Starting the Game

What happens each turn once play begins

Goal: Understand the turn-by-turn flow of play so you know exactly what to do when it's your turn

Estimated time: 8–11 minutes

Prerequisite: Lesson 8

Unlocks: Lesson 10

Step 1 of 13

🎬 Play Begins

The Charleston is done, now it's time to play.

East goes first. They already have 14 tiles, so they skip the draw and just discard one tile. That first discard is the official start of the game.

After East discards, play moves to the right (counter-clockwise) — unless someone calls the discarded tile.

Everything goes to the right — taking tiles during the deal, picking and discarding, the next East, and play after a call all move to the right. The one exception: when a wall runs out, the player on the left pushes out the new wall. If you remember one direction rule, remember this one.