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The Charleston, pass by pass

The tile swap that happens before the first discard, and the part of American Mahjong that surprises newcomers most.

Updated November 9, 2026

The short answer The Charleston is a series of tile passes before play begins. Everyone passes three tiles to the right, then three across, then three to the left. If every player agrees, a second Charleston follows in the opposite order: left, across, right. Last comes an optional courtesy pass of up to three tiles with the player across from you. Jokers can never be passed.

Why it exists

Your first 13 tiles are luck. The Charleston lets you trade away what doesn't fit the hands you're considering and take a chance on what comes back. Good passing is a skill: give away tiles you're sure you won't need, and keep the ones that leave you two or three hands to choose from.

The first Charleston: required

Right. Pass three tiles to the player on your right.
Across. Pass three tiles to the player across from you.
Left. Pass three tiles to the player on your left. This pass may be a blind pass (below).

The second Charleston: optional

After the first Charleston, players decide whether to do a second. It goes the other way round: left, across, right. Any one player can stop it; if anyone says no, there's no second Charleston. The last pass, to the right, may be a blind pass.

Blind passes

On the last pass of each Charleston (the first left and the last right), you may pass along some or all of the tiles you were just handed, without looking at them, instead of tiles from your own rack. It's called a blind pass, and it's useful when you have nothing you're willing to give up.

The courtesy pass

Finally, you and the player across from you may swap up to three tiles. Each of you says how many you'd like to trade, and you both pass the smaller number. Either of you can choose zero.

What you can never pass

Jokers. They stay on your rack through every pass of the Charleston, including blind passes and the courtesy pass.

How it works in Mahjong Alley

The app walks you through every pass and shows which way the tiles are going. It calls the across pass "Over". You can't pick a joker to pass, or a blank in House Rules games. On a blind pass, the button tells you how many of your own tiles you're sending and how many are passing through unseen.

After the first Charleston, everyone votes. One vote to end it skips the second Charleston. For the courtesy pass, you and the player across each pick zero to three tiles, and the smaller number is swapped.

In solo games your three opponents pass and vote too. Expert opponents won't give away their pairs.