Quick answer
Search Facebook for your town or county name plus mahjong or mah jongg, then try community centers, senior centers, synagogues and JCCs, libraries, country clubs and game cafés. Ask whether you can watch a few games first. Bring your own current League card and small change for stakes, and ask the host whether to bring a set.
A mahjong club may organize through word of mouth, a synagogue or community center, a Facebook group or a library bulletin board, so it can be hard to find from a search bar. Here's how to find yours, and how to walk in ready.
Where clubs actually are
Start with Facebook, searching '[your town] mahjong' or '[your county] mah jongg' for local groups. Check community centers, senior centers, synagogues and JCCs (the game's historic American home), libraries, and country clubs. Game cafés are worth asking too, in case they host an open mahjong night.
No club within reach? Start your own with two friends, a set, a card, and a standing Tuesday. Our printable club starter kit gives you everything but the snacks.
Getting invited to the table
Ask whether you can sit and watch a few games first. Watching a round, then playing with an open rack ('training wheels'), is a gentle way in. Where a club runs beginner lessons, arriving with the basics already in hand means you spend that time playing rather than catching up.
What to bring
The current year's card (buy your own, since you will be reading it all night), quarters or small bills for friendly stakes, and reading glasses if you need them. Ask the host whether to bring a set and racks.
First-night etiquette
Name your discards out loud. Keep pace, and when in doubt, ask rather than stall. Don't touch other players' racks or tiles. Pay promptly and cheerfully. Don't coach unless asked, even when you see the mistake. Thank the host, and offer to shuffle.
Want to walk in already table-ready? The lessons cover the tiles, the Charleston, jokers and calling, and end with your first club night.
Put it into practice
New to the game? Start the course at Lesson 1, Meet the Tiles. The first three lessons are free and need no account.
Already play? Have the coach read a real dealt hand for you, free. It names the direction the hand goes for, what to keep, what to pass, and the reasoning behind each call.
Before your first club night, you can practise reading a hand at home. Mei, our AI coach, reads a real hand tile by tile, names the direction it goes for, and says what to keep and what to pass, free.