Your first game night starts here.
Everything the booklet in your box points to: the fold, the ten-minute teach, the Charleston, how to read the card, score sheets, and how to reach us.
Folded once, flat in three days.
A mat this size costs noticeably more to ship in a tube than in a flat box. We fold it once and put that money into the extras instead.
| Unboxing | A clear fold line down the middle. |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Faint. Most of it is already gone. |
| Day 3 | Gone. The mat lies flat. |
In a hurry? Three steps.
- Unfold and lay flat. Open it on a clean table the day it arrives and leave it for 24 hours. A few tiles on top help it along.
- Add even weight. Put heavy books along the crease and leave them overnight.
- Warm, not hot. Fabric side only, lowest heat, a cotton cloth in between. Never iron the rubber side.
Still creased after 3 days? Message us from your Amazon order (Your Orders → Contact seller) or email us. We’ll make it right.
Teaching three friends in ten minutes.
- Sit down, one card each. Four players, one reference card each. Use your own current NMJL hand cards.
- Roll for East. Everyone rolls both dice. The highest is East and deals first; the others sit to the right: South, West, North.
- Build walls and deal. 19 stacks, two high, in front of each player. East rolls again to break the wall. East ends with 14 tiles, everyone else 13.
- Charleston. Pass 3: Right, Across, Left. No Jokers. Second: Left, Across, Right; all must agree to start, then finish all 3 passes. Courtesy: agree on 0–3 tiles across (use the lower offer).
- Play slow the first time. East discards first and play passes to the right. Keep the cards face up and say every discard out loud.
Two rules people forget: never use a Joker in a single or a pair, and a discarded Joker is dead.
Draw one, discard one.
- 1 · Draw
- Take one tile from the wall, unless you are calling a discard.
- 2 · Check
- Is your hand getting clearer or weaker? Re-read your best direction on the card.
- 3 · Discard
- Put one tile face up and say its name out loud.
- 4 · Next
- If nobody calls it, the player to your right goes.
A hand ends when someone declares Mah Jongg with a complete legal hand, or the wall runs out with no winner. That is a wall game: nobody pays.
Pass the tiles.
Also printed in the corners of your mat.
- Blind pass
- On the last pass of each Charleston you may pass on 1–3 incoming tiles without looking. Your pass still totals 3.
- Courtesy pass
- Opposite players may swap 0–3 tiles. Use the lower number if you disagree.
- Never
- Never pass a Joker.
The card is not in the box.
Get this year’s official card from the National Mah Jongg League. Then use this key to read it.
| F | Flower |
|---|---|
| D | Dragon |
| 0 | White Dragon (Soap) |
| N, E, W, S | North, East, West, South |
| C | Concealed: call a discard only to win |
| X | Exposures allowed |
One color normally means one suit; different colors mean different suits. Match the full 14-tile pattern exactly.
Read the parentheses
- Like
- Repeated numbers must agree.
- These Nos. Only
- Keep the exact printed numbers.
- Any 1 or 3 Suits
- One suit or three suits; two is not an option.
- Any Consec. Nos.
- Shift the run, keeping its intervals and group sizes.
- Any Dragon
- Any Dragon is allowed.
- Opp. Dragon
- A Dragon from a suit that is not in use.
“Who Mahj’d?” score sheets.
Twelve hands, four seats, running totals and the payout chart at the bottom of every sheet. Print a stack for the season.
2F22E Quick Start Guide.
Lost the booklet? Here it is: the fold, the four cards, the ten-minute teach, the tiles, how a hand plays and calling a discard.
Mahjong on your phone, built with you.
Coming in 2027. You own the mat, so you decide what it does. Seasoned teachers inside, with video lessons. Not just a rulebook.
- 1 · You tell us. Ticks and one wish.
- 2 · We build it. If we use your idea, we’ll let you know.
- 3 · You try it first. Before anyone else.
Founding Players: the first 500 who answer get the app free for life, and their name in the credits.
We read every message.
Every set is checked by a person before it ships. If something isn’t right, tell us.
Genuine, verified
Scan the Transparency code on the packaging with your Amazon Shopping app to confirm your mat came from us.
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