THREE-HANDED MAH JONGG (Article 102)

Commentary: When only three players are at the table, the tiles are mixed, and walls are built as usual. The missing player is skipped when distributing the tiles and playing the game. To ensure fairness when dealing the tiles for a game, East rolls the dice to determine where to break their wall in a random spot. After East breaks the wall, they take the first two stacks of tiles (i.e., four tiles), then go counterclockwise. The other players take their first two stacks, and so on until they have 12 tiles each. East takes one tile, and each of the other players takes one tile, and then East takes their 14th tile. The Charleston is omitted so East discards to start the game. 

There is a contradictory protocol in the 2024 bulletin, “Each player takes four tiles at a time until everyone has 12 tiles. At that point, East should pick the next two tiles, and the other players pick one each. In that way, East will have 14 tiles, and the other players will have 13.” Community leaders have contacted the league for clarification. 

If an incorrectly named tile is discarded and called for mah jongg, the game ends, and the player who discarded the tile pays the winner three times the hand’s value.

Question from a player:  How can we play with only three players? 
 
Answer from the NMJL: Four walls are built. The three players draw tiles from the wall, four at a time, until everyone has twelve tiles. Wall without a player does not draw any tiles. Each player then picks one tile in turn, for a total of 13 tiles, with East then picking a 14th tile from the wall. The Charleston is omitted, and East starts the game by discarding the first tile.

 Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 26)

Other answers from the NMJL:

“The three players draw tiles from the wall.  Blank wall does not draw any tiles.  The Charleston is omitted, and East starts the game by discarding one tile.” 
 
“Build four walls.  The three player draw tiles from the wall.  Missing player does not draw any tiles.  Charleston is omitted and East starts the game by discarding one tile.”  
 
Source for other answers:  National Mah Jongg League Bulletin Q&A (2005,  2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)