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Learn American Mahjong, one article at a time

Everything I teach at the table, written down, for total beginners, returning players, and anyone who wants to win more hands. New articles land twice a month. In a hurry? Grab the Charleston cheat sheet.

Hosting & gear · Featured

Can You Use a Chinese Mahjong Set for American Mahjong?

Yes, with a few honest caveats about jokers, racks, and the card. Here's exactly what it takes to bring a Chinese set (maybe your grandmother's) to an American table.

8 min read · Read the guide →

Hosting & gear

How to Host a Mahjong Night Your Friends Will Talk About

Table setup, snack strategy, skill-mixing, and how to fold a total beginner into the game mid-party. Everything I've learned from a lot of mahjong nights.

8 min read

Strategy

Hand Selection 101: How to Pick Your Hand from 70+ Options

Seventy hands on the card and thirteen random tiles in your rack. Here's the sorting method, the honest distance count, and the moment to commit.

11 min read

Strategy

Charleston Strategy: What to Pass, What to Keep, When to Steal

The Charleston isn't a warm-up; it's where hands are won. How to pass from strength, read what you receive, and know when to shut the whole thing down.

10 min read

The basics

What Is a Dead Hand in Mahjong? Every Way to Go Dead (and How to Avoid It)

A dead hand means you're out of the hand but still at the table. Here's every way it happens, how the challenge works, and how to stay graceful when it's you.

9 min read

Culture & history

From Shanghai to the Suburbs: The Surprising History of American Mahjong

A Qing-dynasty game of sparrows, a Standard Oil salesman, a 1920s craze, and 400 women at a New York hotel: how mahjong became American without ever stopping being Chinese.

11 min read

The basics

How to Play American Mahjong: The Complete Beginner's Guide

Everything a brand-new player needs (the tiles, the card, the Charleston, jokers, and scoring), explained the way I teach it at my tables in Milwaukee.

13 min read

The basics

What to Expect at Your First Mahjong Lesson

A minute-by-minute walkthrough of your first session with me: what happens, what you'll learn, and why you don't need to bring (or memorize) a single thing.

8 min read

The basics

How to Read the NMJL Card (Without Losing Your Mind)

The annual card looks like a cipher until someone shows you the four rules that unlock it, starting with the big one: the colors don't mean what you think.

10 min read

The basics

The Charleston in Mahjong, Explained Step by Step

American mahjong's famous passing ritual, demystified: every pass in order, the blind pass rules, the courtesy pass, and the one tile you may never send traveling.

9 min read

The basics

American Mahjong Joker Rules: When You Can (and Can't) Use Them

Jokers are the most powerful tiles in the set and the most misunderstood. Here's every rule, every exception, and the exchange move that wins games.

9 min read

The basics

American Mahjong Scoring and Payments Made Simple

Who pays what, when it doubles, and why, with real quarter-game examples you can bring straight to the table.

9 min read

Culture & history

American vs. Chinese vs. Riichi Mahjong: What's Actually Different

Three games, one family tree. Here's an honest comparison of American, Chinese, and Japanese riichi mahjong, and how to decide which one to learn.

9 min read

The basics

American Mahjong Tiles Explained: Bams, Craks, Dots, and Soap

A friendly field guide to all 152 tiles in an American mahjong set: what they're called, why they're called that, and what each one does.

9 min read

The basics

How Long Does It Take to Learn Mahjong? A Realistic Timeline

You can play your first legal hand in a single two-hour lesson. Here's an honest, milestone-by-milestone timeline from total beginner to confident player.

8 min read

The basics

Mahjong Etiquette: The Unwritten Rules of the Table

Every mahjong table runs on a set of courtesies nobody writes down. Here they are, written down, with the reasons behind each one.

8 min read

Hosting & gear

The Best American Mahjong Sets (What I Actually Recommend)

My honest recommendations by budget, from a solid 100-dollar starter set to the pretty ones, plus what every American set must include no matter what you spend.

9 min read

New guides, twice a month

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