American Mahjong for Beginners: Survive the First Night

Your first American Mahjong night will feel loud. People call tiles. Someone asks for a courtesy pass. A joker gets exchanged across the table. You do not need to master the card in one sitting. You need a rack, a neighbor who will point at a line, and three habits.

Three habits that keep you in the game

• Say the discard out loud. The table is listening for the name, not watching your fingers.
• Pass junk in the Charleston. Lonely suits go. Jokers stay.
• Pick two nearby lines, not ten. The wall will delete one of them. That is normal.

What you can ignore tonight

Do not memorize every value on the card. Do not argue about table talk until you can complete a pung without looking at your neighbor. Do not buy a second set until you know whether this table wants racks left out or packed away. Play two walls. Then decide if the night is yours.

If the set you borrowed is missing jokers or only has 144 tiles, you are not playing the American game the card describes. Ask for a 160-tile set before you blame yourself.

• Beginner rules, table-side →
• Learn the Charleston first →