MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
The best way to improve? Play more.
Two Gaia-recommended platforms for practicing American Mahjong between lessons. Build pattern recognition, sharpen strategy, and arrive at your next game ready.
Gaia’s picks
Have a group, or want to practice for free? Start with Ooh La Mahj. Want a game without organizing one? Try I Love Mahj.
Ooh La Mahj
FREE, SIMPLE, LOVELY DESIGN
This is the one I send people to first. It's free, it runs in your browser or on the iPhone/iPad app, and it walks you through the 2026 card with six short lessons and hints when you want them. Invite three friends to a private table, or set up a weekly game that's always ready.
Learning mode: Six short lessons walk you through the basics, and a glossary helps when a word throws you. While you play, you can ask for a hint that points you toward the hands your tiles fit best.
Best for: Practicing solo against bots, or playing with a group you already have.
I Love Mahj
NO ONLINE GROUP? IT FINDS YOU ONE
I Love Mahj has been around the longest, and it does one thing the free apps don't yet. Tap "Play Live" and it matches you with other players, so you don't have to organize a game first. It also has a Siamese Mahjong option.
Learning mode: Practice games suggest hands while you play, and the Exercise Room drills one skill at a time. Tutorials and strategy guides cover the rest.
Best for: Playing whenever you want with whoever's online, and practicing enough to feel steady at a real table. Look for me in their teacher directory and join my online playing group.
$6 a month or $60 a year, with a 3-week free trial with my code
FREE TRIAL CODE
MYM
I earn a small commission if you subscribe through my link. I only recommend what I use myself.
A monthly mahjong game you can join from your couch
After class, someone almost always asks me where they can keep playing. Most people don't have a table of four ready to go, and that's usually when the tiles go back in the box for a month. So I started a monthly online game, and you're invited.
How it works
When: Once a month, on a Saturday morning or a Sunday afternoon. I post each date in the group ahead of time.
Where: I Love Mahj, an online American Mahjong platform. You play on your computer or tablet, so no tiles and no hosting.
Who: Anyone who knows the basics and wants more time at the table. Maybe you took Mahjong 101 last month, or maybe you learned years ago and feel rusty. Either way, you fit right in.
Cost: An I Love Mahj subscription is required to join. Use code MYM for 3 weeks free.
How to join
Create your account at ilovemahj.com. You receive 3 weeks free with my code MYM.
Find my group, St. Petersburg / Tampa Bay Mahjong with Gaia, at ilovemahj.com/stpetetampabay and ask to join.
Watch the group for the next game date and save your seat.
Join the group this week so you catch the first date, and bring the friend you learned with.
OFF-SCREEN PRACTICE
Online builds the brain. Tiles build the hands.
Mahjong4Friends and I Love Mahj will sharpen your pattern recognition, your card reading, your strategy. What they can't give you is the weight of a tile in your hand and the muscle memory of moving them through the Charleston.
That's where my Solitaire Mahjong Practice Sheet comes in. A two-page printable PDF: the R-O-L-L-O-R board on page one, the rules on page two. Print it tonight, grab your tiles, and play the same game with your hands.
Ready to take it to the table?
Online practice builds pattern recognition. A lesson with Gaia builds confidence. Come find your seat.