Teach Your Family Mahjong Without Losing the Table, 15-Page Digital Guide to Teaching American Mahjong at Home

Teach Your Family Mahjong Without Losing the Table is a digital guide for players who already know American mahjong and want to teach their family or friends. $19.99, a 15-page PDF, instant download, yours to keep. It is a real do-this-then-do-that walkthrough that shows you how to introduce the game without overwhelming a brand-new player, including what to teach first, what to skip at the start, and how to keep the table calm while everyone is learning. Written by Lara Orndorff, OMM Certified American Mahjong Instructor and Mahj Life Guild member.

Learning to play yourself? Start with the Foundations Edit.

For the one who already knows.

You learned mahjong somewhere. A friend, a class, a long weekend with strangers who became regulars. You came home loving it. And then you realized the people closest to you (your sister, your husband, your kids, your mom) had no idea what you were talking about.

This guide is for that moment. It is what I wish someone had handed me when I first wanted to teach the game to my family and could not figure out where to start. Not a textbook. Not a YouTube rabbit hole. A real, gentle, do-this-then-do-that walkthrough that lets you teach the game without losing the table.

You do not need to be a great player to teach the people you love. You just need a plan, a little patience, and a few hands they can actually win.

Who this is for.

• The mahjong player whose family does not get it yet.
• The host who wants to bring the game home.
• The teacher of friends.
• The grandmother teaching grandchildren.

What you'll feel after the first game.

Relief. You finally have a script. No more fumbling through the Charleston with your mother-in-law watching. The next hour has a plan.

Pride. The first time your sister calls Mahj on a hand you helped her shape, it lands differently. You taught her that.

Belonging. The game is no longer the thing you do without them. It is what your Sunday looks like now.

What's included

Two PDFs delivered to your email at checkout:

The 15-page guide. Built around the questions every family asks at the table. What is the card, what are the tiles, what is the Charleston, what hands should we try first, and what do we actually do on our turn.

A half-page at-the-table cheat sheet. Print it on cardstock. The family member who is still learning keeps it next to them while you play.

Inside the guide:

• NMJL card explainer (the piece beginners always miss)
• Tile identification reference
• Charleston walkthrough
• 5 beginner-friendly hands from the 2026 card
• 8 family practice challenges
• Common beginner mistakes
• 4-game family score tracker

Questions you might have.

Do I need to know mahjong already?

Yes. This is a guide for you to teach them. If you have played a few games and feel mostly comfortable, you are ready. If you are still learning yourself, start with the 2026 Strategy Edit or Confidence Club first, then come back to this when you are ready to bring the people you love to the table.

Do they need an NMJL card?

Yes, one card per player. The NMJL Card Explainer inside the guide walks you through exactly how and where to get one (it is easier than people think). You can share yours for the first game if you want to keep things simple.

Is this digital?

Yes. Instant PDF download to your email the moment you check out. Print the pages you want at the table, keep the rest on your phone or tablet.

What if my family hates it?

They will not, but I hear you. The Family Practice Challenges are built for exactly this fear. They are short, low-stakes, and designed so people get one small win before they decide whether they like the game. Most families come back for round two before the first one even ends. If yours is the outlier, you still walked your people through a real game, which is more than most mahjong players ever attempt.

Is this the same as Confidence Club?

No. This is a one-time guide you buy once and own forever. Confidence Club is the ongoing community and monthly classes for when you want to keep going (your own game, not just teaching theirs). Plenty of people start with this guide, teach their family, and then come into Confidence Club when they realize they want more for themselves.

Thank you for bringing mahjong to your table. That is the whole reason I do this.

xo Lara

@larasmahjongedit