Sloperama: The 2021 NMJL Card

FAQ 16. Frequently-Asked Questions about the 2021 National Mah Jongg League card

At the bottom of this page, you can link to old cards going back to 2001.

Did You Know? 2021 and NEWS are not kongs! (That means no jokers, and no exposure prior to mah-jongg.)

Can I use a joker in a 2021 since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No. 2021 is not a kong. A kong is four identical tiles. 2021 is four singles (or you can argue it's a pair of twos and two singletons, knitted together - but don't, unless you and your mah-jongg group really enjoy pointless arguments). So you are not allowed to use jokers. Read FAQ 19E (click here) and read the back of your NMJL card. Look for the word "NEVER" (in ALL CAPS, bold).

If a 2021 is not a kong, why aren't there spaces between the digits?
Don't you think it looks more natural without the spaces? Accept that a 2021 is not a kong, and move on.

Can I claim a discarded tile to expose a 2021?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19-E (click here).

Can I use a joker in a NEWS since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No. NEWS is not a kong, same as a 2021 is not a kong (as explained above). NEWS is four single tiles. Not a kong.

If a NEWS is not a kong, why aren't there spaces between the digits?
Don't you think it looks more natural without the spaces? Accept that a NEWS is not a kong, and move on.

Can I claim a discarded tile to expose a NEWS?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19-E (click here).

FF 2021 2222 1111 (Any 3 Suits)
(2021 #1)

Does the 2021 have to be in dots, since it's blue?
No. Read the parenthetical. It says "Any 3 Suits." That's the League's way of saying that the 2021 can be from any suit, and then your two kongs are from the other two suits. Besides, card color does not dictate suit. Read the back of the card, and read Frequently Asked Question 19-BY and FAQ 19-J.

Can I use a joker in a 2021 since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No, of course not. 2021 is not a kong. It's four singles (or two singles and a pair of twos). A kong is four identical tiles. Read FAQ 19E (click here) and read the back of your NMJL card.

Can I claim a tile to expose a 2021?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19E.

If I make this hand without jokers, can I claim the double for being jokerless?
Yes, of course. It's possible to use jokers in the two kongs, so if you make them without jokers, you can claim the double.

222 0000 222 1111 (Any 2 Suits)
(2021 #2)

Do the 2’s and soaps have to match?
The card doesn't say DDDD, it says 0000. Read the red text above the 2021 section: "WHITE DRAGON IS USED AS ZERO '0'. IT MAY BE USED WITH ANY SUIT. (CRAKS, BAMS OR DOTS)

Do the green zeroes mean I can use green dragons?
Read the red text above the 2021 section: "WHITE DRAGON IS USED AS ZERO '0'. IT MAY BE USED WITH ANY SUIT. (CRAKS, BAMS OR DOTS)

Do I have to use bams and craks?
No. Read the parenthetical: it says, "(Any 2 Suits)".

“0000” can only be four soaps, no jokers....correct?
No, that's wrong. Jokers may be used freely in any pung, kong, or quint on the card. It says that right on the back of the card. I strongly recommend that every player read everything on the card, every year.

FFFF 2222 0000 21 (Any 1 Suit)
(2021 #3)

That's five twos in one suit, so a joker has to be used. But this is not Quints! It seems strange that they would force you to use a joker on a non-quints hand. Is that a mistake on the card?
No.

How is it possible to make five twos in one suit?
I can think of four ways to make a kong and a single of the same tile:

FF 2222 44 66 8888 (Any 2 Suits)
(2468 #4)

Do the pairs have to be craks?
No. It says "Any 2 Suits" in the parenthetical. That means the pairs can be any suit. The color-coding is never to be taken as standing for particular suits. Read Frequently Asked Question 19-BY and FAQ 19-J.

FF DDDD 2 4 6 8 DDDD (Any 3 Suits)
(2468 #7)

Do I have to use only greens and reds, with dots for the numbers?
No. It says "Any 3 Suits" in the parenthetical. That's the League's way of saying that the numbers can be any suit, with the dragons being the other 2 suits. The color-coding is never to be taken as standing for particular suits. Read Frequently Asked Question 19-BY and FAQ 19-J.

Why is that 2 4 6 8 spaced so widely like that?
To forestall questions about whether "2468" is a kong, whether jokers can be used, and if the group can be exposed.

Then why aren't "2021" and "NEWS" spaced out the same way?
You're a tough one to satisfy, aren't you? Other than spaces between obvious pairs, pungs, kongs, and quints, spaces or the absence of spaces are non-significant to how the hand is formed with physical tiles. Space or no space, a single is a single, and four non-matching singles don't constitute a kong.

222 4 6 888 222 222 (Like Pungs 2, 4, 6 or 8 in Other 2 Suits)
(2468 #8)

Do I have to have three pungs of the same even number? For instance 222 4 666 8 666 666, with the sixes in two suits different from the first pong of sixes?
No. You have to have a pung of twos, a single four, a single six, and a pung of eights in the first suit. Then the two "like pungs" in the other two suits can be either twos, fours, sixes, or eights. You can't mess with the structure of the 222 4 6 888 part of the hand.

CONSECUTIVE RUN

Can I use zeroes in Consecutive Runs? Like 000 1111 222 3333 or 777 8888 999 0000?
No. The only place on the card where you are permitted to use zero is where the card shows a numeral "0" (2021 and Singles And Pairs). Read FAQ 19-BH.

11 222 3333 444 55 -or- 55 666 7777 888 99 (These Nos. Only)
(Consecutive Run #1)

Can I make this hand with different numbers, like 4-5-6-7-8?
No. Read the parenthetical: "These Nos. Only."

Is it only dots since it doesn’t say any suit or did they run out of room?
You'll find the answer on the back of the card. The first line of the first paragraph explains that 1 color means any 1 suit. Blue on the card doesn't mean Dots. Green doesn't mean Bams, and Red doesn't mean Craks.

FFFFF 11 222 3333 (Any 1 Suit, Any 3 Consec. Nos.)
(Consecutive Run #4)

That's a quint of flowers, but this isn't Quints!
Okay...

Is that a mistake on the card?
No.

FF 1111 2222 3333 -or- FF 1111 2222 3333 (Any 1 or 3 Suits)
(Consecutive Run #5)
The MOST frequently-asked question about the 2021 card!

It does not state any 3 consecutive numbers or only these numbers. What is the rule?
The phrase "(Any 3 consec nos.)" couldn't fit. The NMJL intends for this hand to be any consecutive numbers. Besides, look at how it's nestled in between all those "any consecutive number" hands. The only hand in Consec that's hardwired (instead of freeform) is the top hand.

11 22 33 4444 4444 (Any 3 Suits, Any 4 Consec. Nos.)
(Consecutive Run #7)

Do the three consecutive pairs have to be bams?
No. Color does not dictate suit, as explained above.

Do I have to use the numbers one through four only?
No. Read the parenthetical.

Can I put the kongs before the pairs, like 1111 1111 22 33 44?
No. You have to have three consecutive pairs, with higher-number kongs. The structure must be the same but you can use a higher numerical sequence.

11 333 DDDD 333 55 -or- 55 777 DDDD 777 99 (Any 3 Suits)
(13579 #4)

Do I have to use red dragons?
No. The parenthetical says "Any 3 Suits," so you can use any dragon (then the numbers have to be the other 2 suits). Remember: card color does not dictate suit.

11 NNN 11 SSS 1111 -or- 22 EEE 22 WWW 2222 (Any Like Odd-Even)
(Winds-Dragons #2)
The SECOND most frequently asked question about the 2021 card.

Can we use evens with N&S and odds with E&W?
No, you can't. The old tradition is that "East" and "Even" both begin with the same letter, so East and West are always even, and North and South are always odd.

Do we have to use craks and bams for the pairs?
No. The color-coding does not dictate suit, as explained on the back of the card.

Can I use different numbers for the pairs and kong?
No. They have to be alike. Must use the same number: a number pair in one suit, a pair of same number in another suit, and a kong of same number in the third suit.

FF NNNN RRRR SSSS (Red Dragons Only)
FF EEEE GGGG WWWW (Green Dragons Only)
(Winds-Dragons #4, #5)

What does RRRR mean?
Read the back of the card (where it says "R- Red Dragon"). And read the parenthetical right next to those red Rs - where it says "(Red Dragons Only)".

What does GGGG mean?
Read the back of the card (where it says "G- Green Dragon"). And read the parenthetical right next to those green Gs - where it says "(Green Dragons Only)".

NNN E W SSS DDD DDD (Any 2 Dragons)
(Winds - Dragons #7)

Do the dragons have to be greens and reds?
They're not marked G and R, so they're any dragons. Oh, and then there's the parenthetical right there: it says "(Any 2 Dragons)."

3333 6666 999 999 (Any 3 Suits)
(369 #3)

Can you use 333 333 or 666 666 instead of 999 999?
Just so we're straight on this: I am not the NMJL, and I have not seen a ruling from the NMJL on this. But let's examine the clues:
- There is no parenthetical that says you can do that;
- There is enough room, so they could have put a parenthetical there but they didn't;
- If you use threes or sixes instead of nines, then there would be no nines in the hand.
- The family name is "369", not "36."
So my assumption is that you have to use nines.

113 11335 113355 -or- 557 55779 557799
(Singles & Pairs #2)

The hand is a pung, a quint, and a sextet, so can I use jokers?
Those are not pungs, quints, or sextets. See the back of the card, the first sentence of the first paragraph. It says a pair is 2 "like" tiles. Then the card says "Pung-3; Kong-4; Quint-5; Sextet-6." Because there is a ton of information that needs to be on the card back, the word "like" was not repeated 4 times. Only because space is so limited on the card. The word "like" is implied in each case. Implicit because there wasn't enough room to be explicit. The bottom right corner section of the front of the card is called "Singles & Pairs" because those hands are all made of singles and pairs. No jokers, and no exposures prior to declaring mah-jongg.

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).
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