How to Play Mahjong With Friends Free When Your Game Falls Through
When one person in your regular American Mah Jongg group can't make it in person, Friends at Mahjong lets you move the table online: invited friends with an account can join using a remaining free game, and the host needs Premium.
When the usual game can't happen
Your group has a standing game, and this week someone can't be there in person — travel, a schedule conflict, whatever it is. The rest of you are still around and still want to play. Friends at Mahjong is a browser table for American Mah Jongg where everyone can sit down remotely instead of in person.
Getting your group to the table
- One person opens a private table with Premium. Private tables are where a group plays together online instead of in person.
- Invite the others with a link. Each invited friend with an account can join and play using one of their remaining free games — part of the same five-free-game allowance everyone gets (one before signing up, four more after), with no card on file and no expiration.
- Play the hand out.
What's actually free, and what isn't
It's worth being precise here, because "free" can mean different things. Every player gets free games to try the table, no card required. But opening a private table to invite others into, and keeping it open on an ongoing basis, requires Premium. The exact terms — who needs which membership tier to host versus join a private table on an ongoing basis — are laid out on the membership page, and we'd rather point you there than risk quoting you a number that's since changed.
Why this matters for a group, not just one person
The appeal here isn't playing alone against the computer (Friends at Mahjong supports that too) — it's getting your actual group back around a table when the usual room isn't available. Friends invited to a private table need an account; they can use a remaining free game to see if the online table works for them before buying their own membership.
One honest caveat
An online table is a different texture than playing across a kitchen table — you're reading a screen instead of a rack of physical tiles. If your group is used to the in-person feel, the first session is worth treating as a trial run with everyone, not a guaranteed drop-in replacement.
Friends at Mahjong is an independent teaching and gaming resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Mah Jongg League.