g., "3 Bam", "West", "Red Dragon").

Important Turn Rules

• Play proceeds counter-clockwise (to the right).
• Always announce your discard clearly so all players can hear.
• Once you discard a tile and remove your hand from it, it is "dead" and cannot be taken back.
• Keep your rack organized and your exposed tiles (called tiles) visible to all.

A key feature of Mahjong is the ability to claim another player's discard. You may call a discarded tile only if it completes a specific group in your hand.

Rules for Calling

• You may call a discard for an exposure (a group of 3 or more identical tiles that you reveal on top of your rack) or to complete Mah Jongg.
• You can call any player's discard, not just the previous player's.
• You cannot call a tile for a single or pair — only for groups of 3 or more, unless it completes Mah Jongg.
• After calling, you must expose the completed group face up on top of your rack, then discard 1 tile.
• Play continues to the right of the caller, skipping any players in between.

Calling Priority

If multiple players want the same discard:

1. Mah Jongg (winning the hand) takes highest priority.
2. If no one is calling for Mah Jongg, the next player in turn order has priority.

Note: Unlike some other Mahjong variants, American Mahjong does not use Chows (sequential runs) as exposures. All called groups must be identical tiles (Pungs, Kongs, or Quints).

An exposure is a group of identical tiles displayed face up on your rack. Exposures are formed when you call a discard or when you choose to reveal a completed group from your hand.

Once exposed, tiles cannot be rearranged or returned to your hand (except Jokers — see Joker rules).

Concealed Hands: Some hands on the NMJL card are marked with a "C" meaning concealed. For these hands, you may not call discards except for the final tile to complete Mah Jongg. All groups must be formed by drawing from the wall.

Jokers are a distinctive feature of American Mahjong. Here are the complete Joker rules:

• Jokers can substitute for any tile in a Pung, Kong, Quint, or Sextet (a group of 3 or more identical tiles).
• Jokers cannot be used in pairs or singles.
• Jokers cannot be used to represent Flowers in some hand categories (check the NMJL card — hands with "no Jokers" are restricted).
• A Joker cannot be discarded for Mah Jongg — no one may call a discarded Joker.
• If a Joker is discarded, it is dead — no player may pick it up.

Joker Exchange

If an opponent has an exposed group containing a Joker, and you hold the natural tile it represents, you may:

1. On your turn (after drawing), swap your natural tile for the Joker in the exposure.
2. Take the Joker into your hand for your own use.
3. You must then discard a tile as normal.

You may not exchange Jokers from concealed hands, and you may only exchange during your own turn.

The National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card is the heart of American Mahjong. A new card is published each year, and it lists all valid winning hand patterns for that year.

Reading the Card

• Suits are indicated by colors or numbers. The card uses generic notation so any suit can fill a role unless specified.
• "F" = Flower tiles
• "D" = Dragon tiles (matching the suit color)
• "N, E, S, W" = Wind tiles
• "0" = White Dragon (Soap)
• "C" next to a hand means it must be concealed
• "X" means the hand has no Jokers allowed
• Numbers on the right side of each hand indicate its point value

Hand Categories

Hands are organized into categories such as:

• 2468 — hands using only even-numbered tiles
• Any Like Numbers — hands with matching numbers across suits
• Addition Hands — tile numbers that add up mathematically
• Quints — hands featuring groups of five
• Consecutive Run — sequential number patterns
• 13579 — hands using only odd-numbered tiles
• Winds – Dragons — hands featuring honor tiles
• Singles and Pairs — hands with no groups larger than 2

Each year the specific patterns change, so always use the current year's card.

To win the hand, you must complete a valid hand from the NMJL card.

How to Declare

1. When your 14th tile (drawn or called) completes a hand on the card, announce "Mah Jongg!"
2. Reveal all your tiles to the other players for verification.
3. All players check the hand against the NMJL card to confirm it is valid.

Ways to Win

• Self-drawn (from the wall): You draw the winning tile yourself.
• Called discard: Another player discards the tile you need.

Dead Hand

A hand is declared dead if:

• You expose tiles incorrectly (wrong number or grouping).
• You have too many or too few tiles.
• You make an exposure that cannot be part of any hand on the card.

A player with a dead hand continues to discard but cannot win. They may not call any more discards.

After a player declares Mah Jongg, payment is calculated based on the hand's point value shown on the NMJL card.

Payment Rules

Wall Game: If all tiles in the wall are drawn and no one declares Mah Jongg, the hand is a draw (called a "Wall Game"). No payment is made, and the deal passes to the next player.

A full game of American Mahjong consists of 4 rounds (East, South, West, North), each with 4 hands — for a total of 16 hands.

Rotating the Deal

• After each hand, the deal passes to the next player (counter-clockwise) unless East wins — in which case East deals again.
• When the deal returns to the original East player, a new round begins.

Determining the Winner

At the end of all rounds, the player with the most points (or money) is the overall winner.

Many casual groups play a shorter session of one round (4 hands) or simply play for a set amount of time.