American Mahjong – play free against three computer players
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Quick answer
4-Player Mahjong is a free four-player tile game against three computer opponents that plays instantly in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, with no download, sign-up or ads. Complete a winning hand first: four sets and a pair, or a hand from the card in American Mahjong.
4-Player Mahjong at a glance
What it is
Four-player tile game against three computer opponents
This page
American rules: 152 · 8, used in hands · 8 · No · An exact hand from the card; Charleston before play
Goal
Complete a winning hand first: four sets and a pair, or a hand from the card in American Mahjong
Modes
Hong Kong (flowers, 3-faan minimum), Chinese Classic (no flowers, no minimum) and American (jokers, Charleston, an original hand card)
Controls
Tap or click tiles to discard; buttons for calls; keyboard arrows and Enter
Players
1 player against 3 computer players
Price
Free, no ads, no sign-up, no download
Works on
Phones, tablets and computers, in any modern browser
American Mahjong is played with 152 tiles: the usual suits, winds and dragons, eight flowers and eight jokers. Instead of any four sets and a pair, you must build one of the hands printed on a card, and the hand has to match exactly. There are no chows: you can only call a discard to expose a group of identical tiles, or to win.
Here, the three suits are called Dots, Bams and Craks. Each suit has its own dragon: the White Dragon (Soap) goes with Dots, Green with Bams and Red with Craks. Hands on the card such as “a kong of the third suit’s dragon” use that pairing.
Reading the card
Every hand is written as groups of tiles. FF is a pair of flowers; 1111 is a kong of 1s; colours mark different suits, so three groups in three colours mean three different suits. Numbers on most lines are examples: “like numbers” can be any number, and “consecutive” runs can start anywhere they fit. The game lists the three hands closest to your tiles whenever you open the card.
The Charleston, step by step
First Charleston (required): pass three tiles to the right, then three across, then three to the left.
Second Charleston (optional): if you agree, pass left, across, then right.
Courtesy pass: swap up to three tiles with the player across; you both pass the smaller number.
Use the Charleston to commit to a section of the card. If you hold several dragons and winds, aim for Winds & Dragons; if your tiles are mostly odd, look at 13579.
Strategy tips
Keep your jokers. They are the most flexible tiles in the game, and the bots will happily take a joker from your exposures if you give them the chance.
Stay flexible early. Pick two or three hands that share tiles and narrow down as you draw.
Expose with care. Every exposure tells the table what you are building and locks you into hands that contain that group.
Watch the swaps. If you hold the real tile for a joker in someone’s exposure, take the joker on your turn.
How to play Mahjong
1
Pass in the Charleston
Before play, pass three tiles right, across and left. You can choose a second Charleston, then a courtesy pass of up to three tiles across. Jokers are never passed.
2
Pick a hand from the card
Open the Card to see every hand you can build and which ones are closest to your tiles. Keep the tiles your chosen hand needs.
3
Draw, discard, expose
Draw a tile and discard one. Call a discard to expose a pung, kong or quint for your hand. Jokers can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more.
4
Declare Mahjong
When your 14 tiles match a hand on the card exactly, press Mahjong! You can also call the winning tile from another player's discard.
The simplest four-player rules. No flowers and no minimum, so any four sets and a pair wins.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official National Mah Jongg League card?
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No. The League's card is copyrighted and changes every year, so this game uses its own card of 20 hands in the same style, with like numbers, runs, odd and even hands, winds and dragons, quints and singles and pairs.
What is the Charleston?
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A tile swap before play. Everyone passes three tiles to the right, then across, then to the left. A second Charleston (left, across, right) is optional, followed by a courtesy pass of up to three tiles with the player across. Jokers may never be passed.
Where can jokers be used?
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In any group of three or more identical tiles, such as a pung, kong or quint. Jokers can never be used for a single tile or a pair, and a discarded joker cannot be called.
What is a joker swap?
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On your turn, if any exposure on the table contains a joker and you hold the real tile it stands for, you can swap your tile for the joker. The game shows a button when a swap is possible.
What do X and C mean on the card?
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X hands may be exposed: you can call discards to complete pungs, kongs and quints. C hands must stay concealed, so the only discard you may call is the one that completes your hand.
How is the winner paid?
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Each hand on the card has a value. The player who discarded the winning tile pays double and the other two pay the value; on a self-drawn win everyone pays double. A hand with no jokers is worth double, except Singles & Pairs, which never use jokers.
Prefer to play alone?
Mahjong Solitaire uses the same tiles: match free pairs to clear the board, with six layouts and solvable deals.