American Mah Jongg grew its own rules after mahjong reached the United States in the 1920s. The biggest difference from every other style: you don't build any four sets and a pair you like; you race to complete one of the hands printed on a card. Before play there's a tile-passing ritual, and the set includes jokers.
On this page
What makes it special
- The card: every winning hand is printed on a card. Each line is one hand of exactly 14 tiles, with a note on whether you may expose it and its value.
- The Charleston: players swap tiles before play. The first round is required, three tiles right, across, then left; the second round is optional; finally, players across from each other may swap up to three tiles.
- Jokers: a joker can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more (pung, kong, quint), but never in a single or a pair.
- Joker exchange: if an exposed group on the table holds a joker and you have the real tile, you can swap it on your turn and take the joker.
Tiles and hand size
The set has 152 tiles: 108 suit tiles (bams, craks and dots 1 to 9, four of each), 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers and 8 jokers. See how many tiles are in a set, and flower tiles for how flowers are used here.
Everyone gets 13 tiles; East, the dealer, gets 14 and discards first.
How a hand is won
When your 14 tiles exactly match a hand on the card, declare "Mah Jongg". You may call another player's discard to complete a pung, kong or quint that you then expose, or to finish your hand. A discarded joker is dead: nobody can call it.
How scoring works
There are no tai or fan: the value is printed on the card, usually 25 to 30 points, more for harder hands. The singles-and-pairs hands are worth the most, for example 50.
- Win on a discard: the discarder pays double, the other two pay the value.
- Self-draw: all three pay double.
- No jokers in the whole hand: double again (except singles-and-pairs hands, which can't use jokers anyway).
So a 25-point hand collects 100 on a discard and 150 on a self-draw. For how this compares with other styles, see scoring basics.
Who plays it and where
American Mah Jongg is played mainly in the United States, where it's enjoying a big revival, with clubs and game nights filling up across the country. Players there buy a new card from the National Mah Jongg League each year.
Our site uses its own original card, the House Card 2026, not the NMJL card. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Mah Jongg League, Inc. "National Mah Jongg League" is a trademark of its owner.
Where to learn more and play
Visit American Mahjong to play free against three computer players. The card helper shows which hands you're closest to and how many tiles you still need. The site has a beginner how-to-play guide, a "reading the card" page that explains every line, and all 50 hands on the card in ten categories, each one open to explore.
To compare: American is very different from "four sets and a pair" styles such as Chinese Official mahjong and Taiwanese mahjong, but the basics of reading tiles, drawing, discarding and calling are the same.
FAQ
Do I need to buy a card to play?
Not on our site: we use our own original card, so you can learn and practise for free. To play the official tournament hands with friends, buy the current card from the National Mah Jongg League.
Where can I use a joker?
Only in groups of three or more identical tiles (pung, kong, quint), never in singles or pairs. A discarded joker is dead and can't be called.
How is it different from other mahjong?
American uses 152 tiles with jokers, starts with the Charleston, and you win by matching the card. In most other ways of playing mahjong, you freely build four sets and a pair with no card.