When Playing American Mah Jongg, players use a card issued by the National Mah Jongg League. The National Mah Jongg League or NMJL is the governing body for American Mahjong. Since 1937, the NMJL has been creating standardized rules and hands for playing Mahjong.
Each year in April, the National Mah Jongg League releases a new card for that year that includes the hands that can be played in tournament play. Most Mahjong groups try to play the current year's card, but we have also had fun playing older or vintage cards--for example playing a birth year card can be a fun way to Mahj on a birthday!
When you're first learning, the NMJL card can feel really overwhelming--its just a wall of colors, letters, and numbers, but once you figure out what each section and symbol means it becomes really easy to find your hand. Below is an overview of what you'll find in your card.
There are 10 sections on the NMJL Card:
- Year: 2024 etc, using the Soap (Dot Dragon) as a zero
- 2468: Even numbers
- Any Like Numbers
- Addition Hands
- Quints: Groups of 5 like tiles, jokers are required to complete these hands
- Consecutive Run
- 13579: Odd Numbers
- Winds & Dragons
- 369
- Singles and Pairs: No Jokers can be used in these hands
After the deal, start looking for a Section that works for your tiles rather than a specific hand. This allows you to be flexible as you go into the Charleston; you can start collecting tiles towards a section (ie odd numbers) without being stuck on a single hand. Once you've collected 7 or more tiles towards a specific hand, then it's time to commit to that hand.
There are 3 colors shown on the NMJL Card:
The colors are NOT tied to specific suits on your tiles. Instead, the colors indicate HOW MANY suits need to be in your hand.
- All NAVY - indicates all ONE suit (can be all-Bam, all-Crak, or all-Dot)
- Green and Red - indicates TWO suits
- Navy, Green, and Red - indicates THREE suits
- Important to note, some tiles have NO SUIT and are always shown in Navy:
- Winds (NEWS)
- Flowers (F)
- Soap when used as a Zero
Parentheses text is IMPORTANT!
Following most hands on your NMJL Card there is text in parentheses that gives additional detail about how you can play the hand. Be sure to read this text as it often makes the hands easier to play. Some examples of what the text will tell you:
- Any Run - this means that the hand can be played with any consecutive numbers following the pattern shown on the card.
- For example, on the 2023 Card, the second line under Consecutive Run is shown as 111 2222 333 4444 and the parentheses say "Any Run," meaning it is totally ok to play that hand as 666 7777 888 9999.
- With Matching Dragons - this means the dragons you play must match the suit you're playing for the rest of the hand.
- For example, if you're playing all Bam then you would need the Green Dragons. Red=Crak and Soap=Dot.
- Any Like Numbers - this means you can play it with any like numbers across the hand.
- For example, the hand shown as FF 111 D 111 D 111 D can be played as FF 777 D 777 D 777 D
Exposed vs Closed???
On the righthand side of the card, you will see a letter X or C next to the point value for each hand. The X stands for Exposed, meaning you can call and expose tiles throughout gameplay to build your hand. The C stands for Closed or Concealed, meaning you cannot call or expose tiles during gameplay. When playing a C hand, you can only call the final tile to Mahj.
When in doubt, review the rules on your card.
The NMJL Card comes printed with rules on one side. These rules can be especially helpful when there is a disagreement about gameplay.
When you're playing a new card or new to playing in general, repetition really helps to get familiar. Play lots and lots or even take out your tiles and practice making each hand on the card to get familiar.