Siamese Mahjong: How to Play American Mahjong with 2 Players

Siamese Mahjong is the standard way to play American Mahjong with two people. Instead of one hand, each player builds two winning hands at the same time — on two racks, one in front of the other — and must complete both to win.

What stays the same

Almost everything you already know carries over: the NMJL® card, the tile set, the Joker rules, calling, exposures, and how discards work. Siamese changes the shape of the game, not its rules.

What's different

• Each player takes 27 tiles under the current Siamese rules (some tables still play the older way, dealing East 28)
• Two racks per player — one hand lives on each
• No Charleston — with 27 tiles there's no need to pass
• You must complete both hands to win; finishing one rack isn't Mahjong

Setup and play

Shuffle all 152 tiles face-down in the center — most tables just pick from the pile, though some build walls as usual. Decide who's East, then each player takes their tiles. Playing 27/27, East opens with a normal pick-and-discard turn; playing 28/27, East simply discards the extra tile. After that, turns alternate with the familiar rhythm: pick, place, discard. You can call your opponent's discards under standard calling rules and place the exposure on either rack.

Managing two racks

You can move concealed tiles freely between your racks at any point — only exposures are locked to the rack where you placed them. The most important decision comes first: pick two non-competing hands, ideally in different suits, so your racks aren't fighting each other for the same tiles.

Winning and the Joker lock

When you complete your first hand, declare it done — that locks in its Jokers, so your opponent can no longer swap a real tile for them. Then keep drawing and discarding until your second hand is complete. If the tiles run out first, it's a wall game and nobody pays.

A note on scoring

Siamese isn't officially published by the NMJL®, so scoring varies by table. A common approach pays each hand's card value, with bonuses for the second hand or for finishing both at once. Agree on the details before you start — it saves disputes later.