FAQ 16: The NMJL Card

Click here if you do not see a Nav Frame at left

FAQ 16. Questions about the 2002 NMJL card (American-style mah-jongg)

Note: click here if you don't yet have an NMJL card, and were looking for information about obtaining one.
Note: to get the story straight from the NMJL, go to their FAQs page at http://nationalmahjonggleague.org/faq/faqs.htm.
Note: click here if you have a question about the old 2001 NMJL card. Note: click here if you have a question about the new 2003 NMJL card.

CLICK ON THESE NUMBERS to see the ANSWERS to the most FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS about the 2002 NMJL CARD:

Here are the ANSWERS to
the most FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS
about the 2002 NMJL CARD.
(As it turns out, the answer to all of them is "No.")
Q: In the hands that contain a "2002" group, can I call a 2 or zero for exposure?
A: NO. See explanation below.
Q: In the hands that contain a "2002" group, can I use a joker in the 2002?
A: NO. See explanation below.
Q: In the hands that contain a "NEWS" group, can I call a wind tile for exposure?
A: NO. See explanation below.
Q: In the hands that contain a "NEWS" group, can I use a joker in the NEWS group?
A: NO. Here's the explanation for FAQs 1-4:
The only groupings that can be exposed prior to going mah-jongg (AND the only groupings in which jokers may be used) are: PUNGS, KONGS, AND QUINTS.
A pung is three identical tiles.
A kong is four identical tiles.
A quint is five identical tiles.
"2002" is not a kong.
"NEWS" is not a kong.

(Of course you can call any tile needed to complete the hand and declare mah-jongg.)
Q: In the third 369 hand, it doesn't say "kongs of threes only." Can I use sixes or nines instead of threes?
A: Yes, you may use like kongs of threes, sixes, or nines. Either number is acceptable. But both kongs must use the same number, of course.

Q: In the bottom Winds - Dragons hand, do I have to use bams for the pairs?
A: NO. The card is more flexible than that, in regards to the colors. Green does not mean that bams are required.
11 DD -- you can use any number in any suit, with a pair of dragons in the same suit.
111 DDD -- you must use the SAME number you used for the pairs. These pungs must be a DIFFERENT suit from the pairs. The pung of dragons must be the same suit as the pung of numbers.
DDDD -- the kong of dragons must be from the THIRD suit (the suit not used for the pairs and pungs).
Pairs of any number and dragons, suit #1.
Pungs same number and dragons, suit #2.
Kong dragons, suit #3.
This principle (that color does not dictate a specific suit) applies across the entire card. Zero always means white dragons, but zero can be used with any suit (when used as zeroes, soaps are suitless).
Q: In the second Quints hand, do the numbers have to be in bams and craks?
A: NO. This is the same principle as discussed for #6 above. For your future reference, here is the Tom Sloper philosophy of how to interpret the card:
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.
Therefore "Any suit" means just that: "ANY SUIT." The first quint of numbers can be any suit, regardless of the color on the card. Likewise, the second quint can be any suit (except the suit of the first quint - they cannot both be the same suit).

Q: A dead player had jokers exposed on her rack. Can I redeem her jokers?
A: It depends on whether the joker was exposed properly or not.
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 you had previously exposed a kong of fours (with a joker) and now you expose a pung of dragons (with a joker). Let's say that the card does not have a hand that allows 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 exposure of dragons. Any jokers that had been exposed PRIOR to the blunder are still valid for redemption, but any jokers exposed in the course of making the blunder are dead.

Why are you still using the 2002 card??? Everybody is playing the 2004 card now! Read FAQ 7i and go get the 2004 card already! And click here to read the FAQs for the 2004 NMJL card. Click here to read the FAQs for the 2003 NMJL card. click here to read the FAQs for the 2001 NMJL card.

Copyright 2002 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved. The contents of this page and this website, including and not limited to text, graphics, and photos, may not be reproduced or published without written permission of the author. This site is not associated with the National Mah Jongg League.
Update log:
June 10, 2002 -- Henceforth, all edits to any FAQ will be tracked in a separate log, not in the individual FAQ pages. Click here to see the update log.