AMERICAN MAH JONGG · DAY 4
The deal and the Charleston
- You'll learn
- Learn the passing order before the first discard.
- Time
- 8 minutes
- Builds on
- Practise using the card
- Up next
- Choosing tiles to pass
- Why it helps
- The Charleston gives you a chance to trade spare tiles for a more promising start.
SAVE YOUR PATH
Create an account
Save your progress and pick up where you left off.
Your first chance to improve a hand comes before the first discard. The Charleston lets everyone trade tiles they can spare.
Start with the deal
In American mahjong, East gets 14 tiles and everyone else gets 13. TileClack takes care of shuffling and dealing, so you can start by looking at your tiles.
Before the first discard, you exchange unwanted tiles with the other players. This is the Charleston. It gives you a chance to improve your starting hand.
Pass three tiles at a time
| Stage | Directions | Tiles per pass |
|---|---|---|
| First Charleston | Right, across, left | 3 |
| Optional second Charleston | Left, across, right | 3 |
| Courtesy pass | Across | 0 to 3, agreed with your opposite player |
Never pass a joker. Keep tiles that help the rows you're considering and choose three others to pass.
You can stop after the first Charleston if you'd rather keep your tiles. Any one player may stop the second round confirm.
For the courtesy pass, you and the player across each choose a number from 0 to 3. Both pass the lower number. If you offer 3 and they offer 1, you each pass 1.
Follow the direction on screen
You don't have to remember every direction straight away. TileClack shows where each pass goes. Your selected tiles stay highlighted until everyone has chosen, then all the tiles move together.
Once passing finishes, East discards without drawing and play begins.
Remember
Right, across, left. Optional: left, across, right. Courtesy: across. No jokers.
Teaches on the Learner card · reviewed 2026-09-14