Learn Mah Jongg Fast

Mah Jongg is a fast, strategic game played with tiles, used similarly to a deck of cards, and guided by a card that lists the eligible hands. The goal is to be the first player to Mah Jongg (often called “Mahj”), meaning you’ve formed a complete hand using the 13 tiles in your rack and the 14th tile you’ve just picked up.

American Mah Jongg is played with 152 tiles divided into 3 suits and special tiles: 

• Dragons: Green, Red, and White
• Winds: North, South, West, and East
• Flowers
• Jokers

There are three different suits in American Mah Jongg: Dots, Bamboos, and Craks (sometimes called Characters). Each suit is numbered 1 through 9, and there are four of each number in each suit resulting in 

• 36 Dots
• 36 Bamboos
•  36 Craks

There are three dragon tiles, with four of each, for a total of 12 dragon tiles.

• Red Dragon (pairs with Craks)
• Green Dragon (pairs with Bamboo)
• White Dragon (pairs with Dots and often called “Soap”)

American Mah Jongg has four of each of direction of Wind. 

• East
• South
• West
• North

There are 8 flower tiles, they don’t belong to any suit and are considered neutral tiles. Sometimes people confuse the 1 Bamboo and flowers as many sets are unique and ornate. Flowers are often in hands with pungs.
 

American Mah Jongg includes 8 Joker tiles which are wild cards and can be substituted for most tiles, except for singles or pairs and cannot replace flowers.

Spellings Mah Jongg, Mahjong, Mahjongg, and often just Mahj. All of these spellings refer to the same game, and you’ll see them used interchangeably.

We use Mah Jongg as does the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL).

You have Mah Jongg (often called Mahj) when you are the first player to complete a hand that matches one on the current card, using the 13 tiles in your rack plus the tile you just picked up, for a total of 14 tiles.

Mah Jongg has its own language, and at first it can feel like a lot. The good news: you learn it by playing. Terms like Charleston, pung, kong, and dead tile start to make sense quickly once you’re moving tiles, passing, and paying attention at the table. This guide covers the most common words you’ll hear so you can follow the game, ask better questions, and feel comfortable jumping in.