The American Mahjong Card, Explained

If you've watched an American Mahjong game and wondered why everyone keeps glancing at a little folded card, this is it, the most important object on the table after the tiles themselves. One instructor in our research called it "the lifeblood of mahjong," and that's not an exaggeration.

Here's what it is and why it runs the whole game.

What the card is

The card is the official list of every hand you're allowed to win with. Published each year by the National Mah Jongg League, it lays out dozens of specific tile combinations, organized into categories, and you can only declare Mahjong with a hand that appears on it.

That's the mental shift that surprises new players. You're not free to build any clever combination you like, the way you might in a Chinese game. You're aiming at defined targets the card provides, and steering your tiles toward one of them as the hand unfolds.

Why it changes every year

A brand-new card comes out annually, each spring. The specific hands are rewritten, so last year's winning combinations aren't this year's. That yearly refresh is a feature, not a hassle: it keeps a decades-old game from ever going stale, resets everyone to a level field, and gives the whole community a shared new puzzle each season.

Reassuringly for newer players, the categories stay consistent year to year, even as the individual hands change. Once you learn how the card is organized, you can find your way around next year's version quickly.

How the card shapes a hand

Every hand you play is a conversation with the card. You look at your opening tiles, scan for two or three hands you could plausibly reach, use the Charleston to trade toward them, and adjust as tiles come and go. The card is both your menu and your map.

It rewards reading carefully. Each line comes with fine print, in parentheses, spelling out the exact requirements: which suits, whether numbers must run consecutively, whether the hand must be concealed. Learning to decode that is its own small skill, which we cover in how to read the mahjong card.

Taking care of your card

Because you'll handle the card every single hand for a full year, it takes a beating, folded, unfolded, set down in spilled wine, buried in a bag. Most regular players keep theirs in a leather card holder so it stays flat, clean, and easy to find. It's a small thing that makes every game a little nicer, and it's why card holders are one of the most-gifted items among players. More on that in why you need a mahjong card holder.

Frequently asked questions

What is the American Mahjong card?

The annual list of legal winning hands, published by the National Mah Jongg League. You can only win with a hand printed on it.

Why does the mahjong card change every year?

A new card is released each spring with rewritten hands. It keeps the game fresh, resets everyone evenly, and gives the community a new set of hands to master each season.

Do I need the card to play?

Yes. Because winning hands are defined by the card, every player needs the current year's version to play American Mahjong properly.

Where do I get the current card?

Directly from the National Mah Jongg League or from many mahjong retailers. See our guide to the 2026 card for current details.

Next: learn to decode a line in how to read the mahjong card, or get this year's in our 2026 card guide.