Learn Mahjong: Beginner Rules and Guides
Beginner-friendly rules, setup, dealing, hand structure, scoring, and table etiquette—with regional differences clearly labeled.
- Rules
- Setup
- Scoring
21 guides
Start with the recommended foundations, then move into regional rules and table practice.
How to Play Mahjong
Learn how to play mahjong step by step: identify the tiles, follow a turn, make sets, complete a hand, and choose the right regional rules before playing.
Read guideAmerican Mahjong Rules
Learn American mahjong rules for 2026: read the current card, complete the Charleston, use jokers legally, call tiles, expose sets, and declare Mah Jongg.
Read guideChinese Mahjong Rules
Learn Chinese mahjong rules without mixing regional systems. Follow the shared turn structure, build a legal hand, then choose MCR, Hong Kong, or local scoring.
Read guideHow to Play American Mahjong
Learn American Mah Jongg step by step: equipment, 152 tiles, the annual card, Charleston, turns, calls, jokers, dead hands, and your first legal win now.
Read guideCharleston Mahjong: Pass Order & Strategy
Learn the American mahjong Charleston pass order, optional second round, courtesy pass, joker restrictions, and beginner strategy without table confusion.
Read guideHong Kong Mahjong Rules & Scoring
Learn Hong Kong mahjong rules step by step: set up 136 or 144 tiles, draw and discard, call chow, pung, or kong, complete a legal hand, and count fan.
Read guideHow to Deal Mahjong: Wall, Dice and Tile Order
Learn how to deal mahjong step by step, from face-down shuffling and wall construction to the dice break, four-tile packets, dealer hand, and variants.
Read guideHow to Read Mahjong Tiles & an American Card
Learn to read mahjong tiles without knowing Chinese, identify every suit and honor, and read an American mahjong card step by step without copying its hands.
Read guideHow to Win Mahjong
Learn how to win mahjong more often through legal hand planning, tile efficiency, flexible shapes, table reading, risk control, and variant-specific strategy.
Read guideIs Mahjong Hard to Learn?
Mahjong is manageable when learned in layers. See what makes it feel difficult, which rules to learn first, what to postpone, and a clear first-session plan.
Read guideMahjong Card Game Rules: Cards vs Tiles
Learn mahjong card game rules, deck order, setup, turns, and winning hands—and how printed mahjong playing cards differ from the American annual hand card.
Read guideMahjong Etiquette: Table Manners & Fair Play
Learn mahjong etiquette for social and tournament tables: clear calls, claim timing, tile handling, scoring, pace, teaching manners, phones, food, and disputes.
Read guideMahjong Hands: Shapes, Waits and Winning Hands
Learn how mahjong hands work: sets, pairs, open and concealed melds, common waits, special winning structures, and the key differences between rulesets.
Read guideMahjong Rules
Understand the mahjong rules shared by many variants, then compare Chinese, Hong Kong, riichi, and American differences before you deal your first hand.
Read guideMahjong Scoring
Learn how mahjong scoring works across Hong Kong, MCR, riichi, and American rules, including legal-hand checks, pattern value, payments, and examples.
Read guideMahjong Setup: Tiles, Seats and Walls
Set up a mahjong game correctly with a variant-aware equipment list, tile counts, seat assignment, wall lengths, dealer selection, and pregame checklist.
Read guideHow to Play Mahjong With 2 Players
Learn how to play mahjong with 2 players by choosing a documented format, setting the wall and turn rules, preserving hidden information, and scoring fairly.
Read guideHow to Play Mahjong With 3 Players
Learn how to play mahjong with 3 players using documented American or Japanese sanma rules, including setup, dealing, scoring, and house-rule choices.
Read guideHow to Play Mahjong With 4 Players
Learn how to play mahjong with 4 players: choose a ruleset, assign seats, build the wall, deal, take turns, claim tiles, complete a hand, and score correctly.
Read guideRiichi Mahjong Rules
Learn riichi mahjong rules: build a valid hand with yaku, understand riichi, dora, furiten, calls, ron and tsumo, then follow a complete beginner round.
Read guideSiamese Mahjong Rules for Two Players
Learn Siamese mahjong rules for two players: arrange two racks each, build the walls, deal 27 tiles, skip the Charleston, manage two hands, and score wins.
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