American Mah Jongg Tutorial, Part IV - Claiming Tiles

In Part III, you saw how to begin building a winning hand during the Charleston exchanges. Once the Charleston has ended and East Wind has begun the game by discarding her 14th tile, there are two ways to continue to build your hand. Moving counter-clockwise, each player draws one tile from the broken end of the wall and then discards one tile that doesn't fit in with the rest of the tiles in her hand. In this way, play proceeds around the table.

Naomi draws a tile

Claiming a Discarded Tile

A second way to build a winning hand is to claim a discarded tile. Remember, when a player discards a tile, she places it face up in the middle of the table and names it. At that point, ANY player may claim the discarded tile, if it can be used in her hand and if the entire unit of the hand can be revealed.

By "unit," I mean the small section of a hand. For example, in the hand FFFF 5555 6666 11, the four flowers constitute a unit, as do the four 5s, the four 6s, and the two 1s. If a player has three Flowers, and a Flower is discarded, she says, "I claim that tile," and reveals the other three Flowers. All four Flowers must then be placed, face up, on the flat surface of her rack.

Once part of a hand is revealed this way, it may not be altered, except for the exchange of Jokers, which will be explained later.  A player may change the hand she intends to play, but the new hand must contain the revealed unit.


A tile that completes a PAIR may NOT be claimed when it is discarded, unless it is the final tile that creates a winning hand for the player claiming it.

In our Pocatello version of Mah Jongg, it's become customary for a player to say, "Wait!" when she thinks she may want to claim a discarded tile. Then, we pause while she verifies her choice.

Alexis ponders her choices

If she changes her mind about claiming the tile, play proceeds. If she claims the tile, she places it on her rack with the rest of the unit of her hand and then discards. Any player may claim a discarded tile, although precedence goes to whomever said, "Wait!" first, and the player to the right of the person who discarded the tile always has first choice, even if she didn't say "Wait!"  Counter-clockwise play resumes with the player who claimed the tile, which means that, occasionally, one or two players miss a turn.

     Once a tile is discarded and not immediately claimed, it is out of play for the rest of the game.

     Players do not expose units of the hand they are making unless they are claiming a discarded tile or, of course, if they end the game by drawing or claiming the file 14th tile they need to complete a hand and declare, "Mah Jongg."


[Click on the images below to enlarge them.]

Waiting for the Final Tile (the Bird Bam, in this case)

Use of Jokers

In American Mah Jongg, there are 8 Jokers, which may be used as "wild cards" in building hands.  There are, however, some restrictions on where/when Jokers may be used.  A Joker may NEVER be used in a pair, in the NEWS (winds) unit, or in the year (2011) units.

     To use our example (FFFF 5555 6666 11), a player is making a hand that requires four Flowers. If another player discards a Flower, the player who needs the Flower may claim it if, in her hand, she has 3 Flowers, or if she has 2 Flowers and a Joker, or 1 Flower and 2 Jokers, or even if she has 3 Jokers, which she reveals and names as Flowers.

     When one player has a Joker on her rack as part of an exposed unit, another player may take the Joker, if the player has the tile that the exposed Joker represents.  The current player begins her turn by drawing or claiming a tile, then exchanges the appropriate tile for the other player's Joker.  The Joker is then part of the current player's hand. In some instances, a player may have to discard a Joker, but Jokers cannot be claimed from the discard pile by anyone.

Winning the Lucky Way

On the National Mah Jongg League's official card, each hand is notated by an "x" or by a "c."  The "c" indicates a "concealed" hand. No part of a concealed hand may be revealed during play.  The player of a concealed hand must draw all the tiles in the hand, rather than claiming discarded tiles. The only exception is the 14th and final tile that gives the player Mah Jongg. That tile may be claimed when it's discarded. 

Winning the Hard Way