American Mahjong Encyclopedia
The American Mahjong Encyclopedia is a reference for every term, concept, and rule you'll encounter at the table. Whether you're trying to remember what a Pung is, looking up the rules for a Charleston blind pass, or curious about the history of the game, this is the place to start. Each entry has its own page with definitions, examples, and links to related concepts.
Browse by topic
The encyclopedia covers about 250 terms organized into broad areas:
- Tiles: every type of tile in the 166-tile American Mahjong set: suits (Bams, Craks, Dots), honors (Winds, Dragons), Flowers, and Jokers. Includes terms like Bam, Crak, Dot, Joker, Dragon, and Wind.
- Tile groups: the building blocks of every hand: Pung, Kong, Quint, Pair, and Sextet. Each entry explains how the group works and how Jokers fit in.
- Charleston: every step of the tile-passing ritual: First Charleston, Second Charleston, courtesy pass, blind pass, and Charleston strategy.
- Hand categories: the sections of the NMJL card: Year hands, Consecutive Run, 13579 hands, 2468 hands, 369 hands, Quints section, and Winds and Dragons section.
- Gameplay: turn structure, calling, exposures, dead hands, and winning. Look up discard, call, exposure, dead hand, wall game, and self-draw.
- Strategy: concepts that take more than a sentence: defensive play, tile tracking, discard reading, Joker management, hand selection, flexibility.
- Card and scoring: how the NMJL card works: NMJL, NMJL card, card notation, card colors, scoring chart, hand value.
- History and culture: where the game came from: Joseph Babcock, the 1920s mahjong craze, the Wright-Patterson variant, and how American Mahjong relates to Chinese, Japanese, Hong Kong, and Siamese variants.
Quick links to popular entries
- Joker rules: the complete Joker rulebook in encyclopedia form
- Charleston: the tile-passing ritual explained
- Mahjong history: origins and timeline
- Scoring and payment: point values and who pays whom
- Initial deal: how the game starts
- Winning conditions: what completes a hand
Related guides
If you'd rather start with a longer, narrative read instead of looking up individual terms:
- How to play American Mahjong: the complete beginner's walkthrough
- Official NMJL rules: the full ruleset in one place
- Strategy guide: hand selection, defensive play, and Joker management
- Glossary: a shorter, alphabetical reference
- FAQ: answers to the most common beginner questions