Welcome to the Hand Helper

This tool helps you find all matching patterns from the 2025 National Mah Jongg League card based on the tiles in your hand. Simply select your tiles and discover which winning patterns you can complete!

You can browse the sections below to learn how everything works, or if you're ready to jump in, start using the Hand Analyzer right away!

Go to Hand Analyzer →

💡 Tips & Best Practices

A few suggestions to help you get the most value from Mahjong Hand Helper.

  • Use it between games.
    After a hand, quickly enter the tiles you had to see what other options were available.
  • Study categories one at a time.
    Use the Pattern Catalog to focus on one section of the card (e.g., Quints or Any Like Numbers).
  • Check suit variants carefully.
    The "View all variants" modal shows every legal suit combination for that pattern.
  • Start with fewer tiles.
    If you're overwhelmed, try entering just part of your hand to see which categories it leans toward.
  • Combine with real play.
    This tool is meant to support, not replace, your table instincts and experience.

1 Understanding the Interface

The application has three main tabs for navigation:

Navigation Tabs
  • How To - You are here! Learn how to use the application
  • Hand Analyzer - Enter your tiles and find matching patterns
  • Pattern Catalog - Browse all 2025 card patterns organized by category. Use the powerful Search feature to enter melds you have in your hand and discover which patterns you can go for!
PATTERN CATALOG - SEARCH EXAMPLE
Search
DDDD
Find all patterns containing a dragon kong

Results span multiple categories:

2025
2 0 2 5 222 555 DDDD
Winds-Dragons
FF NNNN SSSS DDDD
369
FF 3333 6666 DDDD

2 Understanding Tile Types

American Mahjong uses several types of tiles.

Dots (1-9)
Bams (1-9)
Craks (1-9)
Winds (N E W S)
Dragons (DR DG DW/0)
Flowers (F)
Jokers (J)
Example Tiles
1 Dot 5 Dot 9 Dot 3 Bam 7 Bam 2 Crak 8 Crak North Wind East Wind Red Dragon Green Dragon White Dragon Flower Joker
Colored borders help identify suits: Dots (blue), Bams (green), Craks (red)
The White Dragon (DW) can also be used as "0" (zero) in 2025 year patterns. It displays as "0" in the tile catalog.

3 Adding Tiles to Your Hand

In the Hand Analyzer, you'll see the Tile Catalog at the bottom of the left panel. Click on any tile to add it to your hand.

Your Tiles Section
Concealed Hand
2 Dot 2 Dot 4 Bam 4 Bam 6 Crak
Click tiles in the catalog below to add them. Click a tile in your hand to remove it.
  • Click a tile in the catalog to add it to your hand
  • Click a tile in your hand to remove it
  • Maximum 14 regular tiles including Dragons, Winds, Flowers and Jokers
  • Use the Clear button to remove all tiles

4 Called/Exposed Tiles

When you call a tile (take another player's discard), those tiles become "exposed" and visible to other players. This affects which patterns you can complete.

Called/Exposed Tiles Section
Called/Exposed Tiles (3 tiles)
Red Dragon Red Dragon Red Dragon
These 3 Red Dragons were called from another player's discard

How to mark tiles as called:

  • First, add the tiles normally to your Concealed Hand
  • Then hover over the tile you wish to call and click the down arrow (↓) to move it to Called/Exposed Tiles
  • To move a called tile back to Concealed, hover over it and click the up arrow (↑)
Tile Controls
Concealed Tile
Red Dragon
×
× Remove tile
Move to Called
Called Tile
Red Dragon
×
× Remove tile
Move to Concealed
Hover over any tile in your hand to reveal these controls
Concealed patterns (marked with "C") are only available if you have NO called tiles. Once you call any tile, concealed patterns are hidden from results.
Called tiles must match EXACTLY in the final pattern. If you call a Pung (3 tiles), you can only complete patterns that use exactly 3 of that tile, not 4 (Kong).

5 Using Jokers

Jokers are wild tiles that can substitute for other tiles, but with important restrictions:

Jokers CAN Replace

Tiles in groups of 3 or more (Pungs, Kongs, Quints)

Jokers CANNOT Replace

Singles or Pairs (groups of 1 or 2 tiles)

Joker Example
5 Bam 5 Bam Joker Joker
Two Jokers substitute for two 5-Bams to complete a Kong (group of 4)

Some patterns explicitly prohibit jokers:

No Jokers Pattern
1 Dot 1 Dot
Lavender background indicates tiles where jokers are NOT allowed (singles and pairs)

6 Finding Matching Patterns

After adding your tiles, click the "Find Patterns" button to discover which 2025 card patterns you can complete.

Filter Options
  • Category - Filter results by pattern category (2025, 2468, Quints, etc.)
  • Max tiles away - Only show patterns you can complete within X more tiles

7 Reading Pattern Results

Each matching pattern displays as a card showing all the information you need:

FF 111 2222 33333
Quints #1
40 pts
4 tiles away
FF 1 22 333 1 22 333
Consecutive Run #8
C 30 pts
2 tiles away
Concealed
  • Pattern name - The tile combination needed (color-coded by suit)
  • Points - How many points this pattern is worth
  • Tiles away - How many more tiles you need to complete it
  • "C" or Concealed badge - Must keep all tiles hidden (no calls) for bonus points
  • Description - Additional details about the pattern
Each pattern card tells you which tiles you already have (highlighted) and which tiles you still need (grayed out). Hover over the card to show which tile groups allow jokers vs. which do not.
Example: Matching Tiles

Suppose you have this hand:

Flower Flower 1 Dot 1 Dot 1 Dot 2 Bam 2 Bam 2 Bam 3 Crak 3 Crak 3 Crak
?
?
?

The pattern match card for FF 111 2222 33333 show the breakdown as:

FF 111 2222 33333
Flower Flower 1 Dot 1 Dot 1 Dot 2 Bam 2 Bam 2 Bam 2 Bam 3 Crak 3 Crak 3 Crak 3 Crak 3 Crak
Tiles you have
Tiles you need (3 away)

8 Changing Tile Display Style

You can switch between two tile display styles using the dropdown in the tile catalog:

Simple Style

3 7 5

Colored text - clean and easy to read

Classic Style

3 Dot 7 Bam 5 Crak

Traditional mahjong tile images

Your style preference is saved and will persist across sessions.

9 Browsing the Pattern Catalog

The Pattern Catalog tab lets you browse all 2025 NMJL card patterns organized by category. It features a powerful Search engine that helps you find patterns based on the melds in your hand!

2025

Year-themed patterns

2468

Even number patterns

Any Like Numbers

Same number patterns

Quints

5-of-a-kind patterns

Consecutive Run

Sequential patterns

13579

Odd number patterns

Winds-Dragons

Honor tile patterns

369

Multiples of 3 patterns

Singles and Pairs

No jokers allowed!

Search Example

Here's an example of searching for patterns containing FFF and 3333:

Search
FFF 3333
Consecutive Run 3 patterns found
FFF 3333 4444 5555
25 pts
FFF 1111 2222 3333
25 pts
FFF 2222 3333 4444
25 pts

The search finds all patterns containing your melds, regardless of order!

Try searching for melds you have in your hand to quickly discover which patterns you can aim for.

Toggle Options

Toggle Controls
Show Concealed
Show Suit Variants
  • Show Concealed - When enabled (default), displays concealed-only patterns. Turn this off if you have already called tiles and want to hide patterns you can no longer play.
  • Show Suit Variants - When enabled, expands each pattern to show all possible suit color combinations. For example, a "3 suits" pattern will display separate variants for Bams/Craks/Dots, Bams/Dots/Craks, etc. This helps you see exactly which suit arrangement matches your hand.
Suit Variants Example: 2468 #5

Here's how pattern 2468 #5 looks with the "Show Suit Variants" toggle off vs. on:

Toggle OFF
2468 #5
1 variant
FFF 22 44 666 8888
Any 1 Suit
Toggle ON
2468 #5
3 variants
FFF 22 44 666 8888
FFF 22 44 666 8888
FFF 22 44 666 8888
Any 1 Suit

With variants expanded, you can quickly find the exact suit color that matches your tiles.

! Quick Reference

Tile Groups

  • Single - 1 tile
  • Pair - 2 identical tiles
  • Pung - 3 identical tiles
  • Kong - 4 identical tiles
  • Quint - 5 identical tiles

Joker Rules

  • Can replace tiles in Pungs, Kongs, Quints
  • Cannot replace Singles or Pairs
  • Some patterns prohibit jokers entirely
  • Up to 8 jokers in a standard set

Dragons

  • DR - Red Dragon
  • DG - Green Dragon
  • DW/0 - White Dragon (also "zero")

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • D/B/C then 1-9 - Add suit tile
  • N/E/W/S - Add wind
  • R/G/0 - Add dragon
  • F/J - Add flower/joker
  • Enter - Find patterns
  • Backspace - Remove last tile
  • ? - Show all shortcuts

Ready to Play?

Head over to the Hand Analyzer to start finding your winning patterns!

Go to Hand Analyzer →