How to Play American Mahjong With 2 or 3 Players

Quick answer: Yes, you can play American mahjong with 2 or 3 players, and the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) publishes official rules for both in its guidebook Mah Jongg Made Easy. You still build all four walls with the full set of 152 tiles. The empty seats are simply skipped: they get no hand and take no turns. The one big change is that the Charleston is skipped, so East starts the game by discarding. Everything else, from calling discards to using jokers and declaring Mah Jongg, follows the regular game.

Not every game night brings four players to the table. Someone cancels, a friend is running late, or you just want to practice with your partner at home. Instead of putting the tiles away, you can play a shorter-handed game. Below is a step-by-step guide to three-player and two-player American mahjong, plus tips for playing well with fewer people. If you're brand new to the game, start with our beginner's guide to American mahjong first.

What Changes With Fewer Than Four Players?

The NMJL keeps short-handed games as close to the four-player game as possible. Here is what changes and what doesn't:

• Same tiles: you play with a full American mahjong set, 152 tiles including 8 jokers. Not sure what a set includes? See how many tiles are in an American mahjong set.
• Same walls: all four walls are built as usual, including the walls in front of the empty seats.
• Same card: you still play hands from the current NMJL card. Our walkthrough on how to read the NMJL card explains how.
• Empty seats are skipped: no hand is dealt to a missing player, and play passes right over that seat.
• No Charleston: the League's rule is to omit the Charleston when fewer than four people play. East begins by discarding a tile.

How to Play American Mahjong With 3 Players

Three players is the most common short-handed game, and it plays a lot like a regular game. Here is the setup, step by step, following the League's guidance in Mah Jongg Made Easy.

Step 1: Seat the players and pick East

Sit three players around the table and leave one seat empty. Roll the dice to decide who is East (the dealer), just as you would in a four-player game.

Step 2: Build all four walls

Mix the tiles face down and build four walls, one in front of each seat, including the empty one. Each wall is the usual 19 tiles long and 2 tiles high. Building the fourth wall keeps the number of tiles in play the same as a full game.

Step 3: Break the wall and deal

East rolls the dice to find where to break the wall. Players then take tiles four at a time, going counterclockwise, until each of the three players has 12 tiles. The empty seat does not take any tiles. Each player then takes one more tile in turn to reach 13, and East takes a 14th tile.

Some League materials describe the last step slightly differently, but either way East finishes with 14 tiles and the other two players with 13.

Step 4: Skip the Charleston and start play

There is no Charleston and no courtesy pass. East looks over their hand and discards the first tile. Play then moves counterclockwise around the table, skipping the empty seat. On your turn, you either pick a tile from the wall or call the last discard, then discard one tile.

Step 5: Play to Mah Jongg

The rest of the game works normally. You call discards to make exposures, jokers can stand in for tiles in groups of three or more, and you can exchange a matching tile for a joker in someone's exposure on your turn. The first player to complete a hand from the card declares Mah Jongg. If the wall runs out first, it's a wall game and you reshuffle.

How to Play American Mahjong With 2 Players

A two-player game is great for practice or a quiet night at home. The League's two-player modification works like this:

Step 1: Sit opposite each other

The two players sit across from each other, not side by side. Roll the dice to choose the first East.

Step 2: Build four walls

Mix the tiles and build all four walls. Each player builds their own wall and also the wall to their right, so the two empty seats still have walls in front of them.

Step 3: Deal two hands

East breaks the wall and tiles are taken in the usual manner, but only the two real players draw hands. The empty seats' walls are not dealt a hand. East ends with 14 tiles and the other player with 13.

Step 4: No Charleston, then alternate turns

The Charleston is omitted. East discards first, and the two players simply alternate turns: pick or call, then discard. After each game, the East position alternates between the two players.

Why the Charleston Is Skipped

Many players miss the Charleston in a short-handed game, but the League leaves it out for fairness. The Charleston works because every pass goes to a real opponent, so you have to think about what you're giving away. With an empty seat, a player could pass strong tiles to the empty seat with no risk, and the player receiving tiles "from" the empty seat would get random tiles from the wall instead of a real pass. Either way, the balance of the game shifts.

Some groups enjoy the Charleston so much that they invent their own way to keep it, such as passing to and from a face-down "ghost" hand. That's a house rule, not an official one, so agree on the details before you start. When you're back to four players, brush up on passing with our Charleston strategy guide.

Tips for Playing With 2 or 3 Players

• Expect a longer wall. In a four-player game, 53 tiles are dealt and 99 stay in the wall. With three players, only 40 are dealt, leaving 112 in the wall. With two players, 27 are dealt, leaving 125. That means more picks per player.
• Fewer discards to call. With fewer opponents, there are fewer discards each round, so you'll rely more on picking from the wall. Concealed hands can feel more realistic than usual.
• No Charleston means no fixing a bad deal. Choose your target hands from the card early and stay flexible, since you can't pass away tiles you don't need.
• Keep the empty walls tidy. Someone has to push out the walls in front of empty seats when play reaches them, so decide ahead of time who handles each one.

What You Need for a 2 or 3 Player Game

You need the same equipment as a four-player game: a full American mahjong set, the current NMJL card, dice, and racks. Because you still build four walls, a full set of four racks with pushers makes it easy to keep every wall straight, including the empty seats'.

A complete American mahjong tile set

The Ginkgo Parrot Acrylic American Mahjong Tile Set ($379) is a botanical bird-and-leaf design in green-and-orange striped four-layer acrylic. Per the listing, it includes 160 acrylic tiles, 4 pushers and a luxury storage case. For a patriotic look, the Americana Heritage set ($389) has engraved triple-layer red, white and blue acrylic, and also includes 160 acrylic tiles, 4 pushers and a luxury storage case. Browse more designs in our American mahjong sets collection, or see our starter kits if you're just getting started.

Racks with pushers

The Clear Acrylic Mahjong Racks & Pushers ($55) come as a set of 4 clear acrylic racks with attached pushers, approximately 18.5" long. For color, the Solid Color 18" Mahjong Racks & Pushers ($75) are a set of 4 opaque acrylic racks with integrated pushers in a wide range of shades. See every style in our mahjong racks collection.

A mat for a quieter table

A mat keeps tiles from sliding and softens the sound of shuffling. The Zen Bamboo Mahjong Mat ($89) is a 33" x 33" neoprene mat with a stitched border, non-slip backing and an instructional layout printed on the mat, and it rolls for storage and travel. Find more designs in our mahjong mats collection, or read our guide to a complete American mahjong set with mat and racks.

2 and 3 Player American Mahjong FAQ

Can you play American mahjong with 3 players?

Yes. The National Mah Jongg League has an official three-player rule. Build all four walls, deal hands only to the three players, skip the Charleston, and East starts by discarding. Play skips the empty seat.

Can you play American mahjong with 2 players?

Yes. The two players sit opposite each other, each builds their own wall and the wall to their right, and only two hands are dealt. The Charleston is omitted, East discards first, and East alternates after each game.

Do you do the Charleston with 3 players?

Not under the official NMJL rules. The Charleston is omitted when fewer than four people play, because passing to or from an empty seat isn't fair. Some groups keep a Charleston as a house rule, which everyone should agree on before playing.

How many tiles do you deal with 3 players?

Players take tiles four at a time until each has 12, then one more each to reach 13. East takes a 14th tile, so East starts with 14 and the other two players with 13.

Do you still build four walls with 2 or 3 players?

Yes. All four walls are built with the full set of 152 tiles, including the walls in front of empty seats. The empty seats just aren't dealt a hand.

What is Siamese Mah Jongg?

Siamese Mah Jongg is a two-player variation created by Gladys Grad in 2015 in which each player manages two hands and must complete both to win. It has its own rules and is separate from the standard NMJL game.