Can you play Mahjong with only two people? The answer is YES! Playing Siamese, 2-player Mahj, is a super fun way to play and our favorite way to get lots and lots of practice in. It is also a wonderful way to learn a new card, since you get to play multiple hands at a time.
When playing Siamese, each player plays two hands at a time and Mahj is called once a player completes both of their hands.
GAME SETUP
Place two racks in front of each player. Shuffle tiles and place them face down in the middle of the table--there are no walls in Siamese Mahjong.
DEALING
There is no dealing in 2-player Mahjong, but you still need to choose one player to be the "dealer." Players draw their own tiles from the center of the table. The "dealer" takes 28 tiles and the other player takes 27.
GAMEPLAY
There is no Charleston in Siamese Mahjong, though you can choose to do a Courtesy Pass if you'd like.
The "dealer" starts the game by discarding their 28th tile. Then turns are taken as usual, though tiles are drawn directly from the center of the table rather than from walls.
Players can swap tiles between their two racks to complete their hands. A player wins when BOTH hands are completed.
Pro Tip: be sure to select two hands that DO NOT need the same tiles!