Chinese vs. American Mahjong: What's the Difference?

They share a name, a board's worth of gorgeous tiles, and a family tree, but Chinese and American Mahjong play like genuinely different games. If you learned one, you can't quite sit down and play the other without a few new rules. Here's what actually separates them.

For the bigger picture of where both came from, see what is mahjong. This guide is the head-to-head.

1. The card

This is the single biggest difference. American Mahjong is played from an annual card, the National Mah Jongg League's list of the specific hands you're allowed to win with that year. You're aiming at named targets, and a new card every year keeps the game fresh.

Traditional Chinese Mahjong has no card. You win by building a standard structure, four sets and a pair, from the tiles, and the game rewards you for how you build it rather than for matching a published list.

2. The Charleston

Before each American hand, players pass tiles in a set sequence, right, across, left, called the Charleston, a chance to trade away what you don't want before play begins. It's a defining ritual of the American game.

Chinese Mahjong has no Charleston. Play begins directly from the deal, no passing round.

3. The Jokers

An American set has 152 tiles, including eight Jokers, wild tiles that stand in for others inside a set. A traditional Chinese set has 144 tiles and doesn't use Jokers the same way. It's a small-sounding difference that changes how hands come together.

4. How you win, and how you score

In American Mahjong, you win by exactly matching a hand on the card, and payouts follow the card's values. In Chinese Mahjong, scoring runs on a system of points (often called fan) awarded for the patterns and difficulty of the hand you built. American rewards hitting a defined target; Chinese rewards constructing something elegant.

So which is harder?

It depends who you ask, and most players only know one well. Plenty of American players assume the Chinese game is tougher; plenty of Chinese players would say the reverse about the card. The honest answer: American Mahjong is challenging in its own right, mostly because of the card, and it's the version the vast majority of players in the United States are learning and playing today.

If that's you, our how to play American Mahjong guide is the place to start, and the rules reference covers the details.

Frequently asked questions

What's the main difference between Chinese and American Mahjong?

The card. American Mahjong is played from an annual card of legal winning hands; traditional Chinese Mahjong has no card and lets you win with any standard four-sets-and-a-pair hand.

Can I use the same tile set for both?

Not quite. American sets have 152 tiles including eight Jokers; traditional Chinese sets have 144 and don't use American-style Jokers.

Does Chinese Mahjong have a Charleston?

No. The Charleston, the ritual passing of tiles before play, is specific to American Mahjong.

Which version should a beginner in the US learn?

American Mahjong, almost always. It's the version played at clubs, community centers, and kitchen tables across the country, so it's the one you'll find a game for.

New to the game entirely? Start with mahjong for beginners.