Cheat sheet
American mahjong rules on one page
The goal
- Four players, 152 tiles, this year’s League card.
- Be first to build one line of the card exactly, with 14 tiles, and call mahjong.
- The set: Dots, Bams, Craks (1 to 9, four of each), 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers, 8 jokers.
Set up and deal
- Each player builds a wall 19 tiles long, 2 high.
- Highest dice roll is East, the dealer. East rolls again to break the wall.
- Deal four at a time, three times, then one each and one extra for East. East holds 14, everyone else 13.
- After each hand, the deal passes to the right.
The Charleston
- Three tiles at a time, face down: right, across, left (required).
- Then, unless a player stops it: left, across, right.
- Courtesy pass, by agreement: 0 to 3 tiles with the player across.
- Blind pass allowed on the first left and the last right. Never pass a joker.
A turn
- East discards first, without drawing.
- Then each player, going right: draw, keep, discard face up and say its name.
- You end every turn with 13 tiles. A named or placed discard can’t be taken back.
Calling a discard
- Only to finish a group of 3, 4, 5 or 6 identical tiles (pung, kong, quint, sextet), in a hand marked X. Lay it face up, then discard.
- Any tile, even for a pair or a single, if it gives you mahjong.
- A C (concealed) hand calls only for mahjong. A discarded joker can’t be called.
- Two calls: mahjong wins. Otherwise the next player in turn gets it.
Jokers
- Only in a group of three or more identical tiles. Never in a single or a pair.
- On your turn, take a joker from any exposure by giving its owner the real tile.
- A discarded joker is dead: nobody can pick it up.
Mahjong, or not
- Call “mahjong” and lay your hand face up to be checked against the card.
- Wrong count, or exposures that fit no line: your hand is dead. Stop playing, still pay the winner.
- Wall runs out with no winner: a wall game. Nobody pays.
Who pays
- The value is printed on the card, at the end of each line.
- Win on a discard: the thrower pays double, the other two pay once.
- Self-pick (you drew the winning tile yourself, or won by taking a joker): all three pay double.
- Jokerless, announced when you call it: double again.