Free printable · Mahjong
Mahj day checklist
Everything a host needs on one page: the RSVPs and waitlist, the sets, racks and cards, the setup, how the day runs and the prizes.
Mahj day · for the host
Mahj Day Checklist
Date
Time
Host
Address
Players
Tables
Before Mahj day 1–2 weeks out
- Set the date and send the invites
- Get a yes or no from everyone (tables of 4, and a table of 3 works too)
- Seats full? Keep a waitlist in the order people replied
- Line up a sub or two for empty seats
- Agree on house rules (the pie, switching tables, points or coins, the Charleston at a table of 3)
- Decide the prizes, if your group plays for them
Supplies
- An American mahjong set for every table: 152 tiles, jokers included
- Four racks and a pair of dice for every table
- This year’s card for every player (most players bring their own)
- A score sheet and a pen for every table
- Coins or chips, if your group plays for money
- Card tables with 4 chairs each
Food and drinks
- Snacks away from the tiles
- Something sweet for the break
- Drinks, and water for everyone
- Plates, cups and napkins
At the end of the day
- Add up each player’s points
- Hand out the prizes: most points, most Mahjs, biggest hand
- Settle up, if your group plays for coins
- Pick the next host and date
Set up before players arrive
- A set, four racks and dice on every table
- A score sheet and pens on every table
- Count the players before anyone sits down
- Fill tables of 4. Three left over make a table of 3; one or two start a waiting line
How the day runs
- Pick East: at each table everyone rolls, and the highest roll is the first East. After each game the deal passes to the right.
- After each game, the scorekeeper writes who called Mahj, the hand’s value, thrown or self-picked, and jokerless or not.
- Thrown: the thrower pays double, everyone else pays the value. Self-picked: everyone pays double. Jokerless: double it all. Wall game: nobody pays.
- Waiting line: after each game, that game’s East steps out to the end of the line and the first in line sits down. Points belong to the player, not the seat.
- Late or leaving early? Late arrivals join the end of the line. When someone leaves, the first in line takes the seat, or the table plays on as three.
Notes
How to use it
- Fill in the date, time, host and address at the top.
- Get a yes or no from everyone early, so you know how many tables to set up. Tables of 4 come first; three left over make a table of 3, and one or two wait in line and rotate in.
- Agree on your house rules before Mahj day, like the pie and switching tables, so nobody argues at the table.
- Keep a mahjong score sheet on every table.
Print at 100% (Actual size) on US Letter paper. On A4, choose Fit to page. It prints well in black and white.
Skip the paper: the app does the math for you
In Mahjongg Circle, the scorekeeper answers a few quick questions after each game: who called Mahj, what it was worth, thrown or self-picked, jokerless or not. The app works out everyone’s points, knows who’s East and keeps the season standings. It plans your Mahj days too.
Free to join, RSVP and keep score. The live scoreboard and season stats are an optional upgrade, per person.
More free printables
Guides: How to keep score in American mahjongHow to run a mahjong group