Mahjong was published by Nintendo, released in 1983.

What kind of game is Mahjong?

Mahjong is a puzzle game for the NES / Famicom.

Can two people play Mahjong?

No. Mahjong is a single-player game, so it has no two-player mode.

How much data does Mahjong load?

The Mahjong ROM is 16 kB. It is fetched once when you press play and then cached by your browser, so returning to the game does not download it again.

Which emulators can run Mahjong?

Mahjong runs on NES / Famicom and Nestopia UE (Accurate). You can switch between them from the emulator list further down this page if one performs better on your device.

Mahjong Game (1983) - NES

Name: Mahjong
Availability: InStock
Author: Nintendo

Action / Button	Keyboard Key
D-Pad (Up / Down / Left / Right)	`Arrow Keys`
Button A	`Z` or `J`
Button B	`X` or `K`
Button X / Turbo A	`A` or `U`
Button Y / Turbo B	`S` or `I`
Select	`Shift`
Start	`Enter`

Gamepad Input	Retro Function	Keyboard Key
D-Pad / Analog	Character Movement / Steering	`▲` `▼` `◄` `►`
Button A (East)	Primary Action / Attack / Fire	`Z` / `K`
Button B (South)	Secondary / Jump / Cancel	`X` / `J`
Button X / Y	Special / Turbo / Extra Fire	`A` / `S`
Select	Insert Coin / Select Option	`Right Shift`
Start	Game Start / Pause Game	`Enter`

Gamepad Input

Retro Function

Keyboard Key

D-Pad / Analog

Character Movement / Steering

▲ ▼ ◄ ►

Button A (East)

Primary Action / Attack / Fire

Z / K

Button B (South)

Secondary / Jump / Cancel

X / J

Button X / Y

Special / Turbo / Extra Fire

A / S

Select

Insert Coin / Select Option

Right Shift

Start

Game Start / Pause Game

Enter

Emulator Core Engine	Technology	Multiplayer	Gamepad	Touch	Ads	Action / Switch
EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)	`WebAssembly / JS`	YES	YES	YES	NO	▶ ACTIVE
NES / Famicom (Recommended)	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡
Nestopia UE (Accurate)	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡

Emulator Core Engine

Technology

Multiplayer

Gamepad

Touch

Ads

Action / Switch

EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)

WebAssembly / JS

YES

▶ ACTIVE

NES / Famicom (Recommended)

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Nestopia UE (Accurate)

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Mahjong is a 1983 digital adaptation of standard Japanese Riichi Mahjong developed and published by Nintendo for the NES. Designed as one of the platform’s early puzzle titles, it pits players against computer AI opponents in strategic tile-matching rounds governed by traditional hand rankings.

How to Play

Form a complete winning hand by drawing and discarding tiles to assemble valid melds (triplets or sequences) and a matching pair. Use the cursor to navigate your tile hand during each turn:

Select / Discard Tile: Press A (keyboard X).
Cancel / Action Menu: Press B (keyboard Z).
Move Cursor: Use the D-Pad (arrow keys).
Start / Pause: Press START (keyboard Enter).
Select Mode: Press SELECT (keyboard Shift).

Tips

Watch the discard pool: Track tiles discarded by opponents to determine which tiles remain safe in your hand and which are still hidden in the wall.
Aim for early melds: Prioritize completing simple suits early to build flexibility for winning call declarations like Pon or Chi.