MAHJONG TILES
SUITS
There are 3 suits:
- Dot
- Crak
- Bam
Each suit contains 4 of each number (1-9).
MAHJONG TILES
DRAGONS
Each suit has a matching Dragon. There are 4 of each Dragon.
- White Dragon (Soap) goes with DOT and is zero in hands that make the year
- Red Dragon goes with CRAK
- Green Dragon goes with BAM
MAHJONG TILES
Neutral Tiles
- WINDS: There are 4 of each Wind; they may be used with any suit.
- FLOWERS :There are 8 Flowers; they can be used with any suit.
MAHJONG TILES
Wild Tiles (Jokers)
Play with 8 Jokers.
- Jokers may be any tile
- Jokers may be used in sets of three or more of matching tiles
- Jokers may never be used as a single or in a pair
- Multiple jokers may be used in a grouping
The NMJL Card
Reading the card
COLOR REPRESENTS ANY ONE SUIT:
- ALL BLUE = One Suit
- RED & GREEN = Two Suits
- BLUE, RED, & GREEN = Three Suits
- FLOWERS & WINDS are BLUE and go with any suit
CARD CATEGORIES
- NMJL releases a new card each April
- Categories and lines will vary each year
- Always read the parentheses after each line (it tells what’s needed for that specific line)
TERMS
Single
1 TILE
(no jokers can be used)
Pair
2 IDENTICAL TILES
(no jokers can be used)
Pung
3 IDENTICAL TILES
(up to 3 jokers can be used)
Kong
4 IDENTICAL TILES
(up to 4 jokers can be used)
QUINT
5 IDENTICAL TILES
(requires a joker except with flowers)
setting up & the deal
SETTING UP
- Flip the tiles face down and mix them with your table mates
- Each player builds a wall by stacking 19 tiles across, 2 high
THE DEAL
- Roll dice to determine the location of wall break
- Count tiles from the right, then push out left side of wall
- Take 4 tiles each starting with the dealer; continue clockwise until everyone has 12
- Dealer takes the 1st and 3rd tile on top; all others take one tile
- Dealer starts with 14 tiles; all others start with 13
<<<
Walls go Left
>>>
Dealing & play goes right
Pass tiles you don't think you'll need
DO
Pass Jokers or pass a pair (or more)
DON'T
Getting Started/ The CHARLESTON
- ROL is mandatory
- If no one stops the Charleston after ROL, continue with LOR
- Game begins with dealer discarding a tile face-up and announcing the tile
- Play continues to the right
ORGANIZING YOUR TILES
- Jokers, Flowers, Suits with Dragons, Winds (in NEWS order), discards
- Identify multiples (pairs, pungs, kongs)
- Find other tiles to go with multiples
- No multiples? Look for other patterns such as consecutive runs, evens, odds, like numbers, winds, and dragons
COURTESY PASS
- Optional pass when the Charleston ends
- Trade 0, 1, 2, or 3 tiles with the player across from you
- Player must pass the same number of tiles
- Players both pass the lowest number offered
BLIND PASS
- Only available on first left or final right
- Use if player does not have 3 tiles they want to pass
- Pass 1, 2, or 3 tiles, without looking at them, to the next person
- If passing 1 or 2 tiles “blindly,” make up the difference from player’s hand
EXPOSING TILES
- The player takes the tile they called, places it on top of their rack “exposed,” and completes the entire grouping of 3 or more identitcal tiles. Finally, the player discards. Play continues to the right.
- Once a group of 3 or more tiles is exposed, that grouping stays the same for the entire game. Player may not add or take away from the grouping.
CALLING TILES
- If any player wants the discarded tile, even if it’s not their turn, they say “call” or “want.”
- The most recent discard is the only tile up for “calling.” The previous discards become dead.
- Any player may “call” the most recently discarded tile. They can only call it if it completes a group of 3 or more identitcal tiles.
- Player may not call for a single or pair unless it is to win.
WHAT CAN I DO?
WINNING AT MAHJONG
The object of the game is to be the first player to build a hand with 14 tiles that matches one of the lines on the current National Mah Jongg League card. The winning player player can then declare:
MAHJONG!
