How to Set Up to Play Mahjong

Let's get back to the basics. What do you need to play Mahjong and how do you set up a game?

To play American Mah Jongg / Mahjong, you will need:

• 1 Set of Mahjong Tiles
• 4 Racks with Pushers
• 4 NMJL Cards
• Pair of Dice (for the deal)

To set up a game of mahjong:

1. Place a rack with pusher in front of each player with the pusher facing out.
2. Shuffle the tiles, turn them face down on the table, and then build them into walls in front of the racks. Your walls will be 2-tiles tall and 19-tiles long (if playing NMJL Rules with 8 Jokers and no Blanks) or 20-tiles long (if playing with all 10 Jokers and using Blanks as a house rule).
3. Each player at the table rolls the dice to determine the East Seat. The East Seat deals first in the round, then dealing passes around the table to the right.
4. The Dealer then rolls the dice again to show where to break the wall for the deal.

Learn how to play mahjong the easy way, with lots of videos and pictures here.