Welcome to your first table.

Start by learning what you are looking at. American Mahjong uses three numbered suits—Dots, Bams, and Craks—along with Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and Jokers.

• Dots, Bams, and Craks are the three suits, each numbered from 1 through 9.
• Winds and Dragons are honor tiles. Flowers are flexible tiles used by many card lines.
• Jokers can help complete certain groups, but they do not replace every kind of tile.

Try it now: place the tiles face-up and sort them by family. Say each family name aloud before you put the tiles back.

The current official card is a menu of legal hands. You never need to understand the whole card at once—read one line from left to right.

• Notice the number pattern first, then the size of each printed group.
• Printed colors describe relationships between suits; a color is not permanently assigned to Dots, Bams, or Craks.
• Read every note, including whether the hand must remain concealed.

Try it now: choose one simple line, point to each printed group, and build only that line with loose tiles.

The Charleston is the structured exchange before regular play. Its purpose is not to create a perfect hand immediately; it helps your starting tiles become more coherent.

• Pass tiles that support none of your most promising card lines.
• Protect pairs, useful Flowers, connected numbers, and tiles that work in more than one direction.
• Follow the sequence and optional-pass rules used by your table and the current official rules.

Try it now: deal yourself a practice hand, identify two possible directions, and explain why you would pass three particular tiles.

A normal turn has a calm three-part rhythm: draw one tile, compare it with your strongest directions, then discard one tile.

• Keep one or two plausible card lines visible instead of chasing the entire card.
• Ask whether the new tile strengthens a group, preserves flexibility, or creates unnecessary clutter.
• Place the discard clearly and name it so everyone at the table can hear.

Try it now: play five solo turns from a practice wall and say “draw, compare, discard” each time.

Calling a discard can complete an eligible group, but it also reveals part of your plan. A Joker adds flexibility only where the current rules allow it.

• Before calling, point to the exact printed group the exposure will satisfy.
• Jokers generally work in eligible groups of three or more, not in singles or pairs.
• Use the current official rules for Joker exchanges, exposures, and exceptions.

Try it now: look at three sample card lines and mark which printed groups could legally include a Joker.

A completed hand must match one legal line exactly. Similar is not enough: numbers, suits, Flowers, group sizes, and concealed or exposed status all matter.

• Compare the hand with the card one printed group at a time.
• Check every color relationship against the suits you actually used.
• Confirm any concealed requirement and make sure every exposure is permitted.

Try it now: build one complete sample hand and ask another player to verify it from left to right before resetting the tiles.