American Mahjong, without the confusion.
Learn the rules, understand the card, and feel comfortable at the table.
Start here
Five guides, in the order most people find easiest. About thirty minutes of reading, and you can stop to go play at any point.
How American Mahjong works, from the first wash to calling Mahjong.
Read guide Understand the cardColors, suits, symbols, exposed hands and concealed hands.
Read guide Master the CharlestonThe right-across-left passing sequence, without the panic.
Read guide Learn Joker rulesWhere Jokers work, where they don't, and how exchanges work.
Read guide Set up the tableTiles, racks, pushers, walls, dice and dealing.
Read guide Lost on a word?Pung, kong, quint, Soap, blind pass, dead hand. The glossary explains the twenty terms you will hear at every table.
Open the glossaryCommon questions
Each answer links straight to the part of the guide that explains it.
- Can you use a Joker in a pair?No. Jokers only work in groups of three or more.
- How many tiles do you start with?13. East, the dealer, starts with 14.
- What makes a hand dead?Usually a wrong tile count, an impossible exposure or an illegal Joker.
- What does “Soap” mean?The White Dragon. On the card it also stands for zero.
- What is a blind pass?Passing incoming tiles on unseen, on the last pass of a Charleston.
- How do you exchange a Joker?On your turn, give the natural tile and take the Joker.
- Who pays when someone wins?Everyone pays the hand value; the discarder, or everyone on a self-drawn win, pays double.
Need a Mahjong break?
Match a pair of retro flower tiles. No timer. No score pressure. Just a few quiet minutes.
Play Flower Match
What do I do now? The table companion
Two letter-size pages to keep beside your rack: every tile with its name, and a top-to-bottom guide to what to do at each moment of a hand.
Around the table
Teaching friends, hosting a night, and finding more people to play with.
Play the first game open-hand, give a five-minute overview, appoint one teacher, and skip the scoring.
Read guide CommunityHost a Game NightTable setup, clean-hands snacks, where the drinks go, and how to agree house rules before the first wall is built.
Read guide CommunityFind a Local GameLibraries, community centers, JCCs, Meetup, Facebook groups, teacher directories and tournament organizers.
Read guide CommunityPlay OnlineThe platforms that actually play NMJL-style American Mahjong, with Jokers and the Charleston, against people or bots.
Read guideGear
What to look for when you buy, without the hype.
What a regulation set needs, how we compared sets, and picks for beginners, travel, durability and budget.
Read guide GearTile MaterialsHow melamine, acrylic and porcelain compare for feel, sound, durability and looks, and which to buy for real play.
Read guide GearBest Mahjong MatsNeoprene vs. felt, the right size for a card table, how to store a mat, and mats known for value or style.
Read guideAn independent guide
MahjongKit explains American Mahjong as it is commonly played with the National Mah Jongg League card. We are not affiliated with the League and we do not reproduce the card. Get the current card from the National Mah Jongg League, then use these guides to make sense of it. More about MahjongKit.