Mahjong 101

Mahjong is a family of games with Chinese origins, usually played by four people. Players draw and discard tiles while building a hand under an agreed ruleset. The tiles may look familiar across different versions, but the number of tiles used, calls, special hands, scoring and table procedure can change.

This guide introduces a common four-player Chinese-style foundation. It is not a complete scoring code and it does not override the rules chosen by your table. Before the first deal, name the rules you are using and keep the same reference available to everyone.

Written by Wind & Honour Editorial Team. Reviewed 23 September 2026.

First, choose which Mahjong you are learning

Ask your group for the exact rules name before following the steps below. Our turn and winning-hand examples use MCR; they do not set the conditions for every Mahjong table.

• Choose between Chinese, American and Riichi learning routes with the broad overview.
• Compare American and Chinese play at the table using NMJL and MCR references.
• Explore Hong Kong, Sichuan and Taiwanese differences before joining a regional game.

Write the chosen version at the top of your notes. Keep its opening, calls and scoring together so that advice from another lesson does not silently change your game.

Learning Japanese Riichi instead?

Begin with the tile faces, then follow our Riichi Mahjong beginner tutorial. It uses EMA 2025 and a worked hand to connect yaku, dora, ron, tsumo and furiten. Read the same rulebook for the deal and wall procedures.

Keep this route separate from the MCR turn and winning-hand lessons below. Riichi requires a yaku; dora cannot replace it, and MCR's eight-point minimum is not its winning threshold. EMA 2025 also leaves out red fives, although other Riichi tables may use them.

A practical learning path

1. Recognise the tiles: learn the suits, Winds and Dragons.
2. Set up the table: choose the rules and prepare the deal.
3. Practise a turn: follow ordinary draws and discard claims using an MCR example.
4. Check a winning hand: separate a complete structure from the scoring and procedural conditions in MCR.
5. Choose equipment for a shared game: check the people, table and storage needs.

On this page

1. Meet the tiles
2. Set up the table
3. Take a turn
4. Make a winning hand
5. Compare major forms
6. Use the first-game checklist
7. Keep the first session calm
8. Check the source rules

Meet the tiles

The numbered tiles are divided into three suits. English names vary, but they are commonly described as Dots or Circles, Bamboo, and Characters. Each suit runs from one to nine. A standard group of suited tiles has four copies of each number, so the three suits together account for 108 tiles.

Honour tiles are not numbered suits. They consist of four Winds — East, South, West and North — and three Dragons — often described in English as Red, Green and White. Four copies of each honour give 28 honour tiles. Suits and honours together therefore make a 136-tile core used by several Mahjong forms.

Many Chinese-style sets add four Flower tiles and four Season tiles, bringing the physical set to 144 tiles. Different regional rules treat bonus tiles differently, and some sets include spare or joker tiles beyond the tiles used in a chosen game. Count and identify the actual tiles before teaching from a generic diagram.

The Club Set is listed as a Chinese-style 144-tile set. It is not an American Mah Jongg set. Choose a set against the rules and equipment used by your group. For a closer tour of the faces, read Mahjong Tiles Explained.

Set up the table

Seat four players around the table and assign the Winds according to the rules you are using. East normally acts as dealer for the opening hand, but the method for choosing seats and rotating the dealer can differ.

Turn the tiles face down and mix them so the faces cannot be seen. Each player builds a wall in front of their seat; together the four walls make a square. The height and length of each wall depend on the tiles included in the game. Do not copy a wall length from a different ruleset without checking.

The dealer uses the agreed method to break the wall and deal the opening hands. In many forms, East begins with one additional tile because the dealer makes the first discard. Exact dealing sequences, replacement tiles for bonus tiles, dead-wall rules and dice procedures vary, so use the chosen rulebook for those steps.

Take a turn

The basic rhythm is simple: draw one tile, consider the hand, then discard one tile. Play continues around the table. A player is usually working towards a complete hand while also reading the discards and exposed groups in front of the other players.

Keep discards visible and ordered in the manner required by your rules. A clear table makes it easier for beginners to follow which tiles have already appeared. Announce calls clearly and pause when a new player needs the sequence explained.

Some discarded tiles can be claimed. A Chow is a run of three consecutive tiles in one suit, such as 3-4-5 Bamboo. A Pung is three identical tiles. A Kong is four identical tiles. English spellings and call procedures vary, and a Chow is often restricted to the player in a particular seat order. Winning claims and other calls may take priority. Check the rules before resolving simultaneous calls.

When a player claims a discard for a set, the group is normally placed face up and the player discards to complete the turn. A Kong normally requires a replacement draw. Concealed sets, added kongs and the use of flower or season tiles can create further procedures.

Try one open practice turn

In a teaching exercise with no flowers, kongs or calls, place 2 and 3 Bamboo among a 13-tile hand. Drawing 4 Bamboo creates a sequence; discarding an unrelated tile returns the hand to 13 tiles. This illustrates turn mechanics, not a scored win. Our complete MCR practice example supplies the full starting hand and explains how a call changes the next action.

Make a winning hand

A common basic hand has four sets and one pair. With no kongs, that is 14 tiles including the winning tile. In MCR, each declared kong adds one physical tile to that count; flowers are kept separately. Count exposed sets as part of the hand.

That shape is a useful teaching model, not a universal definition of every legal hand. Many rulesets recognise special hands that do not follow four sets and a pair. A structurally complete hand may also need a minimum scoring value before it is allowed to win. Beginners should separate two questions: “Is the hand complete?” and “Does this ruleset allow and score it?”

For the MCR examples in our lessons, a permitted structure must also reach eight scoring points without flowers, and the final tile must come through a legal draw or winning claim. Follow the winning-hand tutorial to practise all three checks with one grouped hand.

That threshold belongs to MCR. Other Chinese forms, Riichi and American Mah Jongg have their own requirements. Keep the same rules reference for structure, play and scoring.

Chinese-style, American and Riichi are not interchangeable

“Chinese-style” is a broad description, not one single worldwide rulebook. Regional Chinese forms can use different bonus tiles, hands, minimum scores and payment methods.

American Mah Jongg commonly uses an annually issued card of hands, jokers and the Charleston passing procedure. A product intended for American play therefore needs different information from a Chinese-style listing. The National Mah Jongg League describes these features in its official overview.

Riichi is a Japanese form commonly played with the 136-tile core. The European Mahjong Association’s competition rules describe 34 basic tile types with four copies of each, and explain that flower, season and joker tiles are not used in its Riichi rules. Japanese sets may include red fives, while an individual rule code decides whether they are used.

The safest buying question is not simply “Is this Mahjong?” Ask which version you intend to play, which tiles and accessories that version needs, and which rule reference the group will follow.

A first-game checklist

• Invite four players and allow more time than you think you need.
• Choose one ruleset and keep its reference on the table.
• Sort the tiles before play and compare them with the rulebook.
• Identify the three suits, four Winds and three Dragons.
• Decide how bonus, flower, season, spare or joker tiles are handled.
• Practise building the walls before trying to score a full game.
• Play a few open practice turns: draw, explain the choice and discard.
• Learn the difference between a chow, pung, kong and pair.
• Use a simple complete-hand example before introducing special hands.
• Stop and check the rules when two calls appear to conflict.

Keep the first session calm

The first goal is not speed. It is recognising the tile families and following the turn sequence without losing the state of the table. Open practice hands can help: let players show their tiles, discuss possible groups and learn why a discard changes the hand.

Once the rhythm feels comfortable, add the scoring and special-hand rules from the system you selected. Mahjong rewards repeated play; a clear shared reference is more useful than pretending every table uses the same traditions.

Sources and further rules

• World Mahjong Organization: MCR, hosted by EMA — sections 3.7, 3.9.1 and 3.11 for winning conditions.
• European Mahjong Association: Riichi Competition Rules
• World Riichi Championship: WRC Rules
• National Mah Jongg League: American Mah Jongg overview
• Wind & Honour Editorial Standards

Next, use the UK Mahjong set buying guide to compare rules, readability, table space and portability without relying on unverified “best set” claims.

Choose your next guide

American Mahjong equipment, travel set selection and tile sizes and readability answer different buying questions. Browse the collection when you are ready to inspect products.