Learn the tile set: suits, honors, and bonus tiles
Understand the goal: make a complete winning hand
Know the standard hand structure: four sets and one pair
Learn the set types: chow, pung, and kong
Shuffle the tiles and build the wall
Deal the tiles to each player
Draw and discard on your turn
Try to complete sets by drawing or claiming discarded tiles
Claim a discard only when it helps make a valid set
Keep track of exposed and concealed sets
Win by declaring mah jong with a complete legal hand
Score the hand according to the rules being used
Reset the tiles and start the next round