How many tiles are in an American Mahjong set?
152: three suits of 36 (craks, bams, dots), 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers, and 8 jokers. A set sold with 144 tiles is a Chinese set with no jokers and will not work for the American game without adding them.
Is American Mahjong hard to learn?
The rules take an evening. The skill that takes longer is looking at thirteen tiles and recognising which category of hand they are pointing at, and that comes from seeing many hands read out loud. The free daily hand is one real deal a day to read for yourself and then check against the coach.
What is the Charleston in mahjong?
The passing ritual before play: each player passes three tiles right, then across, then left, with an optional second round and a courtesy pass. It is mandatory the first time, and because a passed tile is gone, it shapes the hand you end up playing.
Can a joker be used in a pair?
No. A joker may stand in for any tile in a pung, kong, or quint, but never in a pair and never as a single tile. This one rule shapes most joker strategy.
Can you pass a joker in the Charleston?
No. A joker may not be passed at any point in the Charleston, and the ban runs through the optional courtesy pass at the end as well. A joker passed by mistake is returned.
What is a pung, a kong, and a quint?
Three, four, and five identical tiles respectively. All three can include jokers and can be completed by calling a discard. Except for flowers, a quint always contains at least one joker, because a set has only four of each suited tile, wind and dragon, and eight flowers.
When can you call a discarded tile?
Immediately after it is discarded, and the window stays open until the next player racks the tile they drew or discards. The claim has to be spoken out loud. Call to complete a pung, kong, or quint, or to complete your winning hand. You cannot call for a pair except the one that wins, and there is no calling for runs.
What makes a hand dead in mahjong?
Causes include exposures that match no card line, exposures that fit only a concealed line, or holding the wrong number of tiles. A dead hand stops picking and discarding for the rest of the hand, cannot win, and still pays the winner.
What happens if the wall runs out?
The hand is a wall game, and nobody wins or pays. Under League rules the deal then passes to the player on East's right, as it does after every hand. Some home tables keep the same dealer and redeal instead, so agree it before it comes up.
How is American Mahjong scored?
Each hand on the card has a point value. On a win, all three opponents pay the winner. If the winner drew the last tile, everyone pays double, and if it was called from a discard, the player who threw it pays double. Under League rules a hand with no jokers in it doubles every payment again, except a hand from the Singles and Pairs section, and the winner has to announce it as jokerless. Sanctioned tournament scoring adds twenty points for a jokerless hand instead.
Do I need the current year's card?
Yes. The National Mah Jongg League issues a new card every April and the hands change, so an old card describes hands that no longer count. Buy it from the League, one per player.
What is soap in mahjong?
The white dragon. Its blank or framed face looks like a bar of soap, and it doubles as a zero on card lines that call for one.
Can you play American Mahjong with three players?
Yes. Under League rules you build all four walls as usual and deal only to the three players, with East still taking fourteen tiles. There is no Charleston, and East opens with the first discard. A Charleston at three is a table rule your group has to agree on before the deal.
What is the difference between American and Chinese mahjong?
American Mahjong uses jokers, a passing round (the Charleston), and an annual card of allowed hands published by the National Mah Jongg League. Classical Chinese play uses no jokers or Charleston, allows runs, and scores by counting sets rather than matching a card.
Is it mahjong, mah jongg, or mah-jongg?
All are used. The National Mah Jongg League spells it Mah Jongg. The one-word mahjong is the standard modern English spelling and the one search engines treat as the default. They are the same game.
How do I know which hand to go for?
Look at your tiles before you open the card. Count your most-repeated number, look at which suits your tiles cluster in, and notice pairs and runs. That points you to two or three card categories to check rather than the whole sheet. Our free hand analyzer does this read on the tiles you tap in and explains why.
What should I pass in the Charleston?
Pass tiles that do not serve the direction your hand is heading. Keep anything already part of a pair or pung. If you have no direction yet, pass your most isolated tiles and re-read as new ones arrive.
Is School of Mahjong affiliated with the National Mah Jongg League?
No. We are an independent teaching site. We teach structure, mechanics, and strategy, and we never reproduce any year's card. The card itself you buy from the League.
What does the Club membership include?
The AI coach on call for your own hands and on each day's hand, all ten lessons, the drills, including Defend the Table with its level and a placement for players who already know the game, unlimited hands at the table simulator, and every new card taught the week it lands each April. $14.99 a month or $149 a year, cancel or pause any time. Not for you? Email us within 14 days of the charge and we'll refund it, no questions asked.
Is School of Mahjong for beginners or experienced players?
Both. The lessons and the free daily hand start from the first tile, and the Club adds depth for players who already know the game: Defend the Table, a mid-game drill graded on whether a throw feeds anyone or breaks your own hand, with a level that climbs through eight named levels and a placement of ten hard positions that starts experienced players at the level their throws earn.
Is the coach a real person?
No. Mei is an AI coach, and we say so everywhere she appears. She reads hands using the same analysis engine as the rest of the site, explains her reasoning in plain English, and a real person reads every reply to her emails.
How long does a game of American Mahjong take?
One hand takes about ten to twenty minutes, and a typical session of six to eight hands runs two to three hours. Beginners' tables run slower for the first few weeks, mostly in the Charleston, and speed up on their own once passing decisions get quicker.
How do you win at American Mahjong?
You win by holding fourteen tiles that exactly match one hand printed on the current year's card and declaring mahjong, either by drawing the final tile or by calling a discard for it. Every tile has to fit the line, jokers count only inside pungs, kongs and quints, and a hand that matches no line cannot win however good it looks.
Can you play American Mahjong with two players?
Yes. Under League rules the two players sit across from each other, build all four walls, and deal fourteen tiles to East and thirteen to the other player. There is no Charleston, and East opens with the first discard. With one opponent there is little to read, so two-handed play works best as practice for reading a deal.
Can five people play American Mahjong?
Four play and the fifth sits out, rotating in after each hand. Once the Charleston is done, the player sitting out may look at the racks and bet on which player will declare mah jongg or on a wall game, then collects or pays on that bet. The bettor takes no part in play and must stay silent.
How many jokers are in American Mahjong and what do they do?
An American set has eight jokers, and a joker can stand in for any tile inside a pung, kong or quint, never in a pair and never as a single tile. A joker in an exposed set can be taken by any player who offers the natural tile it represents, which is why exposed jokers are a risk.
What is the difference between American Mahjong and Riichi (Japanese) mahjong?
American Mahjong is played to a yearly card of fixed hands with jokers and a Charleston, while Riichi is the Japanese game of four sets and a pair with runs, no jokers, no card, and a scoring system built on yaku. Both use similar tiles, but the skills barely overlap: American play is pattern recognition against the card, Riichi is set-building and defence.
When does the new mahjong card come out, and do the hands change?
The National Mah Jongg League issues a new card each spring, usually in April, and every year's hands are different. Groups switch to the new card together, so the first weeks of each spring are a reset for everybody, including experienced players.
Who is East in mahjong and what does East do?
East is the dealer for the hand: East rolls the dice to break the wall, takes fourteen tiles instead of thirteen, and discards first. Under League rules East pays and collects like any other player, and the deal passes to the right after every hand, whether or not East won.
Do you have to play the Charleston?
The first Charleston is mandatory in American Mahjong, and the second is optional: any one player can decline it and it is skipped. The courtesy pass is optional too, and the table can still make it when the second Charleston is skipped. The two players across from each other each name a number from zero to three, and the smaller number is used.
What is picking ahead in mahjong?
Picking ahead is drawing your next tile from the wall before the player ahead of you has discarded, which speeds play but gives up your right to call that discard. Sanctioned tournament rules prohibit it outright, where a player who picks ahead is declared dead, and tables differ on it in casual play, so ask before doing it at a new one.
What does it mean to call mahj?
Calling mahj, or mahjong, is declaring that your fourteen tiles complete a hand on the card, which ends the hand and starts the payout. It is said out loud when you draw or call the last tile, and a wrong call costs nothing on its own, but showing your tiles on one makes your hand dead.
How much does an American Mahjong set cost?
Prices vary widely by material and maker, so the useful question is what a set must include: 152 tiles with eight jokers, four racks with pushers, and dice. A set sold with 144 tiles is a Chinese set and will not work for the American game without adding jokers.
Can I practise American Mahjong alone?
Yes. Read dealt hands for direction, keep and pass, which is the first decision every hand asks of you, and a new hand is read that way here every morning. Reading many deals repeats that decision more often than playing full hands alone, because it is made before the first discard.