All posts in Learn to Play American Mahjong

American Mahjong is a four-player tile game built around rack, dice, and one small paper document that changes every year: the official card published by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL). If you can learn to read that card and follow a few structural rules,…

Before you can play American Mahjong, it helps to actually know what’s in the box and how the table gets set up. The equipment is more specific than it looks, and getting the setup right makes the rest of the game much easier to follow….

American Mahjong has its own vocabulary, and a lot of it doesn’t map directly onto other Mahjong variants. Here are the terms you’ll hear most often at the table, explained in plain language. Core terms Joker A wild tile that can substitute for almost any…

Once the Charleston ends, American Mahjong settles into a clear turn structure. Understanding it makes the difference between feeling lost and actually following the game in your first few sessions. Direction of play Play moves counterclockwise around the table, starting with East, who deals and…