Set Up the Table

A calm setup makes the rest of the hand easier to follow

Before anyone worries about strategy, the table itself has to make sense. A clear setup means you can see the racks, the walls, the discard area, the dice, and the card without guessing where the action is happening.

What belongs on the table

A beginner table usually has a square table, a mat, four racks with pushers, dice, the card in view for every player, a discard area in the center, and four walls surrounding that center. The rack holds your concealed tiles, and the pusher helps keep the wall tidy when the tiles are pushed together.

• A full American set has 152 tiles.
• The walls create the square draw area around the center.
• The discard pile builds in the middle where everyone can see it.
• Keep the card visible, but not on top of the action.

Build the wall, determine East, break, and deal

The tiles are shuffled face down, then stacked into four walls that are two tiles high and usually 19 stacks long per side. East is determined before the hand begins, often by dice. East then breaks the wall at the correct spot, the tiles are dealt out, East takes the extra tile to reach 14, and the other players stay at 13. From there, East opens play with the first discard unless East can declare Mah Jongg immediately.

• Build each wall two tiles high.
• With 152 tiles, each side is usually 19 stacks long.
• Breaking the wall creates the place where the deal begins.
• East starts with 14 and opens with the first discard.