Each player puts her tiles on her rack, facing her but concealed from the other players. The player then organizes her tiles in groups and pairs according to the categories on the card. Three unwanted tiles are picked for passing. The passing is organized into two “Charlestons,” as follows: First Charleston (compulsory):Each player gives 3 tiles to the player on her RIGHT; thenEach player gives 3 tiles to the player ACROSS from her; thenEach player gives 3 tiles to the player on her LEFT. At the end of the first Charleston, any player may decide to halt the passing and proceed to the final Optional pass. Second Charleston ( compulsory ): If no one…

One person is selected to be East. You can choose East by throwing the dice, arbitrarily choosing the hostess or by actual seating arrangement. To begin dealing, East throws the dice. The number on the dice indicates where East will break her wall. If, for example, East throws a 10 on the dice, she will take ten groups of two tiles from the right end of the wall and keep them separate. They are reserved until the end of the game. East takes four tiles (two groups of two) from the remainder of her wall. Then the player to the right of East takes four tiles and then the next player to…

The modern American Mahjong set has 152 tiles.  The tiles consist of: CRAKS (also called Characters) – Numbers 1 through 9 – Four (4) each. BAMS (also called Bamboos) –  Numbers 1 through 9 – Four (4) each. DOTS (also called Circles) – Numbers 1 through 9 – Four (4) each. Four (4) red DRAGONSFour (4) green DRAGONS Four (4) white DRAGONS (“soaps”) Four (4) WINDS for each direction: North, East , South and West for a total of sixteen (16) Winds  Eight (8) FLOWERS Eight (8) JOKERS The tiles are mixed, turned face down, and each player makes a wall in front of their rack – nineteen tiles long and…

It is important to remember that there are many different kinds of Mahjong (sometimes spelled Mah-Jongg). The rules that follow are known as modern American rules. Generally Mahjong is played with four players (a fifth person may be a bettor) but can also be played with 3 players if necessary. The object of modern American Mahjong is to make the tiles match up with a hand on a Mahjong card. There are currently two leagues which publish a Mahjong card: The National Mah Jongg League and the American Mah-Jongg Association. The cards change yearly and cost around $10. Below is a Mahjong 101 overview of the basic rules of American…