Mahjong cheat sheet for beginners
Two pages that cover the first evening: what every tile is, what a winning hand looks like, how a turn goes, who you may claim a discard from, and how the three main games differ. Free to print and hand round your group.
1. The tiles
- Dots (Circles) — 1 to 9, four of each: 36 tiles.
- Bamboo (Bams, Sticks) — 1 to 9, four of each: 36. The 1 is usually a bird.
- Characters (Craks, Wan) — 1 to 9, four of each: 36. The number is written in Chinese.
- Winds — East, South, West, North, four of each: 16.
- Dragons — Red, Green, White (often a blank or a blue frame), four of each: 12.
- Flowers and Seasons — one of each, 8 in all. Bonus tiles; not used in Riichi.
Three suits plus winds and dragons make 136. Add the eight flowers for 144, the Chinese set. Add eight jokers to that for the 152 in play in American mahjong, boxed as 166 with spares and blanks. Riichi plays the 136 with three red fives swapped in. The tile names guide has the full list with meanings.
2. The goal
Collect 14 tiles that form four sets and a pair. A chow is three in a row in one suit (not used in American). A pung is three identical tiles. A kong is four identical tiles; declare it and draw a replacement. The pair, or eyes, is two identical tiles.
American mahjong replaces four-sets-and-a-pair with the hands printed on this year’s National Mah Jongg League card. Riichi needs at least one yaku, a scoring pattern, as well as the shape.
3. Setting up
- Turn all tiles face down and wash (shuffle) them with both hands.
- Each player builds a wall two tiles high: 18 stacks for Chinese, 17 for Riichi, 19 for American. Push the four walls into a square.
- The dealer is East. East rolls the dice to decide where the wall is broken.
- Deal 13 tiles each; East takes a 14th and discards first.
- Flowers and seasons are set aside face up as soon as they are drawn and replaced from the back of the wall.
4. A turn
- Draw the next tile from the wall, or claim the tile just discarded.
- Look. Can you win? Declare a kong? Otherwise choose a tile to let go.
- Discard one tile face up in the middle and say its name.
- Pause. Anyone may claim it. If nobody does, play passes to the right.
Play moves counter-clockwise. A claimed set is placed face up in front of you and stays there; the rest of your hand stays hidden.
5. Claiming a discard
| You want | Who you may take it from | Say |
|---|---|---|
| Chow | Only the player on your left, the one who just played. Chinese and Riichi only. | “Chow” / “Chii” |
| Pung | Anyone. | “Pung” / “Pon” |
| Kong | Anyone. Draw a replacement from the back of the wall. | “Kong” / “Kan” |
| The winning tile | Anyone. A win beats every other claim; pung and kong beat chow. | “Mahjong” / “Ron” / “Hu” |
After claiming you must discard. In American mahjong you may call any tile for any exposure except a pair, and a joker in an exposed set can be swapped for the real tile on your turn.
6. Which game is which
| Feature | Chinese (Hong Kong) | American (NMJL) | Riichi (Japanese) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiles in play | 144, with flowers | 152: 144 + 8 jokers | 136, no flowers, 3 red fives |
| Winning shape | 4 sets + pair | A hand on this year’s card | 4 sets + pair + at least one yaku |
| Chow allowed | Yes, from the left | No | Yes, from the left |
| Jokers | No | 8, stand for any tile in a set of three or more | No |
| Before play | Deal and go | The Charleston: pass 3 tiles right, across, left, then left, across, right | Deal and go |
| Scoring unit | Fan, usually a 3-fan minimum | Printed on the card, paid in chips or coins | Han and fu into points; a riichi bet is 1,000 |
| Gear | Tiles, dice, wind indicator | Tiles, 4 racks with pushers, the card | Tiles, point sticks, dice |
| Tile size | Size 36 is standard (about 36 mm tall) | 1.2 in; 1.3 in large print | 26 mm, two-tone back |
Not sure which game your group plays? Start with how to play mahjong, then the American vs Chinese set comparison.
7. Words at the table
- Wall — the stacked tiles you draw from. The dead wall is the last 14, never drawn except for kong replacements.
- East / dealer — starts the hand and, in most rules, keeps the deal after a win or a draw.
- Seat wind — your wind this hand. Prevailing wind — the round’s wind, East first. A pung of either scores.
- Concealed — a set you drew yourself and have not shown; worth more. Exposed — a set claimed from a discard, shown face up.
- Ready / tenpai — one tile away from winning.
- Self-draw / tsumo / zimo — winning on a tile you drew. Everyone pays.
- Furiten — Riichi: you cannot win on a discard if a tile you need is in your own discards.
- Dora — Riichi bonus tile shown on the dead wall; each one in your hand adds a han.
- Charleston — the American pre-game tile pass. A blind pass is passing tiles you received without looking.
8. Etiquette
- Say the tile when you discard it, and lay it in a neat row so others can read the pond.
- Never touch another player’s tiles or wall. Point if you need to.
- Keep your hand behind the rack or on edge; do not show it when you win until the call is confirmed.
- Claim promptly. “Pung” after the next player has drawn is too late.
- Do not comment on discards or coach the player next to you during a hand.
- In American play the Charleston is passed, not thrown: face down, three at a time.
- Phone face down. The pace of the table depends on four people paying attention.
9. Beginner mistakes
- Discarding dragons and winds first out of habit. Watch what the table is collecting.
- Chasing a big hand while someone is one tile from a small one. A cheap win still ends the hand.
- Calling chow too early. Every exposure tells the table what you hold.
- Buying a Chinese set for American mahjong: no jokers, no racks, eight tiles short. The beginner set guide explains which set fits which game.
- Buying a size 40 set for a card table. Measure first: size 36 fits a 34-inch table.
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