Setting Up a Chinese Mahjong Game

Learn how to build the wall, deal tiles, and choose the dealer.

Setting Up the Table

Before anyone can call "pong" or declare "mahjong," the table must be set up correctly. The setup ritual is part of the game's charm, and it also randomizes who starts as dealer.

Building the Wall

All 144 tiles are placed face down and shuffled thoroughly—often by players pushing the tiles around the center of the table with both hands. This noisy stage is sometimes called "washing" the tiles.

Each player then builds a section of the wall in front of them: a double row of tiles, 18 tiles long and 2 tiles high. When all four walls are pushed together, they form a hollow square that frames the playing area.

Choosing the Dealer

The player sitting in the East wind seat is the first dealer. A common method for breaking the wall is:

1. East wind rolls two or three dice.
2. Counting counterclockwise around the table, the total of the dice determines which player's wall will be broken.
3. That player then counts in from the right end of their wall by the same number, and the wall is split at that point.

The dice roll only decides where to break the wall; it does not change who is dealer. East wind remains the first dealer.

Dealing the Tiles

Starting from the break in the wall, tiles are taken in groups of four and passed to each player in turn, moving clockwise. Each player receives a total of 13 tiles, while the dealer receives 14 tiles.

The dealer looks at their 14 tiles, chooses one tile to discard, and places it face up in the center of the table. That first discard officially begins play.

The East Wind Seat

The player sitting in the East wind seat is always the first dealer. After each round, the dealer position moves to the next player in turn unless the dealer wins the hand, in which case they keep the seat and repeat as dealer. This rotation is one reason the wind tiles matter for scoring and strategy.