Start hereEverything you need to run a four-week beginner course is free on this site: the week-by-week plan, how to teach the card and the Charleston, and six printable handouts your students can keep. Paid workbooks and a complete teacher’s kit are available for people who would rather not assemble it themselves.
On this page
You already know how to play. Teaching is a different skill: deciding what to cover first, what to leave out, and what to put in front of a beginner who has never held a tile. This page collects everything on MahjongKit for people teaching others, whether that is three friends at your kitchen table, a library group, or a paid course.
The free four-week course
How to teach Mahjong lessons is the full plan, free and complete: four two-hour sessions with timings, what to teach in each, and what students take home. It also covers teaching the card in thirty minutes and teaching the Charleston, which are the two sessions that go wrong most often.
- Week 1: the tiles, the card, building the wall, and open-hand play.
- Week 2: sorting a rack and the Charleston, with racks open so you can coach every pass.
- Week 3: calling discards, exposures and Jokers, with racks closed.
- Week 4: concealed hands, dead hands, scoring, and a graduation game you stay out of.
If you are teaching one person rather than a class, teaching a beginner covers the first evening instead.
Between classes, point students to the free 4-lesson course. It follows the same four-week order, so each lesson matches what you taught that week, and every lesson ends with a practice game.
Free printables for your students
Six printable PDFs, free for personal use. Teachers, clubs and libraries may print and share these with credit to MahjongKit.com, so you can hand them out in class without buying anything.
- The table companion: every tile, and a turn-by-turn guide
- The Charleston card
- Scoring and payouts
- Dead hands and defense
- Table manners, with a house-rules sheet your group can fill in
- A four-week lesson plan summary
Pricing, venues and students
The teaching guide also covers the part nobody tells you: what to charge, where to hold a class, and how to fill it. In short, plan on about $40 per student per session for a group class, check what local programs charge, and ask venues for table space rather than money. Libraries, community centers, cafés in quiet hours and adult-education programs are all used to hosting classes.
Teaching as a side income
- How much to charge: the ballpark, three ways to charge, and the math.
- Where to teach: libraries, community centers, cafés, and how to pitch them.
- Private lessons and Mahj parties: teaching a group of friends.
- Start a Mahjong club: give your graduates somewhere to play.
- Do you need a certification? No, but here is what exists.
When the course ends, graduates need somewhere to play. Hosting a game night and finding local games are what to send them home with.
If you would rather not build it yourself
Two paid products do the assembling for you. They use the same rules and the same drawings as everything free on this site.
18 pages for players who know the rules but freeze when it is their turn: seven drills with an answer key that explains why, plus cut-out reference cards and a score sheet. For your own practice.
$9
For teachersAmerican Mahjong Teacher’s KitA four-week course you can run from: lesson plans with timings and teaching prompts, six student handouts, three in-class drills, pricing and venue help, class templates, a roster and a certificate. Includes the Practice Workbook, licensed so you can print a copy for every student.
$27 · workbook included
Not on sale yetBoth are in final proofing and will be available to buy here shortly. Nothing on this page is hidden behind them: the course plan and the printables above are free and stay free. Buying them supports the free guides.
Neither product includes the National Mah Jongg League card. It is copyrighted, and every student should buy their own. Neither reproduces hands from a particular year’s card, so both keep working when the card changes.
Which one do you need?
| Your situation | What to use |
|---|---|
| Teaching one friend on a game night | The free beginner teaching guide and the free printables |
| Running a free class for a club or library | The free four-week course plan and the printables, which you may print for students |
| Running a paid course, or teaching often | The Teacher’s Kit: the same course, laid out to run from, with handouts and class admin |
| Your students want to practice between lessons | The Teacher’s Kit, which includes the workbook licensed for every student |
| You are learning yourself, not teaching | Start with how to play; the $9 workbook is there when you want practice |
The rules teachers get asked about
These four come up in every beginner class, and getting them right in front of students is worth the two minutes of reading:
- Joker rules: groups of three or more only, and exchanges on your own turn.
- Dead hands: what kills a hand, who may call it, and why you can never call your own.
- Scoring and payouts: who pays double, and announcing Jokerless.
- Table manners: naming discards, calling in time, and what happens when a tile is misnamed.
Can I print your free printables for my students?
Yes. Teachers, clubs and libraries may print and share them with credit to MahjongKit.com.
Do I need a certificate to teach Mahjong?
No formal certification is required. What students care about is a clear, patient teacher who knows the rules well.
How much should I charge?
About $40 per student per session is a reasonable ballpark for a group class. Check what community programs near you charge and adjust for your venue costs.
Do your materials include the NMJL card?
No. The card is copyrighted, and every player should buy their own from the League. Our materials teach the mechanics, so they work with any year's card.
Are these products affiliated with the National Mah Jongg League?
No. MahjongKit is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the League.