9 articles · read in order

How to Play

A step-by-step walkthrough of a mahjong hand: setting up, building the wall, dealing, drawing and discarding, calling tiles and declaring a win.

1How to Play

Setting Up a Mahjong Game

Before the first tile is drawn, you need a table, a complete set, racks or a flat surface, dice and an agreed set of rules. A simple checklist gets a new group playing smoothly.

3 min read

2How to Play

Building and Breaking the Wall

The wall is the square of face-down tiles from which everyone draws. Building it, rolling the dice and breaking it in the right place are rituals that also protect the game from cheating.

3 min read

3How to Play

Dealing the Tiles

Mahjong tiles are dealt in blocks of four, not one at a time. Here is the standard deal, why East takes a fourteenth tile, and how American, Hong Kong and Japanese deals differ slightly.

3 min read

4How to Play

The Turn: Draw, Discard and Pass the Turn

A mahjong turn is simple: draw a tile, decide what to keep, discard one face up. Understanding exactly what you may do on your turn, and when others may interrupt, is the foundation of every game.

3 min read

5How to Play

Calling Tiles: Chow, Pung and Kong

Claiming another player's discard lets you complete a set instantly, but it exposes part of your hand. Here is when you can call chow, pung or kong, who has priority, and what it costs you.

3 min read

6How to Play

Declaring a Win: Mahjong, Hu, Ron and Tsumo

The moment of winning has its own words and rules. Learn how to declare a win on a discard or a self-draw, how hands are checked, and what happens if a declaration is wrong.

3 min read

7How to Play

The Dead Wall and Replacement Tiles

The dead wall is a block of tiles set aside at the break. It supplies replacements after kongs and flowers and, in Japan, holds the dora indicators. Here is how it works and why it matters.

3 min read

8How to Play

A Sample Hand, Turn by Turn

Follow a beginner-friendly Hong Kong-style hand from deal to win: which tiles to keep, when to call, and how the final tile completes the hand. Reading a worked example is the fastest way to learn.

3 min read

9How to Play

Mahjong Table Etiquette

Good manners keep a mahjong table friendly and fair. From naming discards to not touching other players' tiles, here are the unwritten rules every new player should know.

2 min read