Lesson 10 of 13

Mahjong Tile Law

Know which groups can use jokers, which groups can be claimed, and why legality starts with the tile structure itself.

Before strategy, learn what the tiles are allowed to do

Before you make any clever decisions, you need the tile law. American Mah Jongg hands are built from very specific groups. If you understand what counts as a pair, pung, kong, quint, single, or group of singles, the later rules start making much more sense.

Groups of three or more are more flexible

Read the shape before you decide whether a joker or a claim can help. Larger matching groups are flexible. Pairs and single-tile requirements stay strict.