FAQ #19: Commonly Misunderstood American MJ Rules

Q: Can I change my mind after my discard is down?
A: No. When a tile is "down," it is too late for the discarder to take it back. If you've said its name, you must put it on the tabletop and take your hand off it.
Q: Darn! I shouldn't have thrown it away! Well, can I call it back and make a meld or win with it?
A: No. "Down is dead." Well... The tile is dead to you, anyway - as long as it's not a joker, any other player except its discarder can call it. Nobody can ever take back a tile she just discarded, in any way, shape, or form. You can't make up rules to undo a blunder you've made. See FAQ 9 for the Tom Sloper philosophy of how errors should be handled.

For further reading:

Q: When is it too late to claim a discard?
A: The "window of opportunity" (during which a player may claim a discard) opens when a tile is "down" and closes when next player either racks, discards, or declares mah-jongg. If you're wondering, "does that mean I have to put my picked tile back on the wall," click here to read answer #AT. For a detailed discussion on the very important "window of opportunity" rule, click here or scroll down past the last numbered answer.

For further reading:

Q: Can I claim any discard?
A: Only the most recently thrown discard is available for play (and only while the window of opportunity is open) - all previous discards are "covered" (dead) when a new one goes down.

For further reading:

Q: Can I kong a 200x or a NEWS?
Q: Jokers are wild, so they can be used for ANYthing, right?
A1: A discard may only be taken to make a PUNG, KONG, QUINT, or SEXTET - or, of course, to make mah-jongg. A discard may never be taken to expose a pair, or a grouping consisting of singles and/or pairs.
A2: As it says on the back of the NMJL card, the only groupings in which jokers may be used are: PUNGS, KONGS, QUINTS, and SEXTETS. Let's define those terms just to make sure this point is perfectly clear:

A pung is "three identical tiles."
A kong is "four identical tiles."
A quint is "five identical tiles."
A sextet is "six identical tiles."

A "NEWS" is, therefore, not a kong (it's four singles). And a "200x" is likewise not a kong (it's two singles and a pair).
As it says on the back of the NMJL card, jokers can never (you know what "never" means) be used in a pair or to fill in for a single tile in a hand that uses singles.
You may not use a joker in a "NEWS" or a "200x." You may not claim any discarded tile to expose a "NEWS" or a "200x" prior to going mah-jongg.

The sets with red X's through them may not be exposed prior to going mah-jongg, and may never include jokers.

For further reading:
RDWW - p. 52 (rule 58b), p. 57 (rule 81), p. 87
NMJL - p. 14 (sort of)

Can I say mah-jongg on a discard if I'm waiting for a single or to complete a pair?
A: Yes. If you are waiting for mah-jongg (you just need one tile), then - no matter how the tile is used in the hand (for a single, a pair, to complete a NEWS or a 200x, NO MATTER WHAT - as long as it is not a joker), you can say "mah-jongg" if anybody discards it.

For further reading:

Q: Can I use a joker in an S&P hand?
A: There are NO exposable groupings in the Singles & Pairs section of the card, and since, as it says on the back of the NMJL card, jokers cannot be used in a pair or to represent a single, it's impossible to use jokers in the hands in this section of the card. Any groupings you see on the card that are made of non-identical tiles are only grouped closely together because space is limited on the card.

For further reading:

Q: (1) Can I claim a discarded joker? (2) Can I claim a redeemable tile? (3) Can I claim "same" tile when a joker is discarded?

A1: Once a joker is discarded, it is DEAD. "Down is dead." Nobody can claim it and use it. Period. End of story.

For further reading:

A2: Once a redeemable tile has been discarded, it can only be taken to complete a set or a hand - nobody can claim it solely to redeem it for a joker and then use the joker any old way.

For further reading:

When a joker or a redeemable tile has been discarded, the usual response is to tear out your hair and scream to the heavens, "Oh! I wanted that!" Because the players who've witnessed someone discarding a joker (or a redeemable tile) have zero other options. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

A3: When discarding a joker, many people say "same." It used to be permitted to claim the "same" (the named tile, not the joker itself), but that rule was abolished long ago. NOW, when somebody discards a joker and says "same," there is NO claimable discard - ALL the discards on the table are dead: the joker itself, and the previous ("same") tile included.

For further reading:
RDWW - p. 59 (rule 89c), p. 92
NMJL - 2005

Q: Who gets a discard if two want it for the same thing?
A: When two players claim a discard for exposure, the player whose turn would be next in order of play (counterclockwise from discarder) gets the tile. Likewise when two players claim a discard for mah-jongg.

For further reading:
RDWW - p. 53 (rule 63), pp. 96-97
NMJL - p. 19

Q: So you're saying I can take my time?
A: No. There is such a thing as "too late." If a player has claimed the discard and exposed, it's too late for another player to speak her own claim for the tile.

For further reading:

Q: What if the player who took the tile for mah-jongg turns out to have been in error, and now she's dead? Does the other claimant get to take the tile now?
A: It depends. If both players wanted the tile for mah-jongg, then yes. The second claimant takes the tile to win. But if the second claimant wanted the tile for exposure, no. She may not have it; it stays in the dead hand.

For further reading:

Q: Who gets a discard if one wants it for mah-jongg?
A: When one player claims a discard for exposure, and another claims it for mah-jongg, the player who needs it for mah-jongg takes priority.

For further reading:

For further reading:

Q: What does "any suit" mean when there are two colors?
A: Here is the Tom Sloper philosophy of how to interpret the card:

But the color-coding on the card cannot say it all in every case. So when the color-coding isn't sufficient to explain the requirements of a particular hand, the card designer writes a parenthetical to give more information. Sometimes some folks might think that there is a conflict between the parenthetical and the color-coding (that the color-coding conflicts with what it says in the parentheses). In such cases, you have to consider the parenthetical as being the final word.

A typical example is when a quint hand is shown with a quint of a numbered suit tile, and a quint or kong of dragons in a different color - and the parenthetical says "any tile of any suit, plus any dragon." *

"Any suit" means just that: "ANY SUIT." When you see this wording using three "anys" and you also see two different colors, your two tile groupings could be of the same suit.

There are only two possible ways to look at it, when the color-coding and the parenthetical don't match: either the English language is trumped (thrown out the window) by the color-coding, or the word "any" means just that: "any." Isn't it more logical to assume that the English language is not invalidated by color-coding?

The word "any" is clear. You KNOW what the word "any" means. Do not let the color-coding on the card "color" your thinking! For more on how to read the card, see answer AJ and answer AK. If you'd like to refresh your memory as to the meaning of the word "any," you can use any dictionary.

For further reading:

Q: Why am I dead if I put the discard in my hand?
A: When claiming a discarded tile, you must not put the tile into your hand - you must put it atop your rack. It's possible to cheat if you put a taken tile into the hand. (Note: Not all tournament organizers (or players) impose a death penalty for this.)

For further reading:

Q: Do I have to have a natural* tile to expose?
A: When claiming a discarded tile to make an exposure, the exposure can contain multiple jokers (in fact, you do not have to have any "natural"* tiles in the hand in order to make an exposure). For example, if you have two jokers and someone discards a tile, you may claim it and expose a pung with the discard and your two jokers. When you go maj, it is perfectly OK to have a pung, kong, quint, or sextet that is nothing but jokers (containing no natural tiles at all).
* A "natural" tile is a non-joker tile.

For further reading:

Q: When can I redeem a joker? Can I redeem a joker before I take a discard? Can I redeem a joker after I take a discard for exposure? Can I redeem a joker atop my own rack?
A: When it is your turn, you must first bring a 14th tile into the hand. There are two ways to bring a 14th tile into the hand - by picking from the wall OR by taking a discard for exposure. THEN, after picking (or after taking and exposing a COMPLETE exposure), you may redeem jokers from atop anyone's rack (including your own).

To clarify: If you want to call for exposure, and then (on the same turn) redeem a joker, and then use that newly acquired joker to completely fill the exposure you just made in that same turn, NO. You are out of luck.
- FIRST you have to make the exposure (the complete exposure).
- THEN (and ONLY then) can you redeem jokers.
Parallel example: You can't go to the store and say "I'll buy this with the $13.45 in my purse, then I'll go to the bank and come back right away and pay you the remaining $27.89." You have to have ALL the cash on hand when you buy something. Same thing with making an exposure. You have to have the necessary other tiles to complete the exposure, BEFORE you may claim a discard to make the exposure.
There's no such thing as a "future joker."
So: Since you cannot take the discard, you can do the next best thing - you can sigh or moan or kvetch or shoot daggers with your eyes at the person who discarded that tile you badly desire but cannot have. That's pretty much all you're able to do at that point. But hey, kvetching is part of the fun of mah-jongg, right? (^_^)

For further reading:
RDWW - p. 58 (rules 86a & c), p. 91
NMJL - p. 19, 2006

Q: Can I redeem more than one joker in a turn?
A: Yes. You are permitted to redeem multiple jokers (from multiple racks) during your turn (after taking a 14th tile into the hand, either by picking or calling - and before discarding). You can redeem as many as 8 jokers (since there are no more than 8 jokers in the mah-jongg set) in one turn! It's legal! Unlikely, perhaps, but permissible.

For further reading:

Q: Do I have to expose when I redeem a joker? If I'm playing a hand that must be concealed, am I prohibited from redeeming a joker?
A: No. Redeeming a joker is not the same as claiming a discard - you are not required to make an exposure when redeeming a joker. So of course you can redeem a joker if your hand is marked "C" (concealed) on the card. (By the way, have you also read answer AR below?)

For further reading:

Q: Can I redeem a joker from a dead player's rack?
A: When a dead player has jokers exposed on her rack, some of her jokers might be redeemable, and some might not, depending on whether the joker was exposed properly or not.

The General Rule on Joker Validity

Jokers which were exposed properly are valid for redemption. If you make a kong, nobody has enough information about which hand you're making, so you can't be declared dead on the basis of that exposure alone. Any jokers in that kong are live, and stay alive even if you are declared dead later.
Jokers which were exposed improperly are not available for redemption. Let's say that your first exposure was a kong of fours (with a joker) and your second exposure was a kong of dragons (with a joker). Let's say that the card does not have a hand that allows kongs of fours and dragons (let's imagine that the hand is clearly not anywhere on the card) *. Anybody could now declare you dead, based on your improper second exposure. Any jokers that had been exposed PRIOR to the blunder (the jokers in the first exposure) are still valid for redemption, but any jokers exposed in the course of making the blunder (the jokers in the second exposure) are dead. All portions of the hand exposed erroneously are to be returned to the sloping front of the rack, including and especially the now-dead jokers.
It sometimes occurs that an error (for instance, too many or too few tiles in the hand) is not discovered until some time later (so that the exact timing of the error and any joker exposures is not known or cannot be determined). When this happens, jokers exposed prior to the discovery/announcement of the error remain alive for redemption purposes, and jokers exposed concurrent with the announcement of a problem are dead and should be returned to the rack.

The Specifics, In Case the General Rule Isn't Clear Enough

In addition to proper/improper exposure, joker validity can also depend on the player's cause of death. (Causes for death are detailed in AA, below.)

No Such Hand - It usually takes multiple exposures before players can discern that the player is playing an erroneous hand. After making a first exposure, the hand's rescue is still within the realm of possibility. In such cases, any jokers exposed prior to the discovery of the error are alive for redemption. When subsequent exposures reveal that the hand is not valid, any jokers in those subsequent exposures are dead - and those subsequent exposures should be returned to the rack.
Occasionally a hand's non-validity can be determined upon the first exposure. For instance, if the player's first exposure is a quint of dragons and if the current card does not have any hand with a dragon quint. In such an instance, all the exposed tiles are returned to the rack (including jokers).
Exposed Concealed Hand - Upon death declaration due to exposing a hand that was supposed to be concealed, all tiles (including jokers) are returned to the rack. See rule 3(b), page 16, of the official rulebook.
Unwinnable - Jokers exposed prior to the death declaration remain alive for redemption. If jokers are exposed concurrently with the discovery of the hand's unwinnability, those jokers are dead and should be returned to the rack (together with other tiles which were in the act of being exposed at that time).
Too Many/Few Tiles - Jokers exposed prior to the discovery and announcement of the error remain alive for redemption, if it cannot be determined when the error occurred. Jokers exposed concurrently with the discovery and announcement of the error are not redeemable, and should be returned to the rack (together with other tiles which were in the act of being exposed at that time).
Rule Violation - Jokers exposed prior to the death challenge for a rule violation remain alive for redemption.

Q: Counterclockwise, clockwise? I'm so confused!
A: Beginners are often confused by the sequence of picking tiles from the wall, and also selecting tiles in turn. Look at this picture.

There are two directions happening simultaneously - counterclockwise (the players taking tiles in turn) and clockwise (the tiles disappearing from the wall). During the course of play, players always take turns counterclockwise (even during the deal) - and tiles are always removed clockwise from the wall (even during the deal).

For further reading:

Q: My group picks ahead, and a question came up...
A: I cannot answer any questions that arise from the use of illegal rules like "picking ahead" or "playing with a future." You are using an unofficial table rule, and you have to figure out the answers to questions arising from your table rule. Read FAQ 14.

For further reading:

Q: I played long ago. We used to play futures all the time back then. When were futures outlawed?
A: "Picking Ahead" (aka "Playing With A Future") has been against the official NMJL rules since 1956. As far back as 1947, the yearly card said "No looking ahead." I assume that means that before 1956 players picked the tile before the previous player discarded, but were not supposed to look at it. And that from 1956 on, picking the tile before your turn has been, and still is, against the official rules. If you pick ahead in a tournament, you'll be declared "dead."

Q: Two historical questions about jokers...

Q1: When were jokers introduced? Was it always eight jokers?
A1: Before 1961, there were no jokers. Flowers were wild, and the number of flowers fluctuated between 8 and 24. Joker tiles were introduced into the American game in 1961. The number of flowers and jokers fluctuated for several years, finally stabilizing at 8F/8J ten years later, in the 1971-72 card. See answer AI below, and my March 25, 2007 column (#311) for more on this.

For further reading:

Q2: I played long ago, and we could use jokers for anything. When exactly were jokers outlawed in pairs?
A2: As far as I can tell by checking the old NMJL cards in my collection, the rule that jokers could not be used for singles or pairs may have been introduced in 1984. But if you want to know for sure when that rule was introduced, you could ask the League.

Q: Why are so many players of American mah-jongg Jewish?
A: I don't have any hard facts on this, but I can make some educated guesses. From what I've been able to learn, some (but not all) of the founders of the NMJL were Jewish. Many of the women who joined the League and stayed with it and supported it were mainly Jewish women (or perhaps the Jewish acceptance of the game grew) throughout World War II. The League contributes a portion of its earnings to numerous charities (including Jewish charities).

As far as I know, the Jewish-mahjongg connection (the prevalence of Jewish players) is primarily an American phenomenon. Sure, there are Jewish mah-jongg players outside the U.S., but in my opinion the sizeable Jewish demographic among mah-jongg players is something one sees only in the U.S., where American-style mah-jongg seems to be the dominant variant. In other countries, where other forms of mah-jongg are played, the demographics are a bit more diverse.

In the 1920s the game became a fad in general. Eddie Cantor sang a hit song about mah-jongg ("Since Ma Is Playing Mah Jong") at that time. He was Jewish, if I recall correctly. So perhaps the Jewish connection began as early as the 1920s. But the modern American style of mah-jongg (regulated by a central organization who issues a yearly card) did not yet exist in the 1920s. It seems likely that the Jewish connection really took hold with the popularity of the NMJL in the late 1930s and into WWII.

For further reading:

Q: Why are so many players of American mah-jongg female?
A: The majority of American players are female because the American game was designed by women, to be enjoyed by women. American mah-jongg is completely different from all other forms of mah-jongg because of changes that female players made in the game during the 1930s (and made official when the National Mah Jongg League was formed in 1937). The female players threw out "chows," restricted the hands to groups of similar tiles as listed on a card, changed the use of the flowers, and the NMJL issued a new card every year.

For further reading:

Q: Why are so few players under 30?
A: It used to be that daughters picked up the game from their mothers, but there was a gap during the 1960s. Daughters decided then that they'd rather burn their bras than play a game their mothers and grandmothers played. After those daughters grew up, had kids, and their kids left the "nest," then they needed something to do. So we're seeing a resurgence of the game among baby boomers. The majority of players of the American game do seem to be over 40, but a lot of thirtysomethings are picking up the game too. I guess the twentysomethings have lots of other things to do with their spare time, and don't see a good reason to socialize with the older generations.

For further reading:

Q: 1. How does payment work? 2. What is "pie"? 3. How do we use these plastic "coin" things? 4. How does "betting" work?
A: 1. Most American players play for coins. The hand values given on the NMJL card range from 25 to 50. That equates to 25¢ and 50¢. The score is double for the discarder (non-discarders pay single value). The score is doubled again if the hand has no jokers (not including the hands in the singles and pairs section of the card). Complete scoring information is on the back of the card.

For the novices, here is an example: Alice discards red. Betty says "maj." Betty shows her tiles, and it's a hand comprised of pungs, kongs, and/or quints, with or without pairs (it is not a hand from the singles and pairs section of the card), and it doesn't have any jokers. Betty announces her score. "It's a 25-point hand, and it's jokerless. So it's 50 cents, but Alice owes me a dollar since she threw it." Charlene and Delores both pay 50¢, and Alice pays $1.00. If Esther bet on Betty, everybody (except Betty, of course) also pays Esther (exactly the same amount they each paid Betty) - for more on betting, see #4 below.

A lot of people ask if it's really true that 25 cents, doubled twice, really equals a whole dollar. At first blush it would seem that these people can't do math. But I do not believe that that many people truly are that math-challenged. So there must be some other reason for the frequency of this question. I think it's connected to the same reason why many stores show their prices as being a penny under a dollar, so they don't have to cross a "dollar boundary." American mah-jongg players don't mind playing for cents, but as soon as we start talking about dollars, then we enter a whole different dimension. The upshot?... Yes, of course a quarter doubled twice is a whole dollar. It's not difficult math. You didn't think mah-jongg was a gambling game? Well, guess what: it is! Get used to it. Be grateful you don't live in Asia, where they gamble for much higher stakes... okay?

For further reading:

2. A "pie" is a table rule that limits the amount that a player can lose during an evening's play. Players here in Los Angeles mostly play with a $5 pie - which means that each player brings a coin purse with exactly $5 in coins. When the player's coins are all gone, she continues to play - at no additional risk. When she wins, people pay her, then when she loses again, she pays again. But when playing with a pie, nobody ever loses more money than she brought in her coin purse. Read FAQ 14 for more about table rules.

The pie amount is whatever the group agrees to. I've heard of people playing with a $3 pie, I've heard that rich east coast ladies play with a $10 pie, some people refuse to play for any money at all, and some players play without a pie (sky's the limit).

As for the etymology of the term, have you ever seen a pie chart? That's a circular representation of something that can be broken down into percentages. So in American mah-jongg, the term means "I have this much pie to go aROUND, and when it's gone, nobody eats any more pie."

For further reading:

3. The colorful plastic coins that come with many mah-jongg sets are chips - exactly as is done with casino chips or poker chips, they are used in lieu of money for scorekeeping. If you are playing somewhere where it wouldn't be kosher to let people see you paying each other with money after each hand (gambling is frowned upon in many places, you know), you can use the chips instead. Then if you want to play for money, settle up at the end of the entire play session. For details about how to use chips, see FAQ 7d.

For further reading:

4. Betting is an optional way to enjoy a five-player game in which one player rotates out each hand. The fifth player looks at each player's hand after the Charleston is complete and makes a note of the name of the player whom she thinks will win the hand (or if she thinks it will be a wall game). If she bet correctly, the losing players all have to pay not only the winner but also the bettor. If she bet wrongly, she pays exactly what the "bet-on" player pays to any or all other players. If it's a wall game and the bettor correctly bet on a wall game, the players all pay her 25¢.

For further reading:

Q: I hear Chinese mah-jongg is harder!
A: When you say "Chinese mah-jongg," I assume you mean "any kind of mah-jongg other than American." Because there are, in fact, almost thirty known mah-jongg variants - and around a dozen Chinese variants! See FAQ 2B. Oh, and no. Those other variants are not harder to learn than American mah-jongg. American is the hardest to learn of them all. I should know - I've learned several.

American mah-jongg is hard because you can only play the hands listed on the card. It's quite a challenge to find possibilities for hands from among a random 13 or 14 tiles. ONLY American mah-jongg uses a card! All the other forms of mah-jongg are free-form (very much akin to Rummy).

American mah-jongg is the oddball variant of the mah-jongg world. Once you learn any... um... "un-American" (^_^) variant, it's easy to learn any other variant (including American), but there's something about the American variant that "spoils" you, apparently making it a huge mental leap to learn about stuff like chows and the use of flowers (not to mention the scoring). Or so it seems, anyway (I've often found it a challenge to teach non-American forms to players of the American game). Read FAQ 10 and FAQ 20 if you care to learn the basics of, uh, "un-American" (^_^) kinds of mah-jongg.

For further reading:

Q: Is there a special prohibition against, or penalty for, throwing the winning tile when the wall is short and/or the winner had exposures showing?
A: The discarder of the winning tile pays twice what the other two non-winners pay the winner (this is clearly stated on the back of the yearly card).

There is no "hot wall" or "cold wall" or "pay for the party" rule in the official NMJL rules. Other than the double payment, the official NMJL rules do not stipulate any prohibition against, nor penalty for, throwing the winning tile, under any circumstances, no matter the number of exposures or the length of the remaining wall. But many groups adopt a "table rule" to stipulate such a penalty, and this penalty is not uncommon when playing in a tournament. Invariably, these table rules are called "cold wall" or "hot wall" or "paying for the party."

Q: What is a "cold wall"? And what is a "hot wall"? What's "paying for the party?"
A: "Cold wall" is a table rule that prohibits either discarding or calling a "hot tile." "Hot wall" is a table rule that penalizes discarding a "hot tile." The definition of "hot tile" and "safe tile" vary, depending on the table rule. Usually "hot tiles" are defined as those that come from the last short wall remaining in front of the dealer, but there are various table rules (all unofficial). "Paying for the party" means that the non-winners who didn't discard the winning tile don't have to pay anything (the discarder takes on that debt, and pays on their behalf). These are all table rules. That means these rules are NOT part of the official rules as governed by the NMJL. Read FAQ 14 to learn more about table rules. And read FAQ 21 to learn about how some tournament organizers set their rules (which necessarily differ somewhat from the official NMJL rules, since playing for points in a competitive tournament setting is different from paying for coins between a foursome playing for fun).

For further reading:

Q: Must exposures be in card order?
A: Experienced players don't need to see exposures to be shown in card order. It's standard practice to put exposures in order made (first one at player's left, next one to the right of that one, and so on), with spaces between each exposed grouping.
In fact, there is a good defensive reason for not putting exposures in card order - while a newbie might wish to have the visual hint, the player who's exposed part of her hand wishes her opponents won't figure out exactly what hand she is making. Sometimes two exposures can be ambiguous, and that is an important part of the game. So newbie players just have to "put up" with the fact that exposures are displayed in chronological order rather than card order.
Upon completion of the hand (having won), however, it is standard practice to organize the groupings in card order to aid the others in reading your winning hand.

For further reading:

Q: Can a player call another player dead?
A: In American mah-jongg, there is a rather harsh rule that permits a player to call another player's hand "dead" (paragraph 2 of the middle pane of the back of the NMJL card). A player may make a "death challenge" for a number of reasons:

No Such Hand - Player's exposures do not match any hand on the current card.
Unwinnable - Player's exposures indicate that player needs to make a pair, and three or more of the needed tiles are dead on the table (visible to all, either among the discards or as part of an exposure).
Exposed Concealed Hand - Player's exposures indicate that player's hand must be concealed.
Too Many/Few Tiles - Player is holding 12 or less tiles (13 or less after picking) - or player is holding 15 or more tiles (14 or more between turns).
Invalid Exposure - Player made a 1B kong but one of the tiles is a flower, for instance, or player exposed a NEWS or a 200X (with or without a joker) - and then discarded. Prior to the player discarding, she should be permitted to retract the illegal move. After she's discarded, though, her hand is dead.
Rule Violation - Players may be called dead for picking out of turn, for putting a called tile into the hand instead of atop the rack, or for certain other actions. In tournaments, such violations are immediately punishable. In home games, players are usually let off with friendly warnings, after which repeat violators are subject to summary punishment. (^_^)

When a player is called dead due to an erroneous exposure, the tiles in the erring exposure should be returned to the rack. This removes any jokers from "temptation."

When someone issues a death challenge, it must be in the form of a statement (not a question*). The player who is on the receiving end of a death challenge must either acknowledge that she is indeed dead, or she may deny it (without explaining what hand she is making). Then the game continues, either with or without that player, depending on her reply to the challenge.

* A lot of players try to weasel their way out of actually making a challenge outright, out of fear of being wrong and being penalized. So they phrase it as a question rather than a death challenge. I used to recommend that if someone asks you, "are you dead?" that you reply, "I don't have to answer that. Are you calling me dead?" But I've changed my position on this. I believe that even just asking the question is tantamount to issuing the challenge, because someone's merely asking the question can call attention to the challengee's hand, which can lead to someone else calling the hand dead. Therefore in my opinion, if somebody asks you if you're dead (or asks anybody else at the table or in the room if you're dead), that is a death challenge - and you can reply accordingly. "Yes, you got me, I'm dead," or "No, I deny that I'm dead - according to the rules, you'll owe me a quarter when you see that I'm right." (See AB, below.)

For further reading:

Q: Called me dead but I'm not. What now?
A: If a player has erroneously issued a death challenge, or if a player has erroneously denied a death challenge (which can be determined at the end of the hand), the erring player must pay value of the cheapest hand on the card (25) to the other player.

After denying the death challenge, the game continues with both the challenger and the challenged continuing to play. Then at the end the challenged player's tiles are examined to determine who pays whom.

So. If you call me dead and I deny it, and at the end of the hand we see that you were wrong, you owe me 25. Conversely, if you call me dead and I deny it, and at the end of the hand we see that I was wrong, I owe you 25.

For further reading:

Q: Can I call myself dead?
A: As I interpret the NMJL stand on this, you are not supposed to call yourself dead. You are supposed to play defensively until someone else calls you dead (and this is the wisest course, strategically speaking). However, I sometimes wish someone would hurry up and call me dead so I could do something less frustrating, like go get something to nibble on for a minute. (So I sympathize with those who would want to call themselves dead.) When I feel that way, I think about making a really obviously wrong exposure to force someone to call me dead so I can take a break and cool off. But I haven't actually done that.
If you happen to blurt out that you are dead, you aren't officially dead yet (you haven't been called dead, so you cannot stop playing) - you must continue playing until somebody obligingly calls you dead. Then you can take a break.

For further reading:

Q: Two questions about picking and racking very quickly.
1. I was taught to pick and rack very quickly, but my friends complain that I don't give them enough time to claim a discard. Do I have to change what I do?
2. Tapping the tile on the top of the rack counts as racking, doesn't it?

A: Some fast players immediately rack a tile after picking it (I call this practice "pickandrack"). I have two theories about why people do this:

Because the player wants the game to move quickly, as a way of making herself a competitive player;
Because the player is being defensive, hoping that the taken tile is a joker. If you've ever picked a tile, seen that it was a joker, but had to put it back because somebody else called the most recent discard, you know what I'm talking about.

Whatever the reason for engaging in pickandrack, if it's done very quickly after the previous player's discard, it's aggressive and unkind. Most regular-speed and slower players find the practice difficult to deal with. I recommend that players pause a beat before picking, in order to give others a chance to call for the current discard. Then you can pickandrack if you wish.

A: No. "Racking" a tile means placing it on the sloping front of the rack. Period. This practice probably resulted from people who think pickandrack is a good idea, or someone who picked a tile, saw it was a joker, but had to put it back because somebody else called the most recent discard. Racking a tile closes the window of opportunity for another player to claim the current discard - tapping the tile on the rack is not racking it. But read FAQ 14...

For much more on pickandrack and the window of opportunity, click here or scroll down.

For further reading:

Q: Do I have to use dots in a 200x grouping?
A: No. Zeros are suitless.

For further reading:

Q: Can I add to an exposure later?
A: Not after initially exposing and discarding, no. The time to add to (or subtract from) an exposure is before you discard. For instance, if you claim a flower to make a kong, and you accidentally add a joker to it (making it a quint) and your targeted hand requires a kong, you can take the joker back if you do it before discarding. Once you make an exposure and discard, the exposure will remain, as is, for the duration of the hand. You cannot later (after discarding) change a pung to a kong, quint, or sextet. You cannot change a quint to a sextet, kong, or pung. And so on.

For further reading:

Q: Can I stop the Charleston mid-dance?
A: Yes. The Charleston was, of course, a dance popular during the Roaring Twenties (when mah-jongg first became a craze). Your dance card has two names on it: RALph (Right-Across-Left) and LARry (Left-Across-Right). The first dance is compulsory and the second dance is optional. If after you dance with RALph you decide that you've met "Mister Right," you don't have to dance with no stinking LARry! But if you start to dance with LARry, you have to do the whole dance. So there's just one brief moment during which you can stop the Charleston: after completing the first dance, and before beginning the second dance. You can only stop the Charleston between the first left and the second left.

First right - you must pass 3 tiles right.

First across - you must pass 3 tiles.

First left - you may blind pass, and you may stop the passing after blind passing.

Second left - You or anybody else may stop the Charleston before anybody picks up her second left, for any reason whatsoever (and should not state a reason). If nobody stops the dance after the first Charleston, you must pass 3 tiles left.

Second across - you must pass 3 tiles across. This is often the sticky pass!

Last right - you may blind pass.

Courtesy - you don't have to exchange any tiles.

Once somebody has picked up and looked at her second left pass, it's too late to stop the Charleston. If you stop the Charleston after the first dance, other players will probably get mad; it's a fact of life. But you don't owe them an explanation, even if they do get angry. The rules say you can stop the Charleston after the first dance, for any reason at all, or for no reason at all, and you do not have to say why. But I recommend that you do not stop the Charleston too often - if you make a habit of constantly stopping the Charleston nearly every hand, the other players are likely to ban you from their otherwise pleasant game. (It's up to you to draw a fine line between adhering to the rules and being reasonable and a fun playing companion.)

For further reading:

Q: How does the courtesy pass work? Do we still do the courtesy if somebody stopped the Charleston? She wants to pass two but I want to pass three!

Answer AW (below).

A.1.: The Charleston consists of three dances.
- The first dance (R,A,L) is compulsory.
- The second dance (L,A,R) is optional.
- The third dance (the Courtesy) is optional.
Cancelling the second dance has no effect whatsoever on the third dance. It's not unusual to call off the second dance yet still have one or two tiles to trade in the Courtesy.

A.2.: No player is required to pass more than she wants to in the courtesy pass (the optional pass that occurs after the Charleston). If she only wants to pass two, you may not force her to give you three. Besides, you don't really expect anything new to get passed at this point, do you? Get real!

For further reading:

Q: I have an old set that has 22 flowers. They don't even match. Why did somebody do that?
A: As you can read in the timeline in FAQ 11, the NMJL varied the number of flowers and jokers for several decades early in the league's history. People had to cobble together sets to make the number of flowers required. They'd even take whole sets, paste flower decals on all of them, and pass them around to their friends. Flower tiles often didn't match the rest of the set, so a whole schtick evolved called "planting flowers." There wasn't any mystery about which tiles in the wall were flowers, but they would place flowers at pre-arranged spots in the wall - and probably apportion a certain number of them to each player as part of the deal. See answer S above, and my March 25, 2007 column (#311), for more on this.

For further reading:

Q: What if there's no parenthetical? For instance, if the card shows N EE but there's no parenthetical saying "these winds only," then can I make a single of any wind and a pair of any other wind?
A: There are two possible parentheticals that were not written (not only one). If the card makers wanted you to mix-and-match the wind tiles this way, then there would be a parenthetical saying "any wind tiles" or something like that. Here are three principles about how the card is to be interpreted:

When a card shows you some color-coded symbols like 11 222 3333 444 55, then the card means exactly what it says. Pair ones and pung twos in one suit, kong threes in second suit, and pung fours pair fives in third suit.
When the card has a parenthetical, the parenthetical might be clarifying the color-coding, or might be describing trumping exceptions or modifications to what the color-coding said. It might say "any 3 suits" (which would only clarify that the kong doesn't have to be the suit of craks but could be any suit as long as it's a different suit from the other sets -- not that any such clarification should be necessary), or it might say "any 5 consecutive nos." (which would mean that the first pair doesn't have to be ones). Principle 2 is that principle 1 can be trumped by a parenthetical.
When there is no trumping parenthetical, then principle 1 hasn't been trumped - so principle 1 holds true. This ought to go without saying (there shouldn't have to be a principle 3).

For further reading:

Q1: I read in 19J what "any" means in the parenthetical. But what if the word "any" is not used? For instance, a 13579 hand is shown as 11 333 5555 777 99, and it doesn't say "any 3 suits" in parentheses. Then don't the ones and threes have to be in bams, the fives have to be in craks, and the sevens and nines have to be in dots?
Q2: Or, conversely. Can I make that hand with just any old number of suits?
A: No. Never. It means "pair ones and pung threes in one suit, kong fives in second suit, and pung sevens, pair nines in third suit." Always. The clarifying phrase "any 3 suits" is always unnecessary, in my opinion - precisely because the color-coding indicates the number of suits required, without being specific as to how the suits should be assigned. A three-color hand is always three suits, and the card never requires a specific suit be associated with a specific color. The absence of an unnecessary word or phrase does not have any significance whatsoever.
Q3: Same question, as regarding consecutive numbers. There's no parenthetical saying "any nos." but can I use any numbers, since that's what this section is about?
A: No. Read 19AJ (above) carefully. When there is no parenthetical saying "any nos." then the indicated numbers must be used.

For further reading:

Q: Can I "reverse-redeem"? That is to say, if I have a joker in my hand can I put it in somebody's exposure and take a natural tile from that exposure? I need a single or pair of that natural, and the joker is useless to me.
A: No. If you need a single or pair of a tile that's used up in somebody's exposure, your hand is dead. You'll have to try for a different hand if you can. Or maybe go get something to nosh.

Q: 1. Can I change my mind about picking from the wall? 2. Can I change my mind about taking a discard? 3. Can I change my mind about discarding a tile?

A: 1. Not after you've lifted the tile off the wall, no. (You can reach for it and change your mind. You can even touch it and change your mind. But if you lift it, it's yours and you have committed to taking it.)

A: 2. Not after you've exposed tiles from your hand, no. (If you've only picked up the discard and put it atop your rack, without exposing, then yes - you can. But once you expose, you're committed, and there's no turning back.)

For further reading:

A: 3. Not once the tile has touched the table or you have said its name completely (whichever happens first), no.

For further reading:

Q: Who pays double when I win? Does somebody always pay double?
A: Yes. Somebody always pays double. There are only two ways you can win: by discard or by self-pick. If you take a discard to win, the discarder always pays double. If you pick it yourself, everybody always pays double. If you win by redeeming a joker, you picked it yourself (everybody pays you double) - nobody "gave" you the joker (nobody discarded it - you TOOK it, with a tile you picked yourself).

Q: When the card parenthetical says "Kongs 8's Only" or "Pungs 6's Only," does the use of the word "Only" mean that you cannot use a joker?
A: No. It means you can't make that pung or kong from any other number. Some parentheticals permit using "kong any even number," or "pungs of 3, 6, or 9," and the card designers deemed it necessary to clearly state that only a particular number could be used in hands not permitting multiple possible numbers. Jokers are permitted to be used in ANY pung, kong, quint, or sextet on the card. You know what "any" means - and now you know what "only" means.

Q: My group doesn't roll dice. Our way is better. It's easier and faster to just start dealing from the right end of the dealer's wall. Why do other people think it's necessary to roll dice?
A: Because it's very easy to cheat using your method. When you know you're going to be dealing, all you have to do is put four Jokers at the right end of your wall. The use of dice to determine where the wall will be broken is a very good practice, because it prevents cheating.

Q: I know that the X and C stand for eXposed and Concealed, but what do the terms "exposed" and "concealed" mean exactly?
A: Concealed means "all concealed, win by discard permitted." And Exposed means "there is at least one exposure (meld)."
So, if a player is displaying one or more melds (exposures), which kind of hand is the player holding...? Exposed.
If a player says mah-jongg without having previously melded any exposures, which kind of hand did the player have...? Concealed.

Q: Can I use a joker in a hand that must be concealed?
A: Yes. If the hand has pungs or kongs, of course jokers may be used in those pungs or kongs. The only hands that may never contain jokers are, of course, hands that have no pungs, kongs, quints... in other words, hands that are made of singles and pairs only. (By the way, have you also read Q&A O above?)

For further reading:

Q: How can we play with three players?
A: Read FAQ 13A.

Q: The Window Of Opportunity for another player to claim the previous discard wasn't closed yet. Does that mean I have to put my picked tile back on the end of the wall where I got it from?
A: Yes. Read FAQ 19C (above) and More about the Window Of Opportunity (below). You have to put it back on the wall, if you have not yet racked the tile, or if you have not yet discarded it (you have not yet touched it to the discard floor, you have not yet said its name in full), or if you have not yet declared mah-jongg. You put it right back where you got it, on the end of the wall, for the next player to take.
Q: Even if I saw the tile?
A: Even if it's Sunday, even if the moon is full, even if you're playing by candlelight. The rule has been stated, without qualifying exceptions. It shouldn't be necessary for the rulebook to have to give 20 "even ifs."

For further reading:

Q: In parentheses on the card, it says "like pungs" - what does that mean?
A: It means that the pungs must be alike. They must be of the same number value AND the same suit. A pung of 1B is not "like" a pung of 1D for example. They may both be represented on the card by the number "1," but they are only "like" one another if they are not just the same number but also the same color (suit).

Snap quiz #1: how many "like tiles" are there in the above image?

1 1 1 1
Snap quiz #2: how many "like tiles" are represented in the above color-coded representation?

1. Two.
2. Two.

Q: I have a question about this year's card from the National Mah Jongg League...
A: Read FAQ 16 (click here).

Q: It's okay to peek at the tile when I steal during the Charleston, right?
A: Firstly: no.
Secondly: it's not called "stealing." It's called the "blind pass." It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to call it "stealing," and the name "blind pass" should be self-explanatory. (See... it's not called the "peek pass.") Read my column 353.

For further reading:

Q: Does it matter where I place jokers within tile groupings, or put space between groupings?
A: This isn't a rules question - it's a question of strategy or etiquette.

Regarding placement of jokers:
- In the case of exposures (on the horizontal top of the rack), it's a matter of etiquette to put the jokers embedded within the exposure, so all other players can easily see which exposure a joker belongs to. The goal is to maximize harmony.
- Within the hand (on the sloping front of the rack), it's a matter of strategy. You should place the jokers in a place where you can most easily imagine them used in any of the possible places in the hand. Other players couldn't care less where you place them, since they can't see them anyway.

Regarding spaces between groupings:
- In the case of exposures (on the horizontal top of the rack), it's a matter of etiquette to put spaces between your exposures, so all other players can easily see what your exposures are. The goal is to maximize harmony.
- Within the hand (on the sloping front of the rack), it's a matter of strategy to keep your tiles all together, without any spaces. If you put spaces between your groupings, other players can deduce clues as to what you're doing and how close you might be to making mah-jongg.

Q: She misnamed her discard. Someone wanted it for mah-jongg. What now?
A: The hand is over. The misnamer must pay four times the value of the hand to the player who wanted the tile for mah-jongg. No other players need pay. Deal and play the next hand.

Q: What if the misnamed tile was wanted for exposure only (not for mah-jongg)?
A: No penalty to the misnamer. Misnamer must speak the correct name of the discarded tile. Once the discard is correctly named, play continues normally - the correctly named discard may be claimed for exposure or for mah-jongg.

For further reading:

Q: How does "Atomic" (or "Nuclear") work?
A: You get to decide that for yourself. It's a table rule. Some players permit seven pairs of anything. Some players say the hand can only be made if the player never had a joker in the hand. Some players also say flowers invalidate the atomic hand. Some players say the player has to declare "atomic" (or an equivalent announcement) when going for the hand, and declare "nuclear-free zone" (or words to that effect) when the hand becomes void due to having picked a joker or flower. You and your group get to figure out those details and how much the hand is worth, if you and your group want to use the table rule at all. Read FAQ 14.

For further reading:

Q: How do we handle a slow player?
A: First, have a talk with the other players. Make sure you have their support in talking to the slow player. Then at the beginning of your next session, talk to your slow player.
   - Tell her that the time for thinking is during other people's turns. Before she picks from the wall, she should decide what she's going to discard next - nine times out of ten, that won't be changed by what she picks. (There is that one time out of ten, and that happens to everybody.)
   - Buy her my book. On page 109, highlight the line, "Keep the game moving!" On page 110, highlight the italicized sentence, "It is more important to avoid disruption of the game than it is to win." Put sticky notes on those pages so they stick out of the book. Write something nice on the notes, like "We love you dearly and we want to keep playing with you!"
   - Print FAQ 9 for her, highlight the parts about keeping people waiting, harmony being important, and frame it for her.
   - Use the Marge Simpson "gentle nagging" approach. After she's picked a tile, about 15 seconds after her thinking and producing smoke out of her ears, start saying, "please discard. Please discard. Please discard. Please discard..." Say it in a very soft, gentle, sweet voice.
   - Get one of those little sand timers (I see that http://www.gameparts.net/sand_timers.htm has them for 8 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds...) and turn it over every time she picks a tile. When the time is up, make her throw a tile, any tile.
   - Give her 30 days notice, she has to pick up her speed or she's out.
- If you can't have a talk with her, then I can't help you. The only way to improve the situation is to talk to her.
- If after a month or a year with all of you urging her to speed up and pay attention, she still can't see anything beyond her card and she still plays slowly, there's nothing more I can offer you. She is what she is. Take her or leave her. There are other fish in the sea.

For further reading:

Q: How does seat rotation work?
A: Here's how the NMJL says it's done: "Original East" is called "Pivot." Play 2 rounds. (A round is when the deal moves all around the table.) Then just before pivot's turn, she switches seats with the player on the right, who then takes the deal. Every other time the deal comes back to Pivot, repeat the process (Pivot switches seats with player on right).

Column #375

However, if you analyze this, you find that this scheme results in one player getting an extra deal. So I recommend instead the way that my group does it. When Pivot switches seats with the player on the right, the Pivot takes the dice (and the deal) with her. And we don't switch every 2 rounds - we just rotate every round (every time the dice come back to the Pivot player). In our group the Pivot is the current week's host or hostess.