What changes from a four-player game
| Step | Four players | Two players |
|---|
| Walls | One wall each | All four, two each |
| Deal | 13 each, 14 for East | Same, to two seats |
| Charleston | Two rounds, then a courtesy pass | None |
| First discard | East, after the Charleston | East, right after the deal |
| The card, calls, jokers | This year's card | No change |
Why there's no Charleston
The Charleston is a trade between real hands. With two empty seats, a pass "to" nobody lets you dump tiles for free, and a pass "from" nobody is just a random draw. The League's short-handed rules drop it rather than fake it. With fewer people at the table, you draw more often anyway.
Other ways to play with two
You'll hear about other two-player games. They are different games, so agree which one you're playing before you deal.
The League's way
The two-player modification
The setup on this card. The League publishes short-handed rules in its booklet Mah Jongg Made Easy.
Its own rulebook
Siamese Mah Jongg®
Gladys Grad's two-player game: each player plays more than one rack, and it has its own rules and card. Not the League's modification.
House rule
No-wall "messy" games
Some players skip the walls, draw from a face-down pile and must complete two hands to win. Fun and fast; not a League rule.
Where these rules come from
Small Table Mahj is an independent guide written in our own words. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Mah Jongg League, and it shows no hands from the League's card.
Playing with three? See the three-player card
Practicing between games? Solo drills · Cheat sheet · Scoring
