Lara Orndorff at an American mahjong table
AMERICAN MAHJONG, MADE CLEAR

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Lara at the mahjong table

"I teach the why behind every decision — not just what to memorize."

— Lara
Behind the Edit

Hi, I'm Lara.

I'm a mahjong teacher, content creator, and the founder of Lara's Mahjong Edit. I believe mahjong should feel clear, approachable, and genuinely fun — not overwhelming. Whether you're learning your first Charleston or building a teaching business, I've built something here for you.

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I teach the why, not just the what

My method focuses on helping you understand the decision behind every tile — so you play with intention, not just instinct.

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No pressure, no memorization

Mahjong is supposed to be fun. Everything I create is designed to reduce overwhelm and build real, lasting confidence at the table.

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What is American Mahjong?

American Mahjong is the card-driven version of the game played in the United States. It is the version your aunt and her best friends got obsessed with, the version played at country clubs and on dining-room tables and during long beach weekends. It is fast, social, and built around a paper card the National Mah Jongg League publishes every year.

If you have only ever seen mahjong as a phone game where you match tiles to clear a board, this is not that. American Mahjong is a four-player strategy game played with a 152-tile set. Each player builds a hand by passing tiles in the Charleston, picking, discarding, and calling exposures from other players' discards. The goal is to be the first player to build a complete hand from one of the lines on the NMJL card.

It differs from Chinese and Hong Kong mahjong in three big ways: the NMJL card, the Joker tile, and the Charleston. Same family of games, very different feel at the table.

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