How to play mahjong
Six short steps. Nothing to memorise — by the end you'll be ready to sit down and play a hand.
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The tiles
A mahjong set has three suits numbered 1 to 9 — circles, bamboo and characters — plus the honours: four winds and three dragons. Every tile appears four times.
That's the whole alphabet. Everything from here is about how you group them.
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Sets and the pair
Tiles are collected in sets. A run is three in a row within one suit. A triplet is three of the same tile. A pair is two of the same tile — you need exactly one pair.
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What you're building
A winning hand is four sets plus one pair. You hold 13 tiles, which means you are always exactly one tile short — the 14th is the one that completes it.
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Your turn: draw, then discard
On your turn you draw a tile, then throw one away — so you are always back to 13. Play passes around the table. Keep what builds towards sets, let go of what doesn't.
You've just drawn. Tap the tile that fits nothing.
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Claiming a discard
When another player discards a tile you need, you can take it instead of waiting: pon to make a triplet, chi to make a run, kan for all four. The set is then revealed to the table, and the turn jumps to you.
At the table these appear as buttons the moment they become possible — you never have to spot them yourself.
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Ready, and winning
Once a single tile would complete your hand, you are ready — waiting for it. You win by drawing that tile yourself, or by taking it the moment another player discards it.
This hand is one tile from winning. Tap the tile it's waiting for.
That's the whole game
The rest is scoring — which hands are worth what — and that varies by ruleset, with the table showing you as you play. The easiest way to pick it up is one quiet hand against bots.