12 Free Lessons

Learn American
Mahjong

Never played before? Mahj Parlour walks you through everything — from your first tile to your first win. Interactive lessons, built into the app, completely free.

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What You'll Learn

12 step-by-step lessons that take you from complete beginner to confident player. Go at your own pace — pick up where you left off anytime.

1

Meet the Tiles

Get to know the 166 tiles in an American Mahjong set — three suits, Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and the all-important Jokers.

2

Building Blocks

Learn what pungs, kongs, quints, and pairs are and how they form the foundation of every winning hand.

3

The Goal

Understand what you're trying to accomplish — matching a hand on the NMJL card before anyone else at the table.

4

Your Turn

Walk through the draw-and-discard cycle that drives every round of American Mahjong.

5

Jokers & Flowers

Master the wildcard tiles that make American Mahjong unique — when to use them, when to hold them, and when to exchange them.

6

The Charleston

Learn the structured tile-passing ritual that happens before every game — the sequence, the strategy, and the blind pass.

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7

Calling & Exposures

Know when you can claim another player's discard, how to expose tiles on your rack, and the priority rules when multiple players call.

8

Reading the Card

Decode the NMJL card's notation — colors, numbers, abbreviations, and point values — so you can pick a hand with confidence.

9

Concealed vs. Exposed

Understand the tradeoffs between open and concealed hands, and when each strategy makes sense.

10

Choosing Your Hand

Develop the skill of scanning your tiles, evaluating candidates, and committing to a hand at the right moment.

11

Defensive Play

Learn to read the table, recognize dangerous discards, and protect yourself from feeding another player's win.

12

Scoring

Know how points work, who pays whom, and what makes certain hands worth more than others.

Already know the basics? Skip ahead to any lesson — they're designed to work on their own or in order.

Want to read up first? Start with our beginner's guide or browse the glossary.

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