01The setup: walls, deal and the card
American mahjong is played with a standard set plus eight Jokers, and — crucially — the current year's NMJL card, which lists every legal hand.
All four players build walls, the dealer (East) rolls to break the wall, and tiles are dealt around until everyone holds 13 — the dealer takes a 14th to start. Before anyone draws, the table runs the Charleston (next section). Your entire goal is to assemble one exact hand printed on the card.
02The Charleston, step by step
The Charleston is American mahjong's signature pre-game tile exchange. You pass three tiles at a time without looking at what you receive until the pass completes:
- First Charleston (required): pass right, then across, then left.
- Second Charleston (optional, by agreement): left, across, right — skipped if any player declines.
- Courtesy pass: a final optional swap of up to three tiles with the player across, by mutual agreement.
!Jokers may never be passed in the Charleston. On the "across" passes you may make a blind pass — sending tiles you just received without looking — to avoid handing rivals what they need.
03Choosing — and switching — your hand
During the Charleston and the early draws you may freely change which card hand you're chasing. The moment of no return is your first exposure: once you place tiles on your rack to claim a discard, you are committed to a hand whose structure matches that exposure.
Beginners should keep two candidate hands alive as long as possible and avoid exposing early — flexibility is the whole game before that first call.
04Exposures: calling a discard
When a discard completes a group your card hand needs, you may call it and expose that group face-up on your rack — but only as a pung, kong or quint (3, 4 or 5 of a kind). There are no chows in American mahjong, and you cannot call a discard merely to hold it.
Pung
Three identical — expose to match the card.
Kong
Four of a kind — Jokers may fill in.
Quint
Five of a kind — only on cards that call for one.
You must name the hand you're making when you expose, and your exposures must remain consistent with a single card line.
05Joker rules
Jokers are wild — but tightly limited:
- A Joker can substitute for any tile inside a pung, kong or quint.
- A Joker can never be used for a single tile or in a pair, and never in NMJL "Singles and Pairs" hands.
- On your turn you may redeem a Joker sitting in any player's exposure by swapping the real tile for it.
- You cannot call a discarded Joker.
06Dead hands & wall games
An incorrect exposure — one that can't match any hand on the card — makes your hand dead: you sit out the rest of the round and, if someone wins, you pay as the table rules dictate. If the wall runs out with no winner, it's a wall game (a draw) and no money changes hands. Declaring "Mahjong" on a hand that doesn't exactly match the card is also a dead hand, so always double-check against the card before you call the win.
07Frequently asked questions
Can I change my hand after the Charleston? +
Yes — you can switch which card hand you're chasing right up until your first exposure. After you expose tiles, you're locked into a matching hand.
Can you pass a Joker in the Charleston? +
No. Jokers are never passed. You can, however, make a blind pass of tiles you just received on the "across" passes.
What happens if I make a wrong exposure? +
Your hand becomes dead — you're out for the round and pay if someone else wins. Always confirm your exposure matches a line on the card.
Are there chows in American mahjong? +
No. American hands are built from pungs, kongs, quints, singles and pairs as printed on the NMJL card — runs claimed off a neighbour (chows) are a Hong Kong / Riichi thing. Compare styles in
which mahjong to learn first.
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