American mahjong rules for beginners: a cheat sheet
American mahjong is played by four players with a 152-tile set that includes 8 Jokers. Everyone plays alone. After the deal and the Charleston (a tile-passing ritual), players draw and discard until someone holds 14 tiles that match one line on the current American mahjong card exactly and calls "Mahjong!"
By TILE & TRELLIS · Last updated October 31, 2026
The 152 tiles
- Bams, Craks and Dots: 1 to 9 in each suit, four of each (36 per suit)
- Winds: North, East, West and South, four of each (16)
- Dragons: Red, Green and White, four of each (12); White is also called Soap
- Flowers: 8, and all of them count as the same tile
- Jokers: 8 wild tiles, with limits
The deal
Every player builds a wall 19 tiles long and 2 high. East is the dealer, breaks the wall after a roll of two dice and deals 4 tiles at a time. East ends with 14 tiles, everyone else with 13.
The Charleston
- First Charleston (required): pass 3 tiles right, then across, then left
- Second Charleston (optional, any player can stop it): left, across, right
- Blind pass: on the last pass of each Charleston you may pass on tiles you were just given
- Courtesy pass: 0 to 3 tiles with the player across, if you both agree
- Jokers are never passed
Your turn and calling
East starts by discarding. On every other turn you draw a tile and discard one. You may call the tile just discarded only to complete an exposure (a pung of 3, kong of 4, quint of 5 or sextet of 6 identical tiles) or to win. A concealed line on the card may call a discard only for Mahjong.
Joker rules
- A Joker can stand in for any tile in a group of 3 or more identical tiles
- Never in a single tile or a pair
- A quint always needs at least one Joker, because a set has only four of each tile
- On your turn you may swap the real tile for a Joker in any exposure and take the Joker
- A discarded Joker cannot be called
Winning and paying
- Win on a discard: the discarder pays double, the other two pay the hand's value
- Win from the wall: all three players pay double
- A hand with no Jokers is worth double, except lines made only of singles and pairs
- If the wall runs out, it is a wall game: nobody pays
- Payments and passing rules differ between tables, so agree house rules first
Questions
How many tiles are in an American mahjong set?
152: three suits of 36, 16 Winds, 12 Dragons, 8 Flowers and 8 Jokers.
What is the Charleston in mahjong?
The tile-passing ritual before play: 3 tiles right, across and left, then an optional second round left, across and right, and an optional courtesy pass.
Can you use a Joker in a pair?
No. Jokers only replace tiles in groups of 3 or more identical tiles, never in a pair or a single.
Do I need the yearly card to play American mahjong?
Yes. Winning hands are the lines on the current American mahjong card, which is sold separately each year.
From the shop
Original designs created by TILE & TRELLIS with the help of AI tools. Lifestyle photos are AI-generated mockups that show the printed design.