Frequently asked questions

No. They share an ancestor and a family of tiles, but the rules diverged in the 1920s and the American game became its own thing. American mahjong uses 152 tiles instead of 144, adds eight jokers, has no sequences at all, requires the Charleston before play, and restricts winning hands to an annually published card.

If you already play an Asian variant, expect to unlearn a fair amount. The scoring system in particular has nothing in common.

Yes, if you intend to play with anyone outside your own living room. The card defines the legal hands for that year, and it changes every spring. Last year's card is simply not valid.

The standard card costs about $14, with a large-print version around $15. Cards are typically mailed in late March to early April, so order in March to have it in hand for the new season. Proceeds support charitable causes including the Alzheimer's Association and the American Heart Association.

Realistically, ten to twenty minutes per hand at a social table, and a full game is usually played over two or three hours. The Charleston alone adds a couple of minutes before anyone discards.

New-player tables run slower, and that is expected. The pace is part of why the game works as a social activity rather than a competitive sprint.

No. This is the single most common beginner misconception. A joker may only substitute for a tile inside a group of three or more — a pung, kong, quint or sextet. It can never stand in for a required pair or a required single tile (so is not a pair) — but is a legal pung.

As a result, hands in the Singles & Pairs section usually forbid jokers outright, which is why they carry the highest values on the card.

Your hand is dead. You are out for the remainder of that hand, and depending on the table you may owe a penalty. This is the most expensive mistake in the game, and it is entirely avoidable.

Check the line against the card before you say the words. Count the tiles, confirm the suit relationships, and confirm whether the hand had to stay concealed. Nobody at a friendly table will rush you through this.

No. American sets are specifically designed so you do not have to. Dots and bams carry Arabic numerals in the corner, winds carry N, E, W and S, and dragons are marked Red, Green and White or drawn as literal red and green dragons .

Only the craks retain a Chinese character beneath the numeral, and you can play for years using the numeral alone.

Three things: a 152-tile American set with racks, the current year's card at roughly $14, and dice. A serviceable beginner set runs well under a couple of hundred dollars, and most community groups have spare sets for newcomers to borrow at their first session.

Do not buy a Chinese or Japanese set by mistake — it will be missing the jokers, the eight flowers, and the Arabic numerals that make American sets playable.

Not under standard rules. American mahjong is a four-player game: the Charleston depends on having a player opposite you, and the wall is built from four equal stacks.

Three-handed variants exist informally but they require modified Charleston rules and are not standard. If you are short a player, look for a fourth rather than improvising.

Two organizations publish annual American mahjong cards: the National Mah Jongg League, founded in 1937, and the American Mah-Jongg Association. The NMJL card is the more widely used of the two and is what most clubs and tournaments expect.

They are not interchangeable. Before you sit down, ask which card the table plays — and bring that one.

Community centers, synagogues, libraries and adult-education programs run beginner classes and open play sessions in most mid-sized American cities. Many are listed locally rather than online, so asking at a community center desk is often more effective than searching.

For tournaments, the season culminates in the National Mah Jongg Convention each March, and organized events run year-round across the United States and Canada.