Siamese Mahjong is an ingenious adaptation of American Mahjong. Instead of each person playing a single hand, each player manages two hands simultaneously. This means you'll use two racks to build two separate, valid hands from the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card.
It’s a fantastic way to sharpen your skills, as you're constantly evaluating more tiles and hands, giving you a deeper understanding of the game's possibilities.
The Setup: What You'll Need
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Two Players: The entire point of the game!
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An American Mahjong Set: Your beautiful Rack It! Mahjong set is perfect for this.
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Two Racks per Player: You’ll need a total of four racks.
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The NMJL Card: Siamese Mahjong uses the same card as a standard American Mahjong game, so keep your current year's card handy.
Getting Started: The Deal & Gameplay
Siamese Mahjong has a quick and simple setup that gets you right into the action.
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No Walls, No Charleston: You don't build walls. Instead, shuffle all the tiles face down in the middle of the table. One player is the "dealer" and draws 28 tiles, while the other player draws 27. There is also no Charleston, which means the game gets going right away.
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Gameplay Begins: The dealer starts the game by discarding one tile. The other player then either draws a new tile from the center of the table or claims the discarded tile to make an exposure or declare Mahjong.
Playing Your Two Hands
The most crucial and exciting part of Siamese Mahjong is managing your two hands at once.
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Flexibility is Key: You can freely move tiles between your two racks as long as they are concealed. This is a game-changer! If a tile is better for a hand on your second rack, you can simply slide it over.
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Exposures Are Permanent: Once you call a tile and make an exposure (a pung, kong, etc.), that set of tiles is permanently assigned to that rack. You can't move it.
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Jokers Are Your Best Friends: The abundance of Jokers in an American Mahjong set is a massive advantage here. You can move them freely between your concealed tiles and exposures, making it easier to complete your two hands. Just remember, a joker cannot be used in a pair or as a single tile in a hand.
Winning the Game: The Double Mahjong
The game ends when a player completes both of their hands. You can declare "Mahjong" on a single hand and get it out of the way, but you only win the game when your second hand is also complete.
This creates a ton of fun strategy: Do you declare your first Mahjong early to lock in your hand and potentially prevent your opponent from stealing your jokers? Or do you keep your hands concealed for as long as possible to maximize your flexibility? The choice is yours.
Why You'll Love Siamese Mahjong
Siamese Mahjong is a wonderfully fun and fast-paced game that's perfect for a wide range of players. It's a great way to:
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Get More Practice: You'll build twice as many hands in a single game, making it a fantastic way to learn the card and improve your strategy.
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Play Anytime, Anywhere: You only need one other person, making it easy to start a game.
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Deepen Your Strategy: Managing two hands at once forces you to think more critically about every tile you draw and discard.
If you haven't tried Siamese Mahjong yet, it's a wonderful way to experience the thrill of the game from a new perspective.
