Set up and deal
American mahjong, lesson 6. Build the wall, break it, and deal the tiles.
1. One player is East
East deals and goes first. Then South, West and North, going to the right.
- East
- South
- West
- North
2. Play goes to the right
After each turn, the player on the right goes next.
Direction: right. This is counterclockwise around the table.
Go to step 23. Build the wall
- Turn all 152 tiles face down and mix them up.
- Each player builds a wall in front of their rack.
- Each wall is 19 tiles long and 2 tiles high.
- Push the four walls together into a square.
4. Break the wall
- East rolls two dice and adds them up.
- East counts that many stacks along their own wall, starting from the right end.
- East splits the wall there. The deal starts at the split.
5. Deal the tiles
- East takes 4 tiles. Then each player takes 4, going to the right.
- Go around 3 times. Everyone now has 12 tiles.
- Then everyone takes 1 more tile. East takes 2.
- East has 14 tiles. Everyone else has 13.
6. Who has what
Count your tiles before play starts.
- East (14 tiles): East
- Everyone else (13 tiles): South, West, North
Note: Then do the Charleston. After that, East starts play by throwing out one tile. East does not draw first.
Go to step 67. East goes first
You are East, going for this hand in Bams.
Try it: Pick 1 tile to throw out. (card line 222 444 666 888 DD) Tiles to pick from: 2 Bam, 4 Bam, 7 Crak, 6 Bam, Joker, 8 Bam, Green Dragon, 4 Bam.
Go to step 78. Quiz: Set up and deal
Question: How long is each wall?
Answer: 19 tiles, 2 high
Question: Who rolls the dice to break the wall? [East]
Answer: East
Question: How many tiles do you take at a time in the deal?
Answer: 4. Take 4 at a time, 3 times around. Then 1 more each.
Question: How many tiles does East start with?
Answer: 14
Question: Which way does play go?
Answer: Right
Question: Does East draw a tile on the first turn?
Answer: No. East already has 14 tiles. East starts by throwing one out.
What this lesson teaches
- Each player builds a wall 19 tiles long and 2 high.
- East gets 14 tiles. Everyone else gets 13.
- East goes first by throwing away one tile.
