* Since procedure #1 is the newest ruling in print from the League, it should be regarded the "official" way to go. But this writer feels that since it's not possible to cheat (because dice were rolled to break the wall), the 2020 and 2024 rules are equivalent. Not worth fighting over it, if one player read the 2024 newsletter and one player read the 2020 rulebook and one player is only familiar with the 4-player deal. Just have the dealer take 2 tiles using any of the three extant procedures. And consistently use that procedure for the remainder of the play session.
** Although the official American rules say to forego the Charleston when playing with fewer than four players, many if not most players of American mah-jongg reject the skipping of the Charleston, and make a table rule governing how to do a Charleston with 3 players.
When you use a table rule, your group has to work out all the rule's details. Nobody can tell you the "official" way to use your made-up rule. Read Tom's Three Rules on Table Rules (FAQ 14).
For more on the 3-player Charleston, see column 532.
American mah-jongg, with 2 players -- Same as above. Sit opposite each other. Build 4 walls. Dealer has 14 tiles, opposite player has 13 tiles (as usual). No dummy seats (deal tiles to 2 players only). No Charleston -- after the deal, just begin with the dealer's first discard*.
American mah-jongg, with 5 players.
If you have five players, the normal thing is for the 5th player to sit out.
At the outset (all 5 players being present), everyone roll the dice. Low roller sits out first hand. At the end of the hand, dealer steps away from the table and 5th player takes her seat. At the end of the next hand, dealer steps away and the out player steps in. And so on.
There's also the popular "bettor" method. 5th player reviews all players' hands after the Charleston is complete, to determine who she thinks will win the hand. On a separate table removed from the game table, she writes the name of her "bet-on" player. She is not permitted to make ANY comment else her bet is voided. After the hand is finished, she collects just as the bet-on player does, if the bet-on wins. Or she pays just as the bet-on player does, if the bet-on loses.
American mah-jongg, with 6 players
If you have six players, two players sit out. When the previous dealer gets up from the table, one of the sit-outers sits in. When next dealer gets up, the next sit-outer sits in. It's an orderly rotation, not hard to figure out.
- More about playing with different numbers of players:
RDWW - pp. 67, 123, 125
Official NMJL rulebook, 2018 edition - pp. 24-26 (previous editions: p. 23)
This is the League's official rulebook.
Every table should have a copy!
Got a question about American 3-player rules not mentioned here? Email your question to me (Tom
Sloperama.com) and I'll answer your question on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board. Like this, for example:
- Should we deal to the dummy chair, and permit players to take tiles from the dummy's deal?
- Should we instead take tiles from the dummy's wall?
- Should we require that Charleston tiles be taken in a particular order, or allow taking any tiles at the player's whim?
- Should a player be allowed (or required) to take back tiles that she had put on the dummy's side of the table, or take tiles put there by other players?
- Should a player be permitted to keep a joker taken from the dummy's side of the table?
- Lastly but most important: what is the goal of having a 3P Charleston in the first place? For example:
- FAQ 13-A describes the League's rules on 3-person play.
- Column 532 describes various ways 3 people do a Charleston.
- FAQ 14 describes the three rules on table rules.
It's actually fine to play without a Charleston with 3 players, but if the other 2 players want to do it their way, you don't have much choice. You're outnumbered; better go with the flow.
Play safely and stay healthy. And
may the tiles be with you.
Our 3P Charleston
Let's talk game design for a moment (that's my profession, after all). When 3 players decide that they want to make up a rule for having a 3P Charleston, they have to make decisions.
If the goal is "to increase the fun," then do whatever you think adds to the fun (like the bonus surprise of picking an extra joker).
Read FAQ 14; there's nothing "wrong" with table rules - table rules are normal. But you can't expect anybody to tell you how to do them "the right way," since they're your made-up rules. I don't take sides in arguments about table rules.
>From: Cindi G
>Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2017 5:10 AM
>Subject: Three player
>
>Tom, in Florida I play a variation when there are three players. We build a 3x7 tier so that we can use that as another hand when we do the charleston. Our argument came up in Illinois when I suggested this. We allow person to keep the joker in the charleston. It just makes it a little more fun. Otherwise ,to me, playing with three and no charleston is no fun! What's wrong with this version? Popular in Florida ! Thank you for input . Cindi gober
Hi, Cindi! You asked:
What's wrong with this version?
It took me a while to figure out what you mean by "what's wrong with it?" Rereading your email, I surmise that you're having an argument about 3P Charleston methods, and you're looking to me to take sides in your argument. LOL!
I wrote about 3P Charleston methods in column 532, and I include several folks' 3P Charleston methods in
FAQ 13A. The only unique feature of your method is the 21-tile short tall wall. Although the few times I've played 3P without a Charleston have been perfectly fine, the vast majority of times I've played 3P, the other players have adamantly insisted that we have a Charleston of some kind. In most kinds, jokers are a possibility.
If the goal is "to enhance a player's chance of building a hand in the Charleston," then do whatever you think accomplishes that goal.
If the goal is "to keep the playing field level, to increase fairness to all," then figure out what might accomplish that goal.
If the goal is "to right a wrong in the League's rules," then you'd probably have to come up with a rule requiring players to put jokers back.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
May 18, 2017
The 3-person Charleston
On Sunday, April 10, 2022, 01:08:54 PM EDT, Erika G wrote:
3 person mahjongg
when i play a 3 person mahjongg with friends, one friend always makes an extra row of 3 tiles for each charleston so that on each charleston a person can pick up unused tiles. I sY THIS IS UNFAIR BC IT GIVES THE "ACROSS" PERSON AND EXTRA 3 UNPASSED TILES, POSSIBLY INCLUDING A JOKER. WHAT SAY YOU?
I say read these:
Tom Sloper
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Author of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs
Donations appreciated
Sunday, April 10, 2022, 2:45 pm
Rochester, New York, USA
What do you do with the leftover tiles?
>From: Shirley S
>Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2015 6:12 PM
>Subject: Mah-Jongg Q A
>My mah-jongg question or comment is:
>When you play with 3 people and deal tiles, what do you do with the leftover tiles that you don't deal to missing fourth person?
>Shirley S
You don't do anything with them, Shirley. They just stay in the wall. Read "Frequently Asked Question" 13-A. I have written answers to all the most-frequently-asked questions, and you can link to them above left.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of
the weekly Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
January 6, 2015
What do you do, part 3
>From: Shirley S
>Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 5:53 AM
>Subject: Mah-Jongg Q+A
>My mah-jongg question or comment is:
>When playing 3 handed Mahjong do you omit certain tiles and does the open chair get a wall?
Shirley, you wrote:
do you omit certain tiles
No. Use all 152 tiles (assuming that you play American-style mah-jongg, which I just realized is an assumption on my part).
does the open chair get a wall?
PLEASE READ FAQ 13-A. I have to assume you haven't read it yet.
I have written answers to all the most-frequently-asked questions, and you can link to the FAQs above left.
Please always check the FAQs first, before asking me a question. Thanks! If the wording of the answer is unclear, please let me know what information is missing, so that I can improve the wording of the answer for future askers of this question.
Every player really should have a copy of
the official NMJL rulebook (and/or my book). For information about where to obtain mah-jongg books, see FAQ 3.
If my assumption is incorrect, and you don't play American mah-jongg but rather an Asian variant, then another part of FAQ 13 should tell you what you need to know.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of
the weekly Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
January 7, 2015
What do you do, part 4 (3-player walls)
>From: Sara J. O
>Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 12:29 PM
>Subject: Maj Jongg for 3 players
>My mah-jongg question or comment is:
>When playing with 3 players, do the walls come out as for 4 players- that is from the left of the dealer following around to the last player?
>Also what do you feel is the best way for 3 to even play the game- my friends insist on setting up a wall for the dummy with 6 layers of 3 tiles extending outward from which to Charleston. Make any sense???
>Again thank you for all your help in the past.
>I love, love, love the game.
>Sara
>sjo1944
Hi, Sara. You asked:
When playing with 3 players, do the walls come out as for 4 players- that is from the left of the dealer following around to the last player?
Yes. Tile removal does not reverse direction (coming from the wall counter-clockwise) just because there are three players instead of four.
"Walls come out" the same way, regardless of player number.
my friends insist on setting up a wall for the dummy
There are always supposed to be four walls, unless you use a special triangular table. Read "Frequently Asked Question" 13-A (assuming you play American-style mah-jongg). You can link to the FAQs above left.
with 6 layers of 3 tiles extending outward from which to Charleston.
Ah, Charleston. So you DO play American mah-jongg. Read FAQ 13-A. Please always check the FAQs first, before asking me a question. Thanks!
Make any sense???
I believe I understood what you were saying.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
Creator of
the weekly Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
January 14, 2015
When does the dummy wall come out?
On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 01:07:01 PM PST, Terryann R wrote:
Mah-Jongg Q+A
My mah-jongg question or comment is:
When playing with 3 players and having built a dummy wall, when does that wall come out?
Thanks
Terryann
Hi, Terryann! The walls come out in this order (dealer sits at the bottom):
I assume by "dummy wall" you mean the wall in front of the empty seat. The walls just always come out in the same order. Tiles are removed from the wall in a clockwise manner.
By the way, these images are from FAQ 19Q.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Author of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
February 4, 2020
Los Angeles, California, USA
What if two players go dead in a three-player game?
>From: "Raf
>Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 6:20 PM
>Subject: Mah-Jongg Q+A
>My mah-jongg question or comment is:
>When there are only three players and one player calls Mahj in error and one other player then exposes her tiles, but the third player does not expose her tiles, does the player who called Mahj incorrectly have to pay the third player who did not expose her tiles double the value of the hand?
>According to the card, when there are four players and one calls Mahj in error and two of the players expose their hands, the player who called Mahj in error has to pay the player who didn't expose her hand double the value of the hand.
> Ruth F
Ruth, please
read Frequently Asked Question 19-CC.
After you've landed at the
FAQ 19
page, please bookmark it so you can easily return to it anytime you have a mah-jongg question.
Answers to all of the most frequently-asked questions about
American (NMJL)
mah-jongg are found in
FAQ 19.
Please always check the FAQs first, before asking me a question. Thanks!
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of
the weekly Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
January 16, 2015
"One and three" doesn't work out the same with 3 players
>From: "row019
>Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2016 1:54 PM
>Subject: Playing with three players
>Hi Tom - couldn't find an answer to this. When selecting tiles before the Charleston, once everyone has twelve, it says East should pick tiles one and three. We found that this didn't work out the same when three were playing. So with three, East just takes one tile, then each takes one with East finally taking their 14th.
> What is correct? thank you, Phyllis
Phyllis, the only difference when the dealer does this in a 3-player game is that there are 2 tiles lying on the end of the wall without another tile on top of them (instead of just one). I never thought about it before, but if the intent is that the dealer get the tile that would have been hers anyway, then you're right - taking one and three doesn't "work out the same."
The practice of taking one and three is traditional, going all the way back to the way the Chinese dealt when the game became popular in the 1920s. If the National Mah Jongg League ever intended for the dealer to take ony her "rightful" 14th tile in a 3-player game (rather than use the traditional 4-player practice), I've never seen it said so in print*. You're safe to do it either way. No mah-jongg "police" will come down on you either way.
But if you'd like to get the official word, you can write to the League. See FAQ 19BN for the current address (the League moved since the 2015 card was issued).
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of
the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
February 28, 2016
* P.S. In 2020, the League specified that when there are fewer than 4 players, the dealer does not take "one and three" in one move. Players take turns taking the last tile, once all players have 12 tiles in hand. - Tom, 5/20/2021
How to play American mah-jongg with fewer than 4, part 3
>From: Belinda - Frontier
>Sent: Saturday, October 8, 2016 10:23 PM
>Subject: Two handed MJ
>Hi Tom,
>One recent question was about playing MJ with 2 or 3 players.
>Gladys Grad has developed rules for playing with 2 players called Siamese Mah Jongg. Players use two racks and win with two Mah Jonggs. You can put up one MJ but any jokers used in it are not redeemable. The scoring is a bit different, but it is fun and challenging? She then developed a four player version using two sets of tiles and two racks for each player, also based on her 2 player version. It, too, is challenging.
>The rules and scoring can be found at mahjongg.org.
>If you have not played it, try it! It too is addicting!
>Bee
Hi, Bee.
I'm aware of so-called "Siamese"* mah-jongg. But based on many years of answering questions on this site, I've learned that the majority of questions are about NMJL rules, and most people want to know the real rules, with as few added complications as possible. In her question on Oct. 7, Mary Lou wanted to "pass information on to our students on how to play two and three player American MahJongg." When my students ask me how to play 2p or 3p, I tell them "just skip the Charleston." If I have a class with an incomplete table, I have the students at that table just skip the Charleston. If I tried to teach those students how to play Gladys' game, I'd be spending too much time working outside the official canon. My responsibility as a teacher is to teach the official rules, not unofficial variants or commercial products.
*(The reason I say "so-called 'Siamese'" is because here on my site, I provide information on international variants, and Gladys' version is not from Thailand, but rather Florida. It is based on American/NMJL rules, and when it was first announced, I had someone contact me and ask if it was really from Thailand. I understand the logic behind the name, and it is cute logic, but the name can cause confusion.)
BTW, I have links to Gladys' invention in FAQ 2B and FAQ 4B.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
October 9, 2016
We designed a 2-player variant
>From: Charlie V
>Cc: Penny V
>Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 1:12 PM
>Subject: A Two Handed AMJ Method
>Tom - We are sending this along for your use in any way you see fit - not sure if there's anything new in it that you haven't seen a hundred times before, but if you can use it in your FAQ or any other part of your site, please consider it a donation that you will now own. Your book and site have been a great source of info and fun for Penny & me - keep up the good work !!.......Charlie
>
>A Two Handed American Mah Jongg Play Method
>After my wife Penny taught me the basics of American Mah Jongg, I found there were very few men players around, and none I could locate on-line in my immediate area. The ladies of my wife's group kindly allowed me join a few of their weekly games, but, as regular Mah Jongg players know, player groups develop a kind of unique chemistry and ambience that makes "breaking into" a group difficult for any newcomer, much less a man - clearly, conversations were sometimes being restrained by the presence of a sometimes ineptly playing male, so it was not really a satisfactory way to learn and progress in the game.
>
> I also felt I was not ready for the experience of Mah Jongg "tournament play" as a way to advance in the game - typically these events were attended by experienced players who would have little patience with a player constantly holding up the game with "thinking" delays or worse, playing errors that make them "dead", thus having their tiles in play lost to the table.
>
>At first, Penny and I tried playing two handed with a "dummy wall", but that method really only works well with three players. I also tried practicing hands with a deck of Mah Jongg "cards" - basically playing cards with Mah Jongg tile faces instead of the usual four playing card suits. This worked pretty well for practicing hands solo, but was obviously not the same as game play.
>
>There are some online player games available (including one through the National Mag Jongg League), but we weren't excited about not being able see other players or playing against a computer with perfect odds-calculating abilities.
>
>What we finally came up with was a form of two-player game where each player actually plays two hands, with two tile trays [racks] in front of them. This was, as you might guess, a little confusing at first, with many more instances of 12 & 14 tile dead hands than usual, as we struggled to get used to a four-handed Charleston with only two players. The second most common problem was remembering whose turn it was, particularly after a tile "take". Obviously, a third issue was trying to deal with deciding on two hands, since for beginning level players, getting one hand decided upon is often quite a challenge.
>
>Physically, we used a table setup with a round table (could as easily be a square card table), with each player's two trays [sic] arranged in front of them in the shape of a shallow "V" so that they can easily see both of their trays [sic] at a glance. Looking down from above the table, the left and right players' trays [sic] would appear something like this, with the "V"'s a bit more open to permit easier viewing by each player of both their own trays [sic]:
> Left Player | < > | Right Player
>
>Here are the basic rules as we finally developed them, trying to be as true to the game as possible:
>1. Four walls are built as normal rules require.
>2. East breaks their wall & deals tiles to the right as usual.
>3. Play progresses to the right as usual.
>4. During the Charleston, each player, who can now see two "hands", passes tiles in such as way as to benefit either one or both of their hands, but is not permitted to pass Jokers (as in normal play, but obviously this rule must be "self-enforcing" - players must trust each other not to pass Jokers so as to concentrate them in one hand). Tiles are passed normally between the players' two hands, under the normal Charleston rules ("ROLLOR", First Right, First Over, First Left, Second Left, Second Over, Final Right for those not familiar with this mnemonic acronym) plus a final optional "Courtesy" pass but, and this is the part that makes this form of play challenging and fun, each player is passing the tiles knowing what tiles their second hand needs to form a particular hand, so they are strategizing how to best help "themselves" with their Charleston passes.
>5. Other than the changes noted in #4, play progresses under normal rules, except that each player gets two turns (one for each hand), unless a "take" is called, in which case the next turn after the take is the "hand" to the right of the taking hand (which obviously might be the same player, playing their second hand).
>6. Walls are broken sequentially to the left of East, as normal rules dictate.
>
>After an initial period of learning and adapting, we have become quite adept at this form of play. The most entertaining aspect of playing two-handed was the opportunity for two "chances" at a winning hand rather than the normal single one. We found that sometimes we would actually be trying for two competing hands, while at other times, one of our two hands simply became sacrificial to the other, an interesting kind of play strategy not available in the normal game.
>
>There are some other "quirks" of playing this two-handed method that you'll discover after playing for a while. One involves the amount of time each player has after the opponent's discard to determine if they will "take" the discarded tile - after a player's first discard (playing their first "hand"), that player can turn quickly go to their second "hand" and discard there as well, giving their opponent very little time to consider a "take" of the first discarded tile. This is more like real four-handed play, where the next player to the right can quickly draw a tile from the wall after a discard, leaving the discarded tile un-claimable. But in two-player play, after an opponent's second discard, the other player has as much time as they wish before drawing from the wall to decide whether to "take" (assuming you both have not placed a timer on play), a small "breather" that can assist the newer player in keeping their two hands straight in their mind. In other words, since there are no other players who can potentially decide to "take" that second discard, but only you, being the only other player at the table, you are able to take bit of time to decide what to do.
>
>Another interesting strategic quirk in this two-handed world is the decision point for each player to elect whether to "take" an opponent's tile for their second hand, thereby foregoing the turn for their first hand, or to just use that next turn to draw from the wall as usual, guessing that might bring them a better tile (perhaps late in the game when the wall is growing short).
>
>One more fun "quirk" of the two-handed game is the ability to "stockpile" different single tiles in one hand that can become a winning discard (and then "take") at the critical moment when the player has come within one tile of Mah-Jongg. This obviously works very nicely when the last needed tile is one of a pair, or year-date groups, since these cannot be exposed except upon Mah-Jongg. This can make one of a player's two hands a "sacrificial" hand, but can set up a nice win when their other hand requires pairs.
>
>As mentioned above, a unique feature of this method of play is that a player may, of course, decide to either work both of their hands or just one of them to win - we have had games where both of a player's hands were competitive right up to Mah-Jongg, as well as games where it was obvious one of the hands had a far better chance of winning, and where the player could "feed" their good hand from the poorer hand during Charleston, or during play by discarding from one hand, quickly "tapping" it on the table, and then "taking" the discard for their other hand before the opponent across the table can react. This is a very different kind of strategy than normal play permits, and we found it to be an interesting and fun variation.
>
>There are numerous other variant forms of two handed play - one of them allows a full combination & exchange of tiles between a player's two "hands", essentially playing a "hand" of 26/27 tiles as play progresses, but we have found our method more satisfactory, since we feel it preserves the spirit of the traditional 13/14 tile play more closely, and does not permit concentration of Jokers.
>
>For true Mah Jongg disciples, this may not be a satisfactory alternative, as they desire the unique complexity of four "minds" in game play. But, for those game fans unable to find two other players, or to find any with a satisfactory experience level, it may be a way to experience the fun of the game and develop game skills that would not otherwise be possible.
>May the tiles be with you !!!
>Charlie V
Hi, Charlie.
I didn't read it thoroughly, but it sounds like it has similarities to Gladys Grad's "Siamese Mah Jongg." You should check it out (just Google it, or go to mahjongg.org). Great minds thinking alike and all that. If you want to come back with a list of differences between your design and Gladys', I'll post that here.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
November 23, 2016
We designed a 2-player variant, part 2
>From: Charlie V
>Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 5:31 PM
>Subject: Re: A Two Handed AMJ Method
>Tom - Thanks for responding - we have checked Gladys' method and it looks like the game play referred to in this paragraph of my original note:
>There are numerous other variant forms of two handed play - one of them allows a full combination & exchange of tiles between a player's two "hands", essentially playing a "hand" of 26/27 tiles as play progresses, but we have found our method more satisfactory, since we feel it preserves the spirit of the traditional 13/14 tile play more closely, and does not permit concentration of Jokers.
>Our method is the "13/14" tile play method and it looks like Gladys' is similar to the 26/27 version we mentioned.....either method could be fun for situations with only two players; we felt the 13/14 tile method just a bit more like the real four player ambiance for us......Thanks again for providing this forum. Players looking for alternate play have several options, with enough info in your post to help them go either way.....hope we helped someone looking for a good solution, and have a great Thanksgiving !!!
>Charlie V
Got it. Thanks, Charlie.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of the
Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and
the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
November 24, 2016
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