How to Do the Charleston in American Mahjong: A Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide

If you’re new to American Mahjong or just brushing up on the rules, understanding the Charleston is essential to improving your strategy and setting up a winning hand. The Charleston is a signature feature of NMJL (National Mah Jongg League) rules—part tradition, part strategy, and all about the tiles.

In this post, we’ll break down:

• What the Charleston is
• How the passes work (including the ROLLOR method)
• When and how to stop or do a second Charleston
• The optional courtesy pass
• How to use the Charleston to refine your hand

What Is the Charleston?

In American Mahjong, the Charleston is a series of tile exchanges that happens before gameplay officially begins. It gives players a chance to refine their initial hands, getting rid of tiles that don’t work for their strategy and hoping to receive tiles that help them build a winning combination.

You can think of the Charleston like a tile “dance” that moves in a pattern around the table.

The Goal of the Charleston

During the Charleston, your job is to:

• Commit to a section of the NMJL card (e.g., Quints, 2468, Consecutive Runs)
• Discard tiles that don't fit that section
• Try to collect matching numbers, suits, or Flowers that support your chosen hand

The better you optimize your hand during the Charleston, the better your chances are during actual gameplay.

The 6 Passes of the Charleston: Use the R.O.L.L.O.R. Method

There are 6 total passes, grouped into two sets of three.

Use the acronym R.O.L.L.O.R. to remember the order of the passes:

1. Right – Pass 3 tiles to the player on your right
2. Over – Pass 3 tiles across the table
3. Left – Pass 3 tiles to the player on your left
4. Left – Begin the optional second Charleston with another pass to the left
5. Over – Again, pass 3 tiles across
6. Right – Final pass to the right

After the first three passes, any one player at the table may choose to stop the Charleston. All players must want to continue in order to continue to the second set of passes.

Watch the video that breaks it all down with some helpful strategic tips:

 

What Is a Courtesy Pass?

After the Charleston, players may do a final, optional exchange called the Courtesy Pass. This is a one-time exchange of up to 3 tiles between two consenting players.

Unlike the structured Charleston, the courtesy pass is not required and only happens if both players agree. Each set of players choose a number 0-3 of tiles to exchange with each other.

Use it strategically to offload a few last tiles that no longer serve your hand.

Charleston Tips & Strategy

• Decide on your section of the card early. The quicker you commit, the more focused your decisions will be during mahjong gameplay.
• Use the Charleston to clarify your hand and pivot line. If you start getting tiles that make a different section a better play, be open to switching.
• Don't pass Jokers! It's not allowed in NMJL Rules. 
• Hold Flowers until you're totally sure. Each section of the NMJL card calls for Flowers in at least 2 hands, so you don't want to give them up until you have locked in on your hand.
• Lock in your hand as soon as you have 6+ tiles towards a single mahjong line.
• Stop the Charleston after the first three passes if you don't have at least 5 tiles you want to get rid of.