FAQ 16. Frequently-Asked Questions about the 2010 National Mah Jongg League card
(American-style mah-jongg)

Where do I get the latest NMJL card?
Read FAQ 7i (click here).

11DD 111DDD 1111 (Any Like Nos. Matching Dragons)
(Like Numbers #2)

Is the 111DDD exposable as one sextet?
No. It's not a sextet. A sextet is six identical tiles. This is two separately exposable pungs. The League has acknowledged that a printing mistake was made (there was supposed to be a space between them). Read column 444.

Is the 11DD exposable as one kong?
No. It's not a kong. A kong is four identical tiles. This is two pairs.

Do the two pairs have to be bams and Green?
No. The color-coding is more flexible than that. See the word "Any" in the parentheses on the card? "Any" always means "any." Read the back of the card. The card explains how its color-coding works. That guide is the paragraph just beneath the bold line, "Standard Based on Eight Flowers and Eight Jokers." I wrote an explanation of how the color-coding works in FAQ 19J and FAQ 19AK. You can click the FAQ 19 link in the nav frame at left.

FF GGGG 2010 RRRR (Kong Green & Red Dr. Only,Any 2 and 1, Same Suit)
(2010 #2)

Does the 2010 have to be in dots?
No. Firstly, zeroes are suitless (read the back of the card). Secondly, read the parenthetical. It says "Any 2 and 1 Same Suit." That means the 2 and 1 can be from any suit (but they both have to be from the same suit). The word "any" always means "any." You can read FAQ 19J if you're still confused about what "any" means (or look up the word "any" in... (ahem) any... dictionary of the English language).

FFFF 2222 0000 10 (2010 #1)
FFFF 4444 6666 24 (2468 #4)
FFFF 6666 8888 48 (2468 #5)

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of soaps, and a kong of twos and a kong of flowers, can I call her dead?
Yes. She's painted herself into a corner. She should have used a joker in her kong of zeroes. Now she can never make the 10.

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of soaps, and a kong of twos, can I call her dead?
No. She might be making 2468 #3.

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of fours, and a kong of sixes in the same suit, and a kong of flowers, can I call her dead?
Yes. There is no other hand on the card she could be making except this one, and everybody knows (because it says so on the card) that a joker may never be used for a single. Since she's used all of the fours in her kong, she can't possibly get another four for the 24. She's dead. Dead, dead, dead. Read FAQ 19AA (click here). And read column 357, too.

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of eights, and a kong of sixes in the same suit, and a kong of flowers, can I call her dead?
Yes. There is no other hand on the card she could be making except this one, and everybody knows (because it says so on the card) that a joker may never be used for a single (as part of the 48). She's dead, just as in the example above this one (2468 #6a). Read FAQ 19AA (click here). And read column 357, too.

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of fours, and a kong of sixes in the same suit, can I call her dead?
No. She might be making Consec. #3.

If somebody is showing a jokerless kong of eights, and a kong of sixes in the same suit, can I call her dead?
No. She might be making Consec. #3.

11111 2222 33333 (Any 3 Consec. Nos.)
(Quints #1)

Is Quints #1 a one-suit hand, or can it be two suits, or three suits?
Let me turn the question back to you: How many colors do you see? Read the back of the card to see how the color-coding works.

NNNNN DDDD 11111 (Quint Any Wind & Any No. in Any Suit, Kong Any Dragon)
(Quints #2)
This hand has to be two suits, right? The number quint has to be a different suit from the dragon kong?
No. The hand can be two suits or it can be one suit. Look in the parenthetical. There's that word "any" again. "Any" always means "any." You can read FAQ 19J if you're still confused about what "any" means (or look up the word "any" in... (ahem) any... dictionary of the English language).
EEEEE DDDD 11111
WWWWW DDDD 88888
SSSSS DDDD 33333

FF 11 33 55 111 111 (Any 2 Suits Like Pungs, 1, 3 OR 5)
(13579 #3)
FF 55 77 99 555 555 (Any 2 Suits Like Pungs, 5, 7 or 9)
(13579 #4)

Is that a mistake, the two pungs being the same color?
No. You have to make two identical pungs. You can do that because there are eight jokers in the mah-jongg set.

What does "like pungs" mean?
It means those two pungs have to be the same number and the same suit. Read FAQ 19AU (click here)

NNN EW SSS 111 111 (Any 2 Suits, Any Like Nos.)
(W-D #5)

Is that a mistake, the two pungs being different colors?
No. You have to make two pungs of the same number but in different suits.

What does "like numbers" mean?
It means those two different-suit pungs have to be the same number. Read FAQ 19AU (click here)

FFFF DDDD DD DDDD (Any 3 Suits)
(W-D #5)

Does the dragon pair have to be reds?
No. The pair could be red, green, or white.

What does "any 3 suits" mean?
It means the color-coding is flexible. 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. Read the back of the card. The card explains how its color-coding works. That guide is the paragraph just beneath the bold line, "Standard Based on Eight Flowers and Eight Jokers." I wrote an explanation of how the color-coding works in FAQ 19J and FAQ 19AK. You can click the FAQ 19 link in the nav frame at left.

336 33669 336699 (Any 3 Suits)
(Singles and Pairs #6)

Can I use a joker in the 336 pung?
It is not a pung. It is a pair and a single. Read the joker rules on the back of the card.

Can I use a joker in the 33669 quint?
It is not a quint. It is two pairs and a single. Read the joker rules on the back of the card.

Can I use a joker in the 336699 sextet?
It is not a sextet. It is three pairs.

Can I call a discard to make the pung, quint, or sextet?
This hand is all pairs and singles. It does not have any pungs, quints, or sextets. You are never allowed to call to expose a pair or a single, except for mah-jongg.

Can I call a discard if it's the tile I need to complete this hand for mah-jongg?
Yes. I just said that above.

Why aren't there spaces between every pair and every single?
How should I know? And what difference does it make? So what if there's no space between obvious pairs and singles?

Wow, you sure are a grump! Why do you answer these questions if you don't like answering questions?
I love answering questions. I just think people should put a little effort into finding and thinking about the answers.

Can I claim a tile to expose a 2010?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19E (click here) or click FAQ 19 in the nav frame at left.

Can I use a joker in a 2010?
No, of course not. Read FAQ 19E (click here) and read the back of your NMJL card.

Can I claim a wind tile to expose a NEWS?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19E (click here). Besides, in case you didn't notice, that NEWS hand is marked C for Concealed.

Can I use a joker in a NEWS?
No, of course not. Read FAQ 19E (click here) and read the back of your NMJL card.

Didn't find what you were looking for in this FAQ? Check these links...

• Commonly Misunderstood Rules of American Mah-Jongg - FAQ 19 (click here).
  
• Looking for an NMJL card? Click here for information about obtaining one.
  
• To get the story straight from the NMJL, go to http://nationalmahjonggleague.org and click the FAQs link.
  
• Got Shanghai Second Dynasty or Shanghai Mah-Jongg Essentials and want to play with the new card? CLICK HERE.
  
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2009 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2008 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2007 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2006 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2005 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2004 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2003 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2002 NMJL card.
  
• Click here if you have a question about the old 2001 NMJL card.
• Want to compete internationally? Click here to get your own copy of the official rules used at the 2002 World Championship and the 2007 World Championship! Note: the international rules are completely different from American rules. Are you woman (or man) enough? By the way, the book ALSO has COMPLETE rules for American-style mah-jongg too!

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