Four pages to keep at the table while you learn. Print them, or save the PDF.
Mahjongg School American Mah Jongg quick reference
American Mah Jongg quick reference
1 The tiles: 152 in all
Every tile in the set is drawn on this page. Each number tile, wind and dragon comes four times.
Bams
also called bamboo
1 to 9, four of each: 36 tiles
The 1 Bam is the bird.
Green Dragon, 4 tiles. It goes with the bams.
Craks
also called characters
1 to 9, four of each: 36 tiles
Red Dragon, 4 tiles. It goes with the craks.
Dots
also called circles
1 to 9, four of each: 36 tiles
White Dragon, 4 tiles. It goes with the dots.
Winds
North, East, West and South, four of each: 16 tiles.
Flowers
8 tiles. Every flower counts as the same tile, whatever its picture.
Jokers
8 tiles. A joker stands in for a tile; page 2 says where.
White Dragon as zero
The White Dragon (players call it soap) is also the zero, as in a year: 2026.
108 number tiles + 12 dragons + 16 winds + 8 flowers + 8 jokers = 152 tiles
Mahjongg School American Mah Jongg quick reference
2 Groups and jokers
A hand is fourteen tiles made of groups. Check the group before you use a joker or call a discard.
| Group | Example | Joker allowed? | Call a discard to show it? | Call a discard to win? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singleone tile | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | |
| Pairtwo of the same tile | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | |
| Three of a kind (pung)three of the same tile | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | |
| Four of a kind (kong)four of the same tile | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | |
| Five of a kind (quint)five of the same tile | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | |
| Separate tilesa run, NEWS, a year | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
- To win, you may call a discard for any group, even a single or a pair, but only when that tile finishes your whole hand.
- Five of a kind of a number tile, a wind or a dragon always uses at least one joker, because only four of each exist.
- A hand marked C on the card is concealed. It stays on your rack until you win, and the only discard you may call is the tile that wins. A hand marked X may show groups made with called tiles.
Jokers can be used to make 3 of a kind or more, but not pairs.
Allowed. Three of a kind: two 7 Dots and a joker.
Not allowed. A pair: a 5 Crak and a joker.
Two more joker rules
A thrown joker is dead. Nobody may pick it up, not even to win.
Swap for a joker. On your turn, if any player has shown a group with a joker in it, you may put the real tile in its place and take the joker.
Mahjongg School American Mah Jongg quick reference
3 The table
- Each player builds a row of 19 stacks, two tiles high, along the rack. The rack is as long as the row. Its rod is hinged at the owner's left end and swings the row in at an angle when it is needed.
- East rolls two dice, counts that many stacks from the right end of East's row (7 here), and splits the row there.
- The stacks to the right of the split are drawn last.
- The deal starts on the other side of the split. East gets 14 tiles, everyone else 13.
4 The Charleston
Before the first throw, everyone passes three tiles at the same time, face down.
First Charleston everyone passes
- Right
- Across
- Leftblind pass allowed
Second Charleston optional: anyone may stop it before it starts
- Left
- Across
- Rightblind pass allowed
Courtesy pass optional
Across only, 0 to 3 tiles. You and the player across each say a number, and you both pass the smaller one.
- Never pass a joker.
- Blind pass: on the last pass of each Charleston, you may pass on tiles just passed to you without looking at them. You still pass three.
5 A turn
- East goes first by throwing a tile. East starts with 14, so East does not draw.
- Draw one, throw one. Take the next tile from the wall, then throw one face up and say its name, such as "four dot".
- Turns go to the right.
- Calling a discard. Any player may call the tile just thrown to make three of a kind or more, or to win. Show the group face up, then throw. Do not draw. Play goes on to your right.
The hands you may win with are the lines on the card your table plays.
Mahjongg School American Mah Jongg quick reference
6 Reading a line on the card
Each line on the card is one hand of 14 tiles. The colours tell you how many suits; you choose which ones.
FF 1111 3333 5555 X 25
One colour for the numbers: all one suit, any suit you like. Here it is Craks.
222 4444 666 8888 X 25
Two colours: two different suits. Here the green numbers are Bams and the red are Dots.
| On the card | Means | Tiles |
|---|---|---|
| F | A Flower | |
| 0 | The White Dragon (soap), used as zero | |
| D | A dragon: Red, Green or White | |
| N E W S | The winds | |
| X | Exposed: you may call thrown tiles for its groups | |
| C | Concealed: it stays on your rack, and only the winning tile may be called | |
| 25 | What the hand is worth |
7 Winning and paying
Call "Mah Jongg" and lay all 14 tiles face up. Everyone checks the hand against the card.
| How the game ended | The player who threw it | Each other player |
|---|---|---|
| You won on a thrown tile | pays you 2 times the value | pays you the value |
| You won on a tile you drew | nobody threw it | pays you 2 times the value |
| The wall ran out | nobody wins and nobody pays | |
- No jokers in your hand doubles every payment, except in Singles and Pairs and in Quints.
- A dead hand still pays. Once your hand cannot be made, stop throwing tiles others might need.