3-Handed Mahjong

How to play with three players — official rules and the popular house rules version

Goal: Learn both ways to play American Mahjong with three people — the official NMJL® method and the ghost player house rules version — so you can play no matter who shows up

Estimated time: 9–12 minutes

Prerequisite: Lesson 15

Why it matters: Someone cancels last minute. Now what? Three-handed Mahjong means the game goes on.

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👥 Someone Cancelled. Now What?

Four players is the standard. But sometimes you only have three — and that's okay. American Mahjong works with three players.

There are two ways to do it:

Official NMJL® Rules

Three players, no Charleston, no passing. Clean and simple. The official way per the NMJL® rulebook.

Ghost Player House Rules

Add a fictional fourth player called "Bob" to keep the Charleston alive. Very popular. Not official — but widely played.

Both versions use the same NMJL® card, same tile set, and same scoring. The only differences are in setup and the Charleston.