Step 1
Practiced8 min
Welcome to American Mahjong
Understand table rhythm, why the card matters, and how guided sessions reduce overwhelm.
Learn
Learn American Mahjong.
The same game, with more explanation. Your card stays beside you.
Beginner Path
Start here if the game is new.
Eight short chapters. You can leave them and sit down whenever you want.
New to Mahjong? Start with the 5-minute guided path.
Your rhythm · settling in
Your card stays beside you. Note that whenever you are ready.
- Chapters practiced
- 2
- Card noted
- Whenever ready
Bring the card you already use.
Step 2
Practiced12 min
Learn the Tiles
Dots, bams, craks, winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers — what each signals tactically.
Step 3
Where curiosity leads15 min
Understand the Card
Translate printed patterns into concealed vs exposed strategies without memorizing everything.
Step 4
Ahead on your path14 min
Charleston Basics
Keep flexibility through passes while quietly steering toward viable families.
Step 5
Ahead on your path20 min
Your First Guided Hand
Play one short hand with a little extra explanation beside you.
Step 6
Ahead on your path18 min
Jokers and Exposures
Know when jokers amplify value versus trap your concealed flexibility.
Step 7
Ahead on your path16 min
Beginner Defense
Read discards empathetically — slow opponents without guessing wildly.
Step 8
Ahead on your path10 min
Play With Friends
Create a table and invite three friends. It is the same game.
Charleston · pass rhythm
Right, across, left, then an optional courtesy pass. Your card still names the hands.
Pass rhythm practice
Charleston rhythm rested
The passes are finished. The wall is next.
Daily beginner invitation
Name your intention before the wall breaks
~6 min
Pause at the rim of the table and choose one quality you want to practice — steady breath, generous listening, or calm discards.
Coaching lens · Naming presence slows adrenaline so Charleston stays humane.
Beside the beginner path.
A small invitation
A short invitation to notice one thing about the hand. It stays beside the game.
Progressive learning cards
Short lessons that introduce the tiles.
They sit beside your own card. They do not replace it.
StarterNever touched tiles; week zero
Starter Card
Build muscle memory around pairs and tile families without jokers diluting focus.
Allowed concepts
- pair spotting
- simple pungs
- melodic sorting
Sample coaching hands
Three consecutive ranks in one suit plus supportive pairs elsewhere.
Trace how each pickup lengthens or shortens the ladder; narrate aloud.
Two anchored pairs plus roaming singleton hunters.
Which pair earns protection first when Charleston winds blow?
Teaching notes
- • Tiles stay oversized on purpose; confidence beats speed.
- • No jokers yet so beginners feel tangible scarcity.
BeginnerComfortable handling racks; weeks 2 to 4
Beginner Card
Introduce exposures early so rack storytelling feels familiar before complexity spikes.
Allowed concepts
- exposed pungs
- concealed flexibility
- family hopping
Sample coaching hands
Bookend pungs with a wandering pair bridge.
Decide which exposed set sells your story to opponents.
Two suits trade momentum while honors pepper discipline.
When do honors stop being fillers and become anchors?
Teaching notes
- • Expose deliberately; beginners rehearse reading racks socially.
- • These notes stay beside the card you already use.
ConfidencePlayed weekly beginner nights; month two
Confidence Card
Lean into jokers as punctuation; practice swapping identities without panic.
Allowed concepts
- joker substitution etiquette
- dead tile empathy
- flex pungs
Sample coaching hands
Jokers stitch almost-complete ladders across suits.
Which tile does the joker impersonate during coaching narration?
One floating joker redeems three awkward singletons.
Explain aloud why the relief valve respects table etiquette.
Teaching notes
- • Voice-over cues reinforce why jokers are borrowed power, not cheats.
- • Practice them when you sit down to play.
StrategyReady for club pacing; month three
Strategy Card
Mirror Charleston-style commitments; rehearse pivot language before live passes.
Allowed concepts
- pass storytelling
- signal discipline
- two-track pivots
Sample coaching hands
Track three imaginary opponents passing complementary regrets.
Which regret becomes your pivot word during second left?
Maintain two viable narratives until wall tension chooses.
What observable discard closes one narrative politely?
Teaching notes
- • Focus on emotional cadence; Charleston anxiety dissolves with rehearsal.
- • Take these ideas to the table with the card you already use.
Your card
Bring the card you already use.
These notes sit beside it. They do not replace it.
Your printed card stays the authority. These notes sit beside it.