Sometimes it can be hard to get 3 of your friends in the same place to play Mahjong every time you want to play. If all you have is a partner to play mahj with, don't worry! You can still get a great game of Mah Jongg in!
Here is an easy how to guide for playing 2-player American Mah Jongg, which is often called Siamese Mahjong. In Siamese Mahjong, each player plays two hands at a time. You will need to complete BOTH hands to win/mahj.
In Siamese play, there are no walls, no dealing, no Charleston, and no courtesy pass. Instead, set up two racks in front of each player, one in front of the other. Turn all the shuffled tiles face down in the middle of the table--this will be your draw pile as there are no walls when playing Siamese.
To “deal” each player draws their own tiles from the middle. One player is the “dealer” and draws 28, while the other player draws 27 tiles.
The “dealer” player with 28 tiles starts the game by discarding a tile face up in the middle of the table, as with normal mahjong play. The next player draws a facedown tile from the middle of the table, and gameplay continues on from there as normal, drawing from the center instead of from walls.
The player who completes both of their hands first wins and calls “Mahj!” If you complete one hand, do not expose it until both hands are completed. The idea of having to mahj two hands at once can sound overwhelming, but we think it’s the BEST way to get really good at different hands on your card!
We have also found that playing Siamese is the best way to get husbands into the game--since there is less setup and you get straight into the game, it seems to make Mahjong feel less complicated when trying to convince a husband to join you!
One hot tip to keep in mind when playing 2-player Mahjong is to be sure to choose two hands that do NOT need the same tiles! Otherwise, you’ll be competing against yourself for tiles.