How to play
How to play American Mahjong
Step-by-step American Mahjong for a first table, including what the Tilehaus interface expects you to click.
Before the first tile
Open the American Mahjong table. Choose seat count 4. For a first game, enable bots so empty seats still take their turns.
Dump lonely honors
Keep pairs that can become pungs. Spend jokers on almost-pungs, never on a pair.
Do not eat the pair
If you expose four pungs with jokers, you still need two natural twins in the rack.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what people search — for Google, voice, and assistants.
Is this official American Mah Jongg / NMJL?
No. The National Mah Jongg League card is copyrighted. Tilehaus ships an original teaching card: four pungs and a natural pair, with jokers filling pungs only. Same racks-and-jokers family, not the yearly league card.
How many tiles are in American mahjong?
A typical American set is 152: 144 suit-and-honor tiles plus 8 jokers (some boxes add flowers). Tilehaus deals 144 + 8 jokers. Each player starts with 13; the dealer starts with 14.
How do jokers work in American mahjong?
On this teaching table, jokers complete pungs and kongs. The pair must be two natural identical tiles. You cannot discard a joker as a wild claim for someone else’s pair.
What is the Charleston in American mahjong?
A passing ritual before play. This teaching table skips Charleston so you can learn jokers and the 14-tile shape first. A later module can add passing.
Can you play American mahjong online free?
Yes. Open the Tilehaus American teaching table in the browser. Four seats, bots fill empty chairs, no account.