Best starting point
Start here if you are new to American Mahjong or if you have played another style of mahjong and need the American tile set, card, and joker rules to feel familiar.
Basics
American Mahjong Basics for Beginners
See the full shape of a hand, learn the tiles, and lock in the core table words.
This stage gives you the big-picture rules, the tile families, and the vocabulary that makes the table readable.
5 min
→How American Mahjong Works
See the whole hand from table setup to East's first discard before you zoom into the details.
3 min
→Mahjong Tile Families
Use the tile pictures to name the suits, honors, flowers, and jokers without getting lost in too much text.
5 min
→American Mahjong Terms
Learn the short table words that beginners hear constantly, without turning the lesson into a wall of text.
Challenge
→Tile Recognition Checkpoint
Show that you can recognize the main American Mah Jongg tiles by sight before moving into table flow.
Next stage
American Mahjong Game Flow
Set the table, read the card, Charleston, and follow a legal turn.
Continue to Game FlowMore about this stage
A beginner guide to American Mahjong basics
+
More about this stage
A beginner guide to American Mahjong basics
American Mahjong basics start with a simple picture of the table: four players, 152 tiles, racks, walls, a dealer called East, and a 14-tile hand that must match a card line. New players often try to memorize every rule first, but it is easier to learn the shape of the game before drilling exceptions.
This stage teaches the tile families, the table vocabulary, and the first flow of a hand. You will see bams, craks, dots, winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers in context so the words at the table stop sounding like a private language.
By the end of Basics, you should be able to recognize the main tiles, explain why a hand needs 14 tiles, and understand why jokers are powerful but limited. That foundation makes the NMJL card, the Charleston, and calling rules much easier to learn later.
What this stage helps with
The lessons build confidence with tile names, basic rules, table words, and the difference between learning Mah Jongg socially and reading a rulebook.
How to use it
Read the short lesson, take the quiz, then revisit the tile recognition checkpoint until the suits and special tiles are automatic.
What are the basics of American Mahjong?
The basics are the tile families, the 14-tile winning hand, the role of the NMJL card, table vocabulary, the deal, the Charleston, and the first draw-discard rhythm.
Is American Mahjong different from other mahjong styles?
Yes. American Mah Jongg uses jokers, flowers, racks, a yearly NMJL card, and the Charleston, so beginners should learn it as its own rule system.
Basics teaches American Mahjong as a beginner course. Use the current NMJL card for official hands and confirm house rules before social play.