Primer

How to play, slowly.

A short orientation for the first night at the table. Not a rulebook — a way in. We'll send the full card with your set.

144 tiles in three suits — Dots, Bams, and Cracks — plus Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and Jokers. Four racks, two dice, a set of bettors.

Four players, one round each as East, South, West, and North. The Wall is built, broken, and dealt — thirteen tiles to each hand.

Draw a tile, decide, discard. Call for a tile out of turn to complete a Pung, Kong, or Quint. The goal is a complete hand from the current card.

Mahjong is called when your fourteenth tile completes the hand. Score, settle, shuffle. Next round, next wind.

Want a host to walk you through it?

We keep a short list of Denver hosts who teach. Write to us and we'll make an introduction.