American Mahjong Etiquette: Talk, Hands, and Phones

American Mahjong is a talking game. Etiquette is how the talk stays kind. The rules live on the card. The manners live in four habits you can teach in a minute.

At the table

• Name every discard. The next player is listening, not watching your fingers.
• Do not touch another person’s rack. Point, do not rearrange.
• Do not narrate someone else’s hand. “You should call that” is a lesson, not a courtesy.
• Phones stay down. No photos of racks, even as a joke.

When something goes wrong

A miscalled pung, a joker passed by accident, a hand that does not match the line: stop, say what happened, and let the table rewind one step. Most home games are not tournaments. Humiliation is how you lose a fourth player.

If you host, put the house rules where the card sits. New guests should not have to guess whether the second Charleston is expected.

• Common mistakes →
• Courtesy pass rules →