Mahjong Rules Quick Reference — Chinese, Japanese, American and Solitaire Side by Side
The four games people mean by "mahjong", compared in one table: tiles in the set, jokers, hand size, whether sequences are allowed, how you win and how you score. Free to cite.
"Mahjong" names at least four different games. They share tiles and almost nothing else — a player who is strong at one can be a complete beginner at the next.
This page is the comparison table. If you only remember one thing from it, remember the number of tiles in the set: 136, 144 or 152 tells you which game you are sitting down to.
The four games at a glance
| Chinese (MCR) | Japanese (riichi) | American mah jongg | Mahjong solitaire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiles in the set | 144 | 136 | 152 | 144 |
| Flowers and seasons | Used | Removed from play | Used | Used, as 8 bonus tiles |
| Jokers | None | None | 8 | Not applicable |
| Players | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Tiles in hand | 13, plus the 14th on your turn | 13, plus the 14th on your turn | 13, plus the 14th on your turn | None — the whole board is dealt at once |
| Sequences (chows) | Allowed | Allowed | Not allowed | Not applicable |
| What counts as a win | Any four melds plus a pair | Any four melds plus a pair, with at least one yaku | Only hands printed on the annual card | Clearing every tile from the board |
| Minimum requirement | A point threshold (8 points in MCR) | At least one yaku | A complete hand from the card | No pairs left to remove |
| How it is scored | Fan patterns | Han and fu, plus dora | Points printed on the card, plus bonuses | Not scored — a clock if you want one |
| Signature mechanic | Fan counting | Riichi declaration, dora | The Charleston pass, before play | Free tiles, shuffle, unlimited undo |
What actually changes when you switch games
136 vs 144 vs 152. Riichi removes the flowers and seasons from play, leaving 136 tiles. Standard Chinese play uses all 144. American mah jongg adds 8 jokers for 152. If someone deals you a set and there are no flowers, you are almost certainly playing Japanese rules.
Sequences or no sequences. Chinese and Japanese mahjong let you build chows — three tiles in numerical order, like 4-5-6 of Bamboo. American mah jongg does not: every group is identical tiles. That single rule changes how you read a rack, because neighbouring numbers stop being useful to each other and duplicates become the thing you want.
A pair is not always a pair. In American mah jongg a joker can fill a group of three or more — a pung, kong or quint — but never a pair and never a flower. In the other variants there are no jokers at all.
Free-form hands vs a card. In Chinese and Japanese play, any legal arrangement of four melds and a pair wins, and you score what it happens to be worth. In American play your 14 tiles must match a hand printed on the current year's card, or they score nothing. This is why American players plan before the first discard.
Where the solitaire game fits. Mahjong solitaire borrows the tiles and drops everything else — no turn order, no opponents, no scoring. You remove matching pairs, and a tile can only be removed when it is free. It is a puzzle built out of a mahjong set, not a version of mahjong. If you want the four-player experience with a card and jokers, play American Mah Jongg instead.
The turn structure everyone shares
The three four-player games run on the same skeleton, whatever the scoring:
1. Deal 13 tiles to each of four players; the dealer takes a 14th and discards first.
2. On your turn, draw one tile — from the wall — then discard one.
3. You may claim a tile another player discards if it completes a group you need (a pung, kong or, where allowed, a chow).
4. The first player to complete a legal hand wins and the round ends. If the wall runs out first, the round is a draw.
Everything that differs between the variants sits on top of those four steps: how you score at the end, whether a joker can stand in for a tile, whether the hand has to match a card, and whether you must declare riichi before you can win at all.
Citing this reference
You are free to quote or reuse this table with attribution. Plain text:
MahjongBreak — Mahjong Rules Quick Reference: Chinese, Japanese, American and Solitaire Side by Side
https://mahjongbreak.com/guide/mahjong-rules-quick-reference/Or in HTML:
Source: <a href="https://mahjongbreak.com/guide/mahjong-rules-quick-reference/">Mahjong Rules Quick Reference</a>, MahjongBreakFrequently asked questions
Is mahjong the same as mahjong solitaire?
No, and it is the most common mix-up. Real mahjong is a four-player game with draws, discards and scoring against opponents. [Mahjong solitaire](/games/solitaire/) is a single-player matching puzzle that only borrows the tiles.
Which mahjong variant is easiest to learn?
Mahjong solitaire, because there is nothing to score and no opponents. Among the four-player games, American mah jongg has the simplest mechanics — no sequences, no fan table, no yaku list — but the steepest memory requirement, because you must know the hands on the card.
Why does Japanese mahjong use only 136 tiles?
Because flowers and seasons are taken out of the set for riichi. They are bonus tiles with no place in riichi's hand structure, so the set is 34 faces × 4 copies.
Can you use jokers in Chinese or Japanese mahjong?
No. Jokers exist only in American mah jongg, which adds 8 of them to the standard set.
How many tiles do you hold in your hand?
Thirteen, in all three four-player games. The dealer draws a fourteenth tile and discards first; after that every player draws one and discards one.
What is the Charleston?
A mandatory pass of three tiles, three times, before American mah jongg play begins: to the right, then across, then to the left. It exists because the card demands specific tiles, and nine tiles of forced exchange is what turns an unplayable rack into a playable one.
Play it yourself
Related guides
- American Mah Jongg Rules — How It Differs from Chinese and Japanese MahjongThe four rules that make American mah jongg a different game: 152 tiles with jokers, no sequences, a card that defines legal hands, and the Charleston pass before play begins.
- Mahjong Tiles Explained — All 144 Tiles, Their Suits and Their MeaningsWhat every tile in a mahjong set actually is: 108 suited tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers and seasons, plus the 8 jokers that turn it into the 152-tile American set.
- Mahjong Tile Reference Chart — All 144 Tiles in One TableEvery tile in a mahjong set in one place: the 42 faces, how many copies of each exist, which tiles can pair with which, and how the American 152-tile set differs. Free to cite.
- How to Play Mahjong Solitaire — Rules, Free Tiles and LayoutsA plain-English walkthrough of mahjong solitaire: which tiles match, what "free" actually means, how the Turtle, Tower and Pyramid layouts differ, and the four buttons you get.
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