Frequently asked questionsFAQ

How do I get started on MahJ♥adore?

Create your account and set up your profile and avatar before your first game.

Sign up with your email address and a password, that’s it. A free account lets you start playing right away, and you can upgrade later if you want more. Then set up your profile to get your bearings.

Your profile holds your avatar, your Level, and your badges. A short bio and your location are optional. Add them if you’d like other players to know a little about you, or leave them blank.

On your Profile, click the pencil on your profile picture. Choose Upload a photo to use one of your own, or Design your avatar to build a custom Avatar. If you leave it blank, your initials are shown instead.

MahJ♥adore’s Avatar Builder is a proprietary tool for building a custom avatar to use at the table. Click the pencil on your profile picture and choose Design your avatar, then pick your face, hair, eyes, lips, and other features and save. Your Avatar shows up at the table and anywhere else your profile picture appears, and you can change it as often as you like. It’s available to Standard and Premium players.

The app should be available by the end of 2026! Check the app store to see if it’s there!

What is Mah Jongg, and how do I learn it?

The game itself, the tiles, the card, and where to learn to play.

Great question! Mah Jongg is a tile-based strategy game where players build a hand of 14 tiles based on a combination of tiles on a card.

There are two dedicated how-to-play tutorials: one for American Mah Jongg and one for Siamese® and Royale Siamese®. These walk through the rules, the card, the Charleston, calling tiles, and declaring Mah Jongg for each variation.

A new National Mah Jongg League® card and a new Siamese® Mah Jongg card are each published annually, listing all the valid winning hands for that year, so the game is always a little fresh.

Yes, a current Mah Jongg card is required to play. The card lists all the valid winning hands for the year, and you’ll need to reference it during the game just as you would at a real table. MahJ♥adore doesn’t display the card for you, so keep yours nearby!

The NMJL® card is published annually by the National Mah Jongg League® and can be purchased at nationalmahjonggleague.org or you can find it at some local specialty stores. The Siamese® Mah Jongg card was developed by Gladys Grad and is available at mahjongg.org. You can play with either card in any game format (American, Siamese®, or Royale Siamese®), MahJ♥adore supports both.

The cards are updated annually. The NMJL® usually releases their card in late March. The Siamese® card is usually released in the winter (December/January). Cards can be ordered in advance on the websites.

Yes. The Cat Scat and Atomic hands from the Siamese® card are not available on MahJ♥adore. If you play at a table using the Siamese® card you will be notified at the start of the game.

What kinds of Mah Jongg can I play here?

The classic 4-player game played by millions! Each player plays one hand at a time, racing to complete a winning combination before their opponents.

4
Players
1
Hand
1
Set of tiles

A challenging 2-player / 2-handed variation of Mah Jongg. Each player plays two hands simultaneously, with the ultimate goal of achieving a Double Mah Jongg! Twice the Mahj = twice the fun!

2
Players
2
Hands
1
Set of tiles

A 4-player / 2-handed version of Siamese®, also invented by Gladys Grad. Just as challenging, with twice the competition as Siamese®!

4
Players
2
Hands
2
Sets of tiles

Siamese® and Royale Siamese® are 2-handed versions of Mah Jongg and were invented by Gladys Grad. Because players start with 27 tiles, there is no Charleston in either version of the game. Tiles are dealt and organized and play begins immediately!

Yes! Both the NMJL® card and the Siamese® Mah Jongg card can be used for American, Siamese®, or Royale Siamese®. You choose your card when creating a table. The hands on the Siamese® card tend to be more challenging.

Setting up your table

From the Lobby, click + Create a table and choose your game type (American, Siamese® or Royale Siamese®) and click + Start table for a fast start using our default settings. You can also customize your format, add optional table rules and choose from our selection of tablescapes.

Public tables are visible and joinable by anyone in the Lobby. Private tables are invite-only with a join code. Bots tables fill empty seats with bot players automatically. Table hosts can also add bots to public and private tables at any time before the game starts.

Vibe sets the expected pace and experience level. All Welcome is open to everyone. Easy Breezy is for newer players at a relaxed pace. Quicker Pickers is for experienced fast players. Faster Masters is the most competitive setting, expect quick play and possibly a Throw & Call Timer.

You choose between the NMJL® card and the Siamese® Mah Jongg card for any game format. All players at the table use the same card, set by the table host. Add excitement to your game by trying different cards in different formats!

Yes! After you create a table, you’ll be able to invite a friend while you are waiting for other players to join. If the friend is online and not already in a table, they will receive an invitation and will have 30 seconds to accept and join your table.

A private table is invite-only, it won’t appear in the public Lobby. Only players with your join code can enter. Great for playing with friends, family, or a regular group.

Standard and Premium subscribers. Free accounts can join private tables with a code but cannot create them.

After creating a private table, a shareable join code appears in the waiting room. Share it with your friends and they enter it from the Lobby to join directly.

Yes. When creating a table, select Bots as the format and bot players will automatically fill any empty seats. Bots can also be added to any table with an open seat by the table host. If a player leaves mid-game a bot will automatically take over to keep the game going.

Yes, bot games count toward your score and Level just like live games. Play away!

Advanced table options

Pick & throw is the official NMJL® format and the default on MahJ♥adore: you start your turn by drawing from the wall, then discard. East is dealt 14 tiles to start; all other players begin with 13 (American) or 27 (Siamese® or Royale Siamese®). Throw & pick is an optional table rule where players discard first, then draw. All players in an American game are dealt 14 tiles while all players in Siamese® and Royale Siamese® games start with 28 tiles. The table host can enable it when creating a table.

At the start of the game, a certain number of tiles are designated as the Hot or Cold Wall. Hot Wall: if a player discards a winning tile, that player is penalized the value of the hand multiplied by the number of players. Cold Wall: players cannot claim a discarded tile to win, they can only win by self-picking. Hot Wall and Cold Wall options are in development and are coming soon.

A countdown clock that keeps the game moving at a fast pace. If you don’t throw your tile in time, you’ll get a prompt, but the table will still wait for you. If you don’t claim a discarded tile within the time window, play moves on and you lose your chance to call it. This feature is for players who thrive on a fast pace and are committed to it! Available on Faster Masters tables created by Premium players.

Premium players hosting a Faster Masters table can restrict it to players who have earned a Speed badge, so everyone at the table is committed to a quick pace. It’s optional, and only available to Premium hosts who have earned a Speed badge.

The Black Dragon was introduced by Gladys Grad and is not an official NMJL® rule. Black Dragons can be added to an American, Siamese® or Royale Siamese® Mah Jongg game using either card. The Black Dragon option was created to relieve Soap (the White Dragon) from doing double duty as the matching Dragon for the Dot AND as the 0 or O. By adding 4 Black Dragons to a game (8 Black Dragons are added for 2-handed games), the Black Dragon now serves the role of the matching Dragon to the Dot while the Soap is used exclusively as either a 0 (in year hands) or as an O (in several hands on the Siamese® card).

Your table, your look

Your subscription level determines what tablescapes are available to you. Free players have the classic, familiar set of tiles. Standard players get colored versions of the Classic set. Premium players have full access to a wide variety of original themed tablescapes. New drops are added regularly.

The Classic tablescape is available to all players at no cost.

Standard subscribers unlock a selection of colorful Standard tablescapes. Click on “Create a Table” to browse all available options, including Premium themed tablescapes.

Premium tablescapes are beautifully designed sets with unique tile art and matching mats, available to Premium subscribers. Click “Create a Table” to see the complete selection. New drops are added throughout the year.

Finding and joining a game

All open tables are listed in the Lobby, your main game lobby. Head there from the top nav bar.

Use the filters at the top of the Lobby to narrow by game type (American, Siamese®, or Royale Siamese®), Table Vibe, and card. Each listing shows the game type, host name, Vibe, and number of open seats.

The Lobby filters cover game type (American, Siamese®, or Royale Siamese®), card (NMJL® or Siamese®), Table Vibe (All Welcome, Easy Breezy, Quicker Pickers, or Faster Masters), table format (public, private, or tables with bots), open seats, and turn order (Pick & throw or Throw & pick). Filters combine, so you can look for something as specific as an Easy Breezy American table on the NMJL® card with two open seats. Clear them any time to see every open table again.

Browse open tables in the Lobby and click Join on any table with an open seat. To join a private table, enter the join code from the table host.

Playing the game

Click the Sort button to organize your tiles, choose to sort by suit or numerically. You can also drag tiles to rearrange them manually. If you’re playing at a 2-handed table, there’s an additional sort option to sort your hands individually or all together. In a 2-handed game, racks can hold up to 18 tiles each.

Hover over any tile on a desktop or laptop and its name appears. On a touch device like an iPad, press and hold the tile to see its name.

Themed tiles work the same way. Hover over a tile on desktop or laptop, or press and hold on a touch device, and the tile’s name appears, handy when a decorative set makes a tile harder to recognize.

Yes. While other players are discarding, you can preselect a tile in your hand. When your turn comes around, just press the Discard button, a nice way to keep the game moving.

Discarded tiles are displayed in the center of the table. You can view them sorted by the order they were thrown or by suit. For a complete play-by-play, who threw what and who called it, check the History tab in the upper right of the table.

Yes. The History tab lets you scroll to see exactly who threw a given tile and who called it, so you can follow the action even if you missed it live.

When a tile is discarded, click Call. You must be able to use the tile in a valid exposure.

After calling a tile, select the matching tiles in your hand to complete the exposure, then confirm. Exposed tiles are placed face-up and visible to all players at the table, and they are locked in, so you cannot return them to your hand.

When your hand is complete, click the Mah Jongg button. The game will verify your hand against the card. If it’s valid, you win the hand! If you are playing a 2-handed game, you will be prompted to select Hand 1, Hand 2 or Both to declare Mah Jongg. Calling a tile for Mah Jongg without declaring Mah Jongg will result in a dead hand, even if the tiles match a hand on the card.

If more than one player calls a tile, these are the rules. In American: Mah Jongg always wins. If you call the tile for Mah Jongg, you get it ahead of anyone calling it for an exposure. If two players both call it for Mah Jongg, the one closest to the thrower’s right gets it. In Siamese® and Royale Siamese®: Only a Double Mah Jongg (completing both hands at once) jumps ahead of everyone. If a player closer to the thrower’s right calls the tile for an exposure, that player gets it, even if you called it for Mah Jongg.

If you expose tiles that don’t form a valid exposure, or declare Mah Jongg with an invalid hand, you’ll be declared dead and cannot win that game. Play continues without you but you can remain at the table and watch the game from the sidelines. In a Siamese® or Royale Siamese® game, if a double Mah Jongg is declared in error, the game ends and the player is penalized.

On your turn, you can swap a joker out of any exposure on the table when you hold the natural tile it is standing in for. More than one joker can be swapped in a single turn.

Yes. If a joker was exposed before that hand went dead, the joker is still available to be swapped.

No. Once a joker has been discarded it is out of play, thrown jokers can never be called.

Yes, as long as that portion of the hand calls for three or more identical tiles. For example, a group of three flowers can be exposed as three jokers.

If it’s the first hand and you still hold enough tiles to win the second hand, you can keep playing. If you were declared dead because you exposed with too many tiles, both hands are automatically dead.

Use the chat button in the upper left of the table to send messages to other players. Chat is available throughout the game.

Click the Leave button in the upper right of the table.

If you leave a table mid-game, a bot will automatically take over your seat so the game can continue for the other players.

How hands are scored

Scoring rules follow the format of the game being played, American, Siamese®, or Royale Siamese®. Points, however, are determined by the card in use at the table.

On the NMJL® card, each hand is marked as open or closed. On the Siamese® card, every hand can be played either open or closed, playing a hand closed earns a 10 point bonus. The exception is any hand which consists of only singles and pairs. Those hands are always closed since by definition, no portion of the hand can be exposed.

The three hands in purple on the Siamese® card will receive double value if they are jokerless in a Royale Siamese® game.

444 888 4444 8888one suit
FFFF 8888 8888 16one suit
10 999 DDD 888 DDDone suit

Two hands on the Siamese® card each earn 10 bonus points when 2s or 6s are used, in any game format:

FF 11 1111 1111 DDD
N 111111111111 S

The Catitude hand earns 10 bonus points if the Siamese® card is used in any game if the wind used matches the player’s position at the table.

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Adding and playing with friends

Use the search bar on the Friends tab to find a player by name, then send a friend request.

Copy the “Invite someone new” link in the Friends tab, and send it to a friend. If the friend joins through your link, you will automatically be friends on MahJ♥adore.

The Friends tab shows both, requests you’ve sent that are still pending and any requests you’ve received from other players.

You can view their profile and invite them to games.

Yes, at any time. Removing a friend or canceling a pending request is available right from the Friends tab.

Basic stats: Level, score, wins, badges, and location. You can choose what to hide from other players under the Settings tab.

Yes. Blocked players can’t join your tables or message you. Players can be blocked in the Profile tab, and you can unblock a player from there as well.

What do the Levels mean?

Your Level is a permanent measure of your play, a points-based scale that grows with every game you complete, live or bot. Points start accumulating the moment you join, and levels continue to climb as long as you play on MahJ♥adore, the more you play, the higher your score climbs.

1
0 pts
2
2,000 pts
3
5,000 pts
4
12,500 pts
5
25,000 pts
6
45,000 pts
7
70,000 pts
8
100,000 pts
9
140,000 pts
10
190,000 pts
11+
+50,000 ea.
How levels are calculated

Your Level is based on your score, cumulative points earned from every completed game, live or bot. You start at Level 1 with 0 points; each level up to 10 requires more points, and every level beyond 10 requires 50,000 more points than the last.

Levels are permanent, once you’ve earned a level, you keep it.

Your level is based on your score, cumulative points earned from every completed game. Wins, losses, and how you finish all contribute.

You’re assigned Level 1 as soon as you start playing. Your level increases as you complete more games and accumulate points.

Yes. Once you earn a level, you keep it, even if a loss causes your points to drop below the threshold, we won’t penalize you!

Not by Level. A Faster Masters table created by a Premium player can be limited to players with the Speed badge. That is the only join restriction. (A few tables created before this changed still carry a level minimum; the lobby says so on the table card.)

Skills beyond the score

Badges track five specific dimensions of your play, earned automatically as you reach each threshold. Once earned, they’re yours to keep. They show the kind of player you are, not just whether you win. Available to Standard and Premium players.

50%+ of wins in your last 100 games came on qualifying hands, closed hands, quints, singles and pairs, or any Siamese® card hand.

Everyone throws Mahj from time to time, sometimes it can’t be helped! This badge is awarded to players who take a more defensive posture. Earn it for NOT throwing Mahj in 70%+ of your last 100 games.

Earn this badge when your average combined throw and call time is 6 seconds or less across your last 100 games. Both live and bot games count towards this pillar. This signals that you are someone who makes quick decisions and enjoys a fast-paced game!

Sometimes it’s luck and sometimes it’s skill! Earn this badge when 25% or more of your wins in your last 100 games happen within the first 30 tiles thrown. The first win in a Siamese® and Royale Siamese® game counts towards this threshold.

Rolling daily average of 5+ completed games, total games played in the last 30 days ÷ 30. You’re here. A lot. We love that.

Badges require a Standard or Premium account. They begin calculating after 100 completed games. Once you earn a badge, you keep it, we never take it away. If you upgrade from a Free account, we will use your game history to calculate your badges.

No. Once you’ve earned a Badge, it’s yours permanently.

Level is a permanent, cumulative ranking based on your total points. Badges track specific skills, how you play matters as much as how many points you earn.

Tracking your play

Your Stats page shows total games played, score, and hands won. You can also see a detailed breakdown of games won by game type and hands won by game type, along with your fastest win, wins by section, your Level and badges earned.

Fastest win highlights your quickest completed hand, measured by how many tiles were left in the wall when you called Mah Jongg.

Wins by section breaks down your wins by hand category so you can see which sections of the card you win most.

Your Stats page shows how many points you need to reach your next Level.

Yes. Your Stats page shows how many badges you’ve earned and your progress towards earning the rest.

Free, Standard & Premium

Choose from one of three subscription levels. Find which one is the best fit for you.

Free lets you play 4 games a day across all three variations, against bots or live players, with the basic tile and mat set, basic stats, chat, and access to the American and Siamese® tutorials. Standard removes the daily limit and opens up the rest of the site: unlimited games, an upgraded selection of tiles and mats, the MahJ♥adore Avatar Builder, the ability to create and host private tables, a full stats dashboard, and Level and Badges with leaderboards.

Premium keeps everything in Standard and adds a beautiful selection of themed tiles and mats, plus advanced control over how your tables play. You can add Throw & Call timers for faster games and require players to have a Speed badge when creating a table.

Premium players have a ring around their profile picture. Other players are able to see the ring at the table and on your profile.

Fair question! You can play Mah Jongg online for free, but is that really the experience you deserve? 😄

At MahJ♥adore you can play American, Siamese®, and Royale Siamese® Mah Jongg in one place, with table rules that match the way you play, a custom avatar, premium tile sets, real stats, and a community that loves this game as much as you do. Give us a try. We think you’ll agree we are worth it! 🀄

Paid plans are coming soon.