Card Free American Mah Jongg

Card Free American Mah Jongg BASIC RULES

New to Card Free American Mah Jongg? These rules are designed to teach you the game and give you experience with just enough rules to get you playing a fun game. You may find this version of the game fun enough as they are without graduating to the full rule set. This is a great starting point for learning Card Free American Mah Jongg.

🖨️Click here to download a printable copy of these rules.

Rules for Play

All gameplay rules are identical to standard American Mah Jongg except for winning hands and scoring. Click here for a detailed explanation of the rules of standard American Mah Jongg.

Winning Hands

Winning hands require both a valid CATEGORY and a valid PATTERN of BLOCKS. The category is the set of number tiles or wind tiles used. The pattern is the various groupings of identical tiles, known as blocks, that are used to build a 14-tile winning hand.

Blocks

Blocks are groups of between 2 and 4 identical tiles. Block types are named as in American Mah Jongg: Pair (2 tiles), Pung (3 tiles), Kong (4 tiles).

Patterns

Patterns are created with combinations of blocks that add up to 14 total tiles. There are 4 types of patterns you can use for a winning hand:

#1. Two Pungs and Two Kongs:

#2. One Pair and Three Kongs:

#3. One Pair and Four Pungs:

#4. Seven Pairs

Categories

The categories are modeled after the standard sections on the National Mah Jongg League card. The category chosen determines which types of tiles are used in the various blocks in the pattern. The numbers or wind tiles selected from the category are known as the SET. For example, the set 456 can be taken from the Consecutive Run category. Each number or wind in the set must be used in its own block. Numbers or wind tiles cannot be repeated in more than one block unless playing the Any Like Numbers category.

CATEGORYTILESSET RULES
Consecutive Run123456789Use a set of at least 3 consecutive numbers from the category, making 1 block with each number for at least 3 different blocks in your pattern. 
Consecutive Odds13579
Consecutive Evens2468
Like Numbers1234567893 blocks, 1 of each suit, all the same number.
WindsNorth, South, East, West4 blocks, one of each wind

Example Sets:

  • Consecutive Run: 123, 345, 2345, 56789, 234567
  • Consecutive Odds: 135, 357,579, 1357, 3579, 13579
  • Consecutive Evens: 246, 468, 2468
  • Like Numbers: 111, 333, 444, 777, 888
  • Winds: NEWS

Suits

When creating a block, all the tiles in the block must be of the same suit.

There are no rules for which suits you need to use when building a winning hand, however you can earn bonus points for using all the same suit in your winning hand. For the purposes of the SUIT bonus, Dragons belong to the following suits:

  • Red Dragon: Craks
  • Green Dragon: Bams
  • White Dragon (aka Soap): Dots

Putting the Set and Pattern Together

To create a winning hand, combine your SET with a valid PATTERN. Below is an example of a hand using the set 3579 from the Consecutive Odds category paired different patterns:

SET: 3579 + PATTERN: 2 Pungs 2 Kongs

SET: 3579 + PATTERN: 1 Pair 3 Kong

SET: 3579 + PATTERN: 1 Pair 4 Pungs

In this hand, there are only 4 numbers in the set, but the 1-Pair 4-Pungs pattern requires 5 blocks. To complete this hand, you will need to use Dragon or Flower tiles.

Using Dragon and Flower Tiles

If there are more blocks in your pattern than there are number or wind tiles in your set, then you must complete the pattern using blocks of Flowers or Dragons. You can use only one block of Flowers, and only one of each type of Dragon type.

This is a winning hand because there is only one Flower block.

This is not a winning hand because there are two blocks of flowers.

This is a winning hand because the two Dragon blocks are two different colors:

This is NOT a winning hand because the two Dragon blocks are both Red:

Scoring

A winning hand earns 25 points plus any bonuses that apply:

  1. SET BONUS (+5): Use only number tiles, no Dragons, Winds, or flowers.
  2. SUIT BONUS (+5): All tiles are in the same suit. If Dragon is used, it must match the suit. No Flower or Wind tiles can be used.
  3. CONCEALED BONUS (+10): If you made no exposures in the game except the last tile for Mah Jongg.
  4. NO JOKERS BONUS (+20): If your winning hand has no Jokers in it.

Add the hand points to your cumulative point total. Whoever has the most points at the end of your playing session wins.

Example Winning Hand Scoring

  • Category: Consecutive Run
  • Set: 789 plus a Dragon
  • Pattern: 2 Pungs 2 Kongs
  • Mah Jongg Hand: 25 points
  • Bonuses: +20 points for using no Jokers
  • Final Score: 45 points

Ready for the Official Rules?

The full official version of Card Free American Mah Jongg adds rules that make the gameplay more challenging and interesting, including:

  • More PATTERNS to choose from
  • More options for SETS
  • Another BLOCK type: Quints
  • Rules for which SUITS to use to build a hand
  • Rules for how to use FLOWERS
  • Special NEWS block, using one of each wind tile to make a Kong block.
  • Advanced rules for SCORING, BONUSES, and PAYOUTS
  • Special DRAGON HANDS that are unique hands that do not follow standard rules
  • Optional HOUSE RULES to add more complexity and challenge
  • Rules for individual SKILL LEVEL adjustments so experienced and inexperienced players can play together with a level playing field.

Click here for the Official Advanced Rules

Contact

QUESTIONS? FEEDBACK? WANT TO PLAY ONLINE OR IN PERSON?

Contact me by email at CardFreeMahj@gmail.com

The text of this work, written by John Burton, is marked with CC0 1.0

Tile images credit: 碧海风, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons