Game Academy
Log in

Master Mahjong — any style, any level, at your pace

An AI coach builds your personalized curriculum from tile-one basics to competitive tournament strategy — in Riichi, MCR, Hong Kong, or American Mahjong, whichever style calls to you.

28 lessonsAI-adaptiveCancel anytimeLearn anywhere
Game Academy: Mahjong School

"I don't just want you to know the rules — I want you to understand every decision so deeply that you could explain it to anyone at the table."

Leigh Baumann

What you'll learn

What you'll be able to do

  • Recognize and name every tile suit, honor tile, and special tile across major Mahjong styles
  • Build legal winning hands and calculate scores in your chosen regional version (Riichi, MCR, Hong Kong, or American)
  • Apply defensive strategy — read opponent discards, avoid dangerous tiles, and decide when to push or fold
  • Make confident in-game decisions — discard selection, hand direction changes, and attack vs. defense — and explain the reasoning behind each
  • Understand the cultural history and etiquette traditions that make each regional style unique
  • Progress from complete beginner to your target skill level, tracked through XP, badges, and mastery certificates

How it works

A school that adapts to you

This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.

We learn your level

A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.

Lessons adapt as you go

Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.

Your AI coach keeps you moving

Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.

The curriculum

What's inside your school

6 modules · 28 lessons

1

AI Assessment & Your Personalized Learning Path

An interactive diagnostic that profiles each student's age, experience, and goals to build a fully customized Mahjong curriculum.

  • 1.1Welcome to Game Academy Mahjong SchoolIncluded
  • 1.2Your Learning Profile AssessmentIncluded
  • 1.3Reading Your Results & Choosing Your PathIncluded
  • 1.4How Your AI Coach WorksIncluded
2

Mahjong Foundations

Builds the universal knowledge every Mahjong player needs — tiles, structure, turn flow, and core strategy — before any regional rules are introduced.

  • 2.1History, Culture & the Mahjong FamilyIncluded
  • 2.2Tile Recognition: Suits, Honors & Special TilesIncluded
  • 2.3Sets, Sequences & PairsIncluded
  • 2.4Drawing, Discarding & Turn FlowIncluded
  • 2.5Winning Hands, Basic Probability & Table EtiquetteIncluded
3

Your Regional Path — Rules & Hand Construction

Delivers the specific rules, tile sets, hand types, and scoring systems for each student's chosen regional version: Riichi, MCR, Hong Kong, or American.

  • 3.1Riichi Mahjong: Core Rules, Dora & the Riichi DeclarationIncluded
  • 3.2Chinese Mahjong: MCR, Sichuan, Taiwanese & Regional VariationsIncluded
  • 3.3Hong Kong Mahjong: Traditional Rules & ScoringIncluded
  • 3.4American Mahjong: Charleston, Jokers & the Annual CardIncluded
  • 3.5Building & Scoring Legal Hands in Your Chosen StyleIncluded
4

Decision-Making & In-Game Strategy

Trains students to make confident, reasoned in-game decisions — discard selection, hand direction, attack vs. defense — through interactive AI coaching scenarios.

  • 4.1Discard Selection: Which Tile Should You Throw?Included
  • 4.2Hand Direction: Staying the Course vs. PivotingIncluded
  • 4.3Reading Opponent DiscardsIncluded
  • 4.4Attack vs. Defense: When to Push and When to FoldIncluded
  • 4.5Valuing Hands: Which Path Has the Highest Expected Score?Included
5

Advanced Strategy & Defensive Mastery

Elevates experienced students to high-level strategic thinking, including tile efficiency theory, multi-round reads, and regional tournament concepts.

  • 5.1Tile Efficiency FundamentalsIncluded
  • 5.2Advanced Opponent Reading & Table DynamicsIncluded
  • 5.3Defensive Strategy: Safe Tiles, Suji & WallsIncluded
  • 5.4Score Management & Strategic PrioritizationIncluded
  • 5.5Tournament Play & Competitive PreparationIncluded
6

Progress, Mastery & What Comes Next

Consolidates everything students have learned, awards earned credentials, and charts a clear path for continued growth.

  • 6.1Your XP, Badges & Mastery Certificate ExplainedIncluded
  • 6.2Reviewing Your Weak Spots with the AI CoachIncluded
  • 6.3Playing Beyond the Classroom: Clubs, Apps & CommunitiesIncluded
  • 6.4Setting Your Next Skill GoalIncluded

Who it's for

Is this you?

The Complete Beginner

Never touched a Mahjong tile — needs a clear, patient start that explains every rule and why it exists before anything else.

The Family Table Organizer

Wants to bring Mahjong to family game nights and needs a version the whole household — kids and adults alike — can learn and enjoy together.

The Riichi Enthusiast

Drawn to Japanese Mahjong through anime or online play and ready to master Dora, Riichi declarations, and the precise strategy that makes the style tick.

The American Mahjong Club Member

Already plays socially but wants to fully understand the Annual Card, joker strategy, and the scoring logic behind every hand she builds.

The Competitive Adult Player

Has solid fundamentals and wants to level up into tile efficiency, advanced opponent reading, safe-tile defense, and real tournament preparation.

The Cultural Reconnector

Grew up watching relatives play Hong Kong or Chinese Mahjong and wants to learn the style properly — rules, scoring, history, and table etiquette included.

Questions

Frequently asked

Your teacher

A note from your teacher

Leigh Baumann

Leigh Baumann

If you've ever sat down at a Mahjong table and felt a little lost — or watched experienced players move with a quiet confidence you couldn't quite decode — I want you to know: that feeling is completely normal, and it has nothing to do with how smart or strategic you are. Mahjong just has a learning curve that most people never get proper help navigating. That's the problem Game Academy Mahjong School was built to solve.

Here's what I've seen over and over again: people learn Mahjong in fragments. A family member teaches them one regional version, they pick up a few rules online, they get corrected at the table mid-game, and somehow they're supposed to piece it all together. It works — eventually — but it's slow, it's frustrating, and it leaves real gaps. Players who learned that way often find themselves making decisions on instinct when they could be making them on understanding. There's a big difference between knowing the rules and knowing the why behind every move.

This school is built around that difference. We don't just tell you what to do — we explain the reasoning every single time. Why do you throw that tile and not the one next to it? Why does pivoting your hand direction sometimes cost you more than staying the course? When is the defensive play actually the aggressive one? Those are the questions that make you a genuinely confident player, and they're woven into every section of this curriculum — from the very first lesson on tile recognition all the way through tournament preparation.

I also want to be honest about something: Mahjong is not one game. Riichi, MCR, Hong Kong, and American Mahjong share a family resemblance, but they have meaningfully different rules, strategies, and cultures. This school respects those differences. You'll choose the style that's right for you, go deep on it, and also come away with an appreciation for the rich history and etiquette traditions that give each version its character. That context matters — it changes how you sit at a table, how you treat other players, and how much you enjoy the game.

Whether you're eight years old playing your first tile, a family looking for a game you can all grow into together, a club player who wants to finally stop guessing, or a competitive adult aiming for tournament play — there is a path in this school that was built for you. The AI coach makes sure of it. I'm glad you're here. Let's play.

Leigh Baumann

Start your journey today

Get instant access — learn at your own pace with an AI coach in your corner.

$19/mo

Recurring billing · cancel anytime

Secure checkout · Instant access

  • 6 modules, 28 lessons
  • AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
  • Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
  • Your own AI learning coach
  • Learn on any device, at your pace
  • Full access for as long as you're subscribed