American Mahjong Rules

What are the basic rules of American mahjong?

The basic rules are short: swap tiles, take turns and match a hand on the card. Here they are for beginners.

1. Play 4 at a table. East is the dealer. East starts with 14 tiles, and the others start with 13.
2. Swap tiles first. In the Charleston, everyone passes 3 tiles right, across, then left. More passing is optional.
3. Take turns to the right. Take a tile, then discard one and say its name. A discard is a tile you throw out.
4. Match a hand to win. When your 14 tiles match a hand on this year's card, call "Mah Jongg."

For setup and a full turn, see how to play American mahjong.

What are the joker rules?

A joker can stand in for any tile. But it only works in a group of 3 or more alike. A set has 8 jokers.

• Yes: in a pung (3 alike), kong (4), quint (5) or sextet (6).
• No: as a single tile, in a pair, or in a mixed group like NEWS (one of each wind).
• Swap: on your turn, you may trade the real tile for a joker in any exposure. An exposure is a group shown face up on a rack.
• Dead: no one can call a joker that was thrown out.

You also may never pass a joker in the Charleston. See mahjong jokers for more.

When can you call a discard?

You can call a discard only to finish a group of 3 or more alike, or to win. To call means to take another player's discard for yourself.

• You can only call the latest discard. Call it before the next player takes a wall tile and puts it on their rack.
• Put the finished group face up on top of your rack. Then discard.
• You can't call a tile for a single or a pair. The one exception is your last tile to win.
• If two players call the same tile, a call to win beats a call for a group. Otherwise, the player next in turn gets it.

The card marks each hand with an X or a C.

X means exposed, so you may call tiles to make groups. C means concealed, so you may call only the last tile you need to win.

What is a dead hand?

A dead hand is a hand that can no longer win. It happens when:

• you have too many or too few tiles, or
• your exposures fit no hand on the card.

Another player points it out. You stop playing that hand, but you still pay the winner. If you call Mah Jongg by mistake and show your tiles, you are out too.

A wall game is when the tiles run out and no one wins. Nobody pays.

How does the winner get paid?

The winner is the only player who collects. Each hand has a value on the card, most often 25 to 50 points. The 2026 card goes up to 75.

• Win on a discard: the player who threw it pays double. The other two pay the hand's value.
• Self-pick: you drew the winning tile from the wall. All three players pay double.
• Jokerless: a hand with no jokers doubles in value first. This does not count for Singles and Pairs hands.

Say a hand is worth 25 cents. On a discard win, the thrower pays 50 cents and the other two pay 25. On a self-pick, all three pay 50 cents.

Many groups play for coins. Some cap losses with a pie, a set limit of $3 to $10. Others use chips or keep score on paper.

Laws on playing for money vary by state. See how to score mahjong.

Where can you find the official rules?

The official rules come from the National Mah Jongg League. It sells a rule book called Mah Jongg Made Easy. It also answers rules questions.

Want an American mahjong rules PDF or a free download? The full official rules are in the League's book.

The card is copyrighted, so there is no free official PDF of it. For a free page to print, use our mahjong cheat sheet.