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Charleston Practice

The opening ritual, simulated. Pass three tiles, receive three back, and get a coach's grade on every decision, until table-ready is muscle memory.

Charleston Practice is a free simulator of the American Mahjong passing ritual: you pass three tiles, receive three back, and the coach grades each decision, so the opening stops being the part you dread. It runs in the browser with no signup.

You'll get a real dealt rack. You pass, the wall feeds you fresh tiles, and the coach grades every decision.

What the Charleston trainer is for

The Charleston is the passing ritual that opens every American Mah Jongg hand: three tiles right, three across, three left, an optional second round if all four players agree, and a courtesy pass across at the end. This trainer runs that sequence against a real dealt hand so you can practise the decision without needing three other people.

The skill it builds is passing what serves neither of your two best directions. That sounds obvious and is hard under pressure, because a rack can suggest three or four directions at once and giving any of them up feels like a loss. Each round grades the three you chose, so you can see which tiles you keep misjudging.

How a session goes

  1. A hand is dealt to you, thirteen tiles, exactly as it would arrive at a table.
  2. Before passing, name the two directions the rack could serve. This is the part that does the work.
  3. Choose three tiles to pass and send them.
  4. Read the grade, which explains what those three cost you and what a stronger three would have been.
  5. Take the three you receive, re-sort, and go again through the round.

The rules behind it

Charleston rules, in order. What to pass. When to stop the Charleston. The blind pass.

The trainer is free and stays free. Club membership opens every lesson, including Lesson 5 on Charleston strategy, and adds the AI coach on hands from your own games, typed in or from a photo, and unlimited Defend the Table positions. $14.99 a month or $149 a year, cancel anytime. See what the Club includes.

Not for you? Email us within 14 days of the charge and we'll refund it, no questions asked. Already a member? Sign in.