A full set has 136 tiles, but only 42 different faces to learn. Master those and you can play any style — Chinese, Hong Kong, American, or Japanese. It all starts with reading the tiles.
The three suits
Numbered tiles, 1 through 9
Each suit runs 1 to 9, and there are four copies of every tile. These are the heart of the game.
Honor tiles
Winds & Dragons
No numbers — you match these by name. Four copies of each.
The four Winds
The three Dragons
Bonus tiles
Flowers & Seasons
Eight extra tiles, one copy each. When you draw one, set it aside for a small bonus and take a replacement tile. You never need them to win — learn them last.
Flowers
Seasons
For the instructor
- Project this page on the big screen and use the Text buttons (top right) to size it for the room.
- Start here, on the suits. Reading tiles is the one real hurdle; everything else is quick once tiles are automatic.
- Put real tiles in hands early. Have learners find "the 5 of dots" in their own set while it's on screen.
- Then run the Practice tab as a group — call out answers together before anyone taps.
- One thing to settle first: which style your center plays. The tiles, the four-sets-plus-a-pair goal, and the turn flow here are shared by all of them; only the winning hands and scoring differ. (If you play American mahjong, use the National Mah Jongg League's official card for the hands — it's updated yearly.)
A winning hand is four sets and one pair — 14 tiles in total. Every turn is about collecting toward that shape.
The four kinds of set
What counts as a set
Build any four of these, plus one pair, and you've won.
Pair
Two identical tiles — you need exactly one
Chow — a run
Three in a row, same suit (numbers only)
Pung — three of a kind
Three identical tiles (any tile, honors too)
Kong — four of a kind
Four identical tiles; draw a bonus replacement
Runs don't wrap and don't cross suits. 7-8-9 is a chow; 8-9-1 is not. And honor tiles (winds, dragons) can only form pairs, pungs, or kongs — never runs.
Put together
A complete winning hand
Four sets and a pair. Here's one example — two runs, two triplets, and a pair of winds.
Four players sit around the table, each seated at a wind. Play moves counter-clockwise, one tile at a time, until someone completes a hand.
The table
Four seats, four winds
Each player is a wind. East deals and goes first.
One turn
Draw one, discard one
You start with 13 tiles
Hidden from the other players. The dealer starts with 14 and skips the first draw.
Draw a tile
Take the next tile from the wall. Now you're holding 14 — one too many.
Decide
Does the new tile help build a set or pair? If not, it's a candidate to throw away.
Discard one, face up
Place one tile in the middle and say its name. You're back to 13, and it's the next player's turn.
Shortcuts
Claiming someone's discard
You don't always wait for your draw. If a discarded tile completes a set in your hand, you can take it — reveal the set face up, then discard as normal.
- Pung
- Take a discard to complete three of a kind.Any player, any discard.
- Kong
- Take a discard to complete four of a kind, then draw a replacement.Any player.
- Chow
- Take a discard to complete a run.Only from the player on your left (the one just before you).
- Mahjong
- Take a discard that completes your whole hand and win.Any player, any discard — this beats other claims.
A claim jumps the turn order to you. A revealed set is locked — everyone can see it and it can't change.
Winning
Declaring Mahjong
When your 14th tile completes four sets and a pair — whether you drew it or claimed a discard — call "Mahjong!", lay your hand down, and the round scores. Then the deal passes and a new round begins.
Scoring is where styles differ. The tiles and the flow above are the same everywhere; how much a hand is worth depends on whether you play Chinese, Hong Kong, Japanese riichi, or American. Learn to build the shape first — scoring comes naturally once you're playing.
Tap the right answer. Do a few every session — recognition is all about repetition.
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