American Mahjong cheat sheet
The basics on one page, for your first games. Print it, or keep it open next to your tiles.
The tiles
Bams, 1 to 9
Craks, 1 to 9
Dots, 1 to 9
Winds: North, East, South, West
Dragons: Red, Green, Soap
Flower and Joker
- 152 tiles: 36 each of Bams, Craks and Dots, 16 Winds, 12 Dragons, 8 Flowers, 8 Jokers.
- Dragons go with suits: Red with Craks, Green with Bams, Soap with Dots. Soap is also zero.
Groups
- Pair: two tiles alike.
- Pung: three alike.
- Kong: four alike.
- Quint: five alike.
The deal
- Everyone takes 13 tiles.
- East takes 14 and discards first.
The Charleston
- Right, across, left: three tiles each time. All three passes are required.
- On that last pass, to the left, you may pass on tiles you just received without looking.
- A second round (left, across, right) only if all four players agree.
- Courtesy pass with the player across: up to three tiles, the same number each way.
- Never pass a Joker.
Your turn
- Draw a tile from the wall.
- Discard one face up and say its name.
- Between turns you hold 13 tiles, counting any groups on top of your rack.
Calling a discard
- Only to finish a pung, kong or quint, or to win.
- Never for a pair or a single tile, unless it is the tile that wins.
- You can call until the next player has drawn and racked her tile, or discarded.
- The finished group goes face up on top of your rack and stays there.
- Aiming for a concealed hand? Then no calling, except for the winning tile.
- A discarded Joker can never be called.
Jokers
- A Joker stands in for any tile in a pung, kong or quint.
- Never in a pair or as a single tile.
- Never passed in the Charleston.
Winning
- 14 tiles that match one hand on your card, group for group.
- Look twice before you say mah jongg. A wrong call can end your game.
- If the wall runs out first, nobody wins.
This sheet does not list the hands. Those are on the card you own. From Tile & Error, free practice at app.tileanderror.co.