What Is the Charleston in American Mahjong?
The Charleston is American Mahjong's tile-passing ritual at the start of a hand. Here's the order of the passes, how many tiles you pass, and the rules around Jokers and the courtesy pass.
The Charleston is a tile-passing ritual at the start of every American Mahjong hand. Before play begins, players pass tiles they don't want and receive others, so everyone gets a chance to improve their starting hand. It's unique to the American game.
How the passes work
You pass three tiles at a time. The first Charleston is required and goes in this order:
- Pass 3 to the right
- Pass 3 across
- Pass 3 to the left
Then there's an optional second Charleston — left, across, right — which any player can stop before it begins if their hand is already shaping up; but once it starts, all three passes must be completed. After that comes an optional courtesy pass: up to three tiles across, by mutual agreement.
The Joker rule
You can never pass a Joker during the Charleston. Everything you pass has to be a real tile.
The Charleston is where good hands are won or lost, so it pays to have a target in mind before you start passing.