American Mahjong is a fast-paced tile game with its own unique rules and strategies. Dating back to the 1800’s, and brought to the US in 1920 from China, it was standardized in 1937 when the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) created official rules and a yearly card of winning hands. Unlike traditional Mahjong, the American version uses Jokers, Charleston tile passing, and specific hands to win. The suit names come from traditional Chinese symbols and everyday objects used to represent numbers and values. For example, the Characters suit (Craks, 萬, wàn) refers to the numeral for ten-thousands, the Circles suit (Dots, 筒, tǒng) evokes ancient coins, and the Bamboo suit (Bam, 索, suǒ) originally depicted bamboo sticks or twine, each reflecting aspects of Chinese culture and commerce. Players compete to match tiles and form hands of 14 tiles from the NMJL card, making each game exciting and unpredictable. Whether playing casually or in tournaments, American Mahjong is a fun mix of skill, luck, and strategy and is a multi-generational game!