americanmahjong

American Mahjong Academy Support

Thanks for playing! This page covers how to reach the developer and answers to the most common questions.

Get in touch

I read every message. Whether it’s a bug, a feature request, a rules clarification, or just a hello — please write in. The app also has a Send Feedback button on the Support sheet (main menu → heart icon) that opens a pre-filled email with your app version attached.

When reporting a bug, the most useful things you can include are:

What you were trying to do
What happened instead
macOS / iPadOS / iOS version
App version (visible at the bottom of the main menu)
A screenshot, if it’s a visual issue

Frequently asked questions

Is the app really free?

Yes. American Mahjong Academy is free and contains no ads, no paywalls, and no Pro version. The full game is the only version. The optional tip tiers in the Support menu are entirely voluntary and unlock nothing — the app behaves identically whether you tip or not. See the privacy policy for full details.

Game Center sign-in is optional. To use it:

Open System Settings → Game Center.
Sign in with your Apple ID.
Open American Mahjong Academy. You should see “Signed in to Game Center” on the main menu.
Click Game Center — Quick Match to find opponents.

If sign-in fails, the most common cause is that Game Center is restricted for your Apple ID. Check System Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Game Center.

My online match isn’t finding opponents

Game Center turn-based matchmaking can take a few minutes during off-peak hours. The app supports 2-4 player matches. If you’ve been waiting more than 5 minutes, try End Match and start a new one — Apple’s matchmaker sometimes works better with a fresh request.

Local Network play isn’t finding anyone on my Wi-Fi

A few things to check:

Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network (not on different networks at the same address, and not on the guest network on one and the main network on the other).
Both devices must have granted local network permission to American Mahjong Academy the first time the app asked. To re-grant: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, find American Mahjong Academy, and enable it.
Some routers block multicast (Bonjour) traffic. If you’re on a corporate or hotel network, this is often the cause. A home network usually works fine.

What card does the app use?

The app ships an original Academy Card with the standard categories (2026, Like Numbers, Quints, Consecutive Run, 13579, Winds & Dragons, 369, Singles and Pairs). It is a practice card written for the app — it is not the National Mah Jongg League card, which is copyrighted and changes every year. Open Learn → Card Reference (or the in-game menu) to see every hand.

How does the Charleston work in the app?

Tap three tiles on your rack and press Pass. On the last pass of each Charleston you can choose a blind count (0–3) to pass tiles from the incoming pass unseen. After the first Charleston everyone votes on a second; it only happens if all four agree. Finally you offer 0–3 tiles for the courtesy pass with the player across. Turn the Charleston off on the main menu for quick games.

How do I exchange a joker?

On your turn, after drawing, a purple Swap … for Joker button appears whenever an exposure on the table contains a joker standing in for a tile you hold. Tap it, then discard as usual.

Why did the app say my hand is dead?

Every tile you still needed for every hand on the card is already out in the discards or exposures (and no joker could fill the gap), so the hand can’t be completed. At a live table an opponent would call it dead; the app does it automatically. You sit out the rest of the hand and still pay if someone goes out. You can turn this rule off on the main menu.

What is the Hand Helper?

The strip above your rack lists the card hands closest to your tiles, with the tiles you still need faded out. Hover a tile to see what discarding it would do. Toggle it with the Helper button or from the in-game menu.

The AI is too easy / too hard

You can pick a difficulty when starting a Solo game:

Easy — chases few hands, exposes eagerly
Normal — weighs several candidate hands, solid Charleston choices
Hard — tracks dead tiles, protects concealed hands
Expert — tightest evaluation and exposure discipline

Feedback on AI behaviour is genuinely useful — please write in if you find a level that feels wrong.

How do I see the card during a game?

On the table, click the menu icon (≡) in the top-right corner and choose Card Reference. The same page is on the main menu under Learn.

I tipped but the app still says “Thanks!” — did it work?

If the button shows a green checkmark with “Thanks!”, the purchase completed successfully. You’ll receive an emailed receipt from Apple within a few hours. Tips are processed entirely by Apple’s App Store; the app never sees your billing information.

If you accidentally tipped and would like a refund, you can request one through Apple at https://reportaproblem.apple.com.

How do I export or transfer my game?

There’s currently no save export. Your in-progress game lives in the app’s local container on your device. If you upgrade to a new device, the easiest path is to finish the current match before migrating.

What does the iPhone version look like?

On iPhone the app runs in landscape with a compact table: your opponents’ racks and exposures across the top, a shared discard pool in the middle, and your rack below. Everything else — the Charleston, the helper, the card — works the same as on Mac and iPad.

System requirements

macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, or iPadOS / iOS 16 or later
Game Center sign-in (optional, for online play only)
Local network permission (optional, for LAN play only)
Internet connection (only for Game Center matches)

Privacy

See the privacy policy. Short version: the app collects no data, runs no analytics, has no trackers, and ships no ads.

Acknowledgements

The tile artwork is from the FluffyStuff/riichi-mahjong-tiles project under CC0 1.0 Universal. The bundled Academy Card is original work written for this app; it is not the National Mah Jongg League card.