Can you play Mahjong with two players?

Absolutely!

When playing Mahjong with two players, players use two racks with the goal of declaring Mahjong twice.

Each players builds two walls, one against each pusher.  Another option is to not build walls and pick from the shuffled tiles in the middle of the mat.

The deal follows the same process as 4-person Mahjong, however, the dealer receives 28 tiles and the other player receives 27.

Players sort their hands, moving tiles between racks, to determine the category for each hand.

There is no Charleston with two person Mahjong, so players go right into game play.

If keeping score, after a discard, player can declare Mahjong for one rack and expose the hand.  This does not end the game, and players continue.  However, any Jokers in the Mahjong hand can no longer be exchanged.  A player may consider this option if the game is almost over and it is unlikely the player will declare Mahjong on a second hand.  Players are only paid for Mahjong on the rack, not in the rack.

If not keeping score, players often wait to declare Mahjong when they have a Mahjong on each rack.

When a player declares Mahjong on both racks, the game is over.

 Did you know you can play mahjong with three players.  

Did you know you can play online mahjong using our botanical tile set?