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.
Step 1 of 10
👥 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:
Three players, no Charleston, no passing. Clean and simple. The official way per the NMJL® rulebook.
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.