Do you like to play games? Learn to play Mah Jongg

By Karen

What is mah jongg?

Have you ever wanted to learn to play mah jongg? Have you ever even heard of mah jongg? If you’re like me, you had a mother who played. It was normal to come home from school and hear the clack of the tiles. And hear my mother or one of her friends say things like 3 bam, 4 crack, mah jongg. What??

Mah jongg originated in China and is in some ways like gin rummy though you play with tiles, not cards. Do not confuse it with the matching tile game called mah jongg that you can find on online apps. There are many versions of the game but I play American mah jongg. You need 4 players but it can work with 3. It’s not necessarily easy to start off, there are lots of rules. My mother taught some friends and me how to play a few years ago. We started by playing with the most essential rules and then adding more in over time. I would say it took close to a year before we were comfortable with all the rules. 

What you will need?

If you want to learn to play mah jongg you will need the following:

• A mah jongg set. I’m lucky in that I have my mother’s and my grandmother’s sets. But you can also buy them on Amazon starting from $55. Sets will include the tiles and plastic racks (which is where you put your tiles)
• The National Mah Jongg League card (shown above) (standard size $14 and large size $15- I recommend the large one). The card has the winning hands you will try to make with your tiles. It changes every year and the new one comes out around March or April. You can buy it from the National Mah Jongg League. (You can also order it from Amazon but beware- a friend ordered one from Amazon and it turned out to be counterfeit, a few of the hands were different).
• Mah jongg Made Easy. Available from the National Mah Jongg League for $15 this instruction guide lays out all the rules of the game. If you’re starting out it’s nice to have.
• At least 2 other people to play with – not available from the National Mah Jongg League or Amazon but there are games online. I know a few people who use Real Mah Jongg.

How to play?

I will only briefly describe the game here. Essentially every player starts with 13 tiles and the object is to get the tiles that match one of the hands on the mah jongg card (part of the 2019 card shown here). The person who gets a hand first wins. The types of tiles are winds (north, south, east, and west), jokers, flowers, dragons (red, green, and white) and 3 “suits” with numbered tiles (bams, dots, and craks- each suit has tiles numbered 1-9). The winning hands on the card are different combinations of these tiles. You get your starting hand by picking tiles and then through a series of tile passes. You then play the game by drawing and discarding tiles. 

A full description of the game is in the Mah Jongg Made Easy Guide.  Also the ilovemahj website gives a really nice and easy to follow description. Be aware there are variations of the game with some people playing with what are called “house or table rules.”

How to find people to play?

• If you have 3 friends who also want to play then you’re in luck. Everyone just needs to get the card and one of you needs to have the set.
• Sometimes you can find someone in your community who teaches mah jongg.  I have several friends who have joined games with a teacher – this is nice since you’re all learning together and you have a built-in group.
• Places like senior centers, community centers, and libraries often have games. This is a nice way to meet people who play. It also means you usually have enough people for a game and there will be sets available. You just need a card.

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