Draw, Discard, Call

After the Charleston, the hand settles into a repeated rhythm

Once the Charleston ends, the game becomes a loop: draw, decide, discard, react. The challenge is not speed. It is remembering that helpful and legal are not the same thing when a discard looks tempting.

What a legal claim looks like

On most turns you draw from the wall, compare that tile to your hand, then discard one tile. A discard may be claimed only if it is the most recent discard and it legally completes an exposure for your line or gives you Mah Jongg. When you claim it for an exposure, you immediately place the set face up in front of your rack.

• You may claim only the most recent discard.
• A claimed set becomes an exposure right away.
• Ordinary claims do not skip your discard.

Claiming for Mah Jongg is different from claiming for exposure

If a discard gives you Mah Jongg, that winning claim has priority over ordinary exposure claims. Some tiles that cannot be claimed for an ordinary exposure, such as a needed pair or another single in a singles-based ending, may still be claimed for Mah Jongg. After a normal claim you must still discard, but if the claim itself gives you Mah Jongg the hand stops there.

• Useful does not automatically mean legal.
• Mah Jongg claims outrank ordinary exposure claims.
• A normal claim is expose first, then discard.
• A Mah Jongg claim ends the hand instead of leading to another discard.