You've made it so far in our beginners' mahjong lesson series! It's episode 7, let's learn the flow of gameplay in American Mahjong.
After the deal and the Charleston/Courtesy Passes, it's time to actually start the gameplay! Start by pushing out the wall where the deal ended. This is where players will being each turn by drawing.
The East Seat will begin the gameplay by discarding a tile, face up in the middle of the table, and saying it's name. Remember, East started with 14 tiles, so she does not draw for the first turn, just discards.
The basics of turn taking in mahjong: Each turn begins with a drawn tile (or a tile called for exposure) and ennds with a discarded tile that is named.
On your turn, and when you win mahjong, you will have 14 tiles, otherwise you'll have 13 tiles.
Draw a tile → discard a tile face-up.
Discards must be announced aloud, as this idicates what tile is "live" and available to be called for exposure.
Live tiles may be called to make an exposure of 3+ tiles (Pungs, Kongs, Quints) → to call a tile, say "call" or "take" or "I want it" etc. If you need some time to think about whether to call a tile, say "pause." You can always unpause and decide not to take it.
Live vs. dead tiles: dead tiles are previously discarded tiles that cannot be called anymore. Only the most refcently discarded tile is live.
Once a tile is called and exposed, that player must have that exposure in their hand to win--no changes can be made.
If a player makes an exposure with a Joker, that Joker is available to be taken by any player with the represnted tile, on their turn. This is called a Joker exchage or Joker swap.
If you call, it becomes your turn (skips intervening players).
Goal: be first to match 14 tiles to a card hand and declare Mahjong.
Learn the entire game of mahjong from your favorite instructor:
- Episode 1: What is American Mahjong
- Episode 2: The Tiles Explained
- Episode 3: How to Read and Play the NMJL Card
- Episode 4: How to Set Up a Game of Mahjong & How to Deal
- Episode 5: How to Organize Your Tiles & Choose a Section of the NMJL Card
- Episode 6: The Charleston & Courtesy Pass
- Episode 7: Mahjong Gameplay Basics (This is the one you're watching now!)
- Episode 8: How to Win Mahjong & Scoring/Betting