Mah Jongg Tiles Page Card

Transcription

1 Handout 1 Mah Jongg Tiles Page Card National Mah Jongg League: (212) Suits Each suit has numbers 1 through 9. There are 4 sets of each suit, so four 3's, four 7's, etc. Bams Cracks Dots Dragons There are 4 of each dragon. Dragons may have to match suits. If so, they match the ones above them in this chart. Green Red Soap (White) Also used as a Zero 0 as in When it is used as a 0 it does not match a suit. Winds There are 4 of each wind. Winds do not match suits, they are neutral. Flowers may look different in different sets. Flowers do not match suits, they are neutral. You can ignore the numbers and writing on flowers. Jokers Jokers can be used in place of other tiles in three, four or five of a kind. Not for use in singles and pairs.

2 Handout 1 Mah Jongg Tiles Page 2 Please take time to review this page. Mah Jongg Joker Use Can NEVER be used in pairs or singles. This group, representing the year 2017, is made up of four singles7

3 Handout 2 Mah Jongg Hands Sample Under Lucky 13, top line, left side.

4 Imaginary Hands to Work On The following four hand descriptions do not come from any year s card in particular and have been designed for demonstration purposes only. Look at these descriptions and find tiles to complete them: A Consecutive Run Hand: A Consecutive Run Hand: (Any 2 Suits; any 4 Consec. Numbers) A Hand: DDD (Pung and Dragon Match) A 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 Hand: (Any 2 Suits) A 3, 6, 9 Hand: FF A Winds and Dragons Hand: NNN EE WW SSS DDDD

5 Handout 3 Building the Wall and Drawing Tiles Page 1 Building the wall. Wash the tiles by mixing them up face down on the table. Each player builds a wall of 38 tiles face down in front of their rack. 2 rows of 19 tiles stacked two deep on the front of the pusher

6 Handout 3 Building the Wall and Drawing Tiles Page 2 Drawing your tiles: Each player rolls two dice. The player with the highest total number of dots on their dice is designated East East rolls the dice again. Then, starting at the right side of their wall, they count a number of stacks of two tiles equal to the number they rolled. They move those aside. After the tiles are moved aside, East pushes the remaining portion of their wall into the middle using the pusher. They then move the tiles they had put aside back to the pusher.

7 Handout 3 Building the Wall and Drawing Tiles Page 3 Each player now draws tiles from those pushed to the middle, four tiles at a time, going counterclockwise around the table. When all tiles from East's wall have been drawn, the player to their left pushes their tiles into the middle. As a courtesy to the table, they should turn the last stack of two tiles on their left perpendicular to the rest. This is a reminder to draw from the other end. After each player has drawn three times (a total of 12 tiles): East draws two more tiles by taking the first and third tile off the top row of remaining tiles. East now has14. Each other player takes one more tile from the end of the wall in the middle. They now have 13 each. Leave your tiles face down until we get to the next Handout.

8 Handout 4 Arranging Your Hand These are examples of tiles which were dealt. Can you recommend one or two hands the player might aim to complete.

9 Handout 5 - The Charleston The Charleston R O L Pass 3 tiles to the Right Pass 3 tiles Over (across) Pass 3 tiles to the Left (first left) At first Left you may steal up to 3 tiles from those passed to you instead of passing all 3 of your tiles. You do not look at these before passing them The After first Left youcharleston can stop the Charleston L Pass 3 tiles to the Left (second left) You stack your tiles for your second left pass. Put one one top of the other two. O R Pass 3 tiles Over (across) Pass 3 tiles to the Right (last right) At last right you may steal tiles instead of passing 3 of your tiles. Courtesy exchange up to 3 tiles with the person across from you

10 Handout 6 Play after the Charleston After the Charleston East has 14 tiles, and begins play by discarding one tile. Going counterclockwise around the table, each player draws a tile and places it in their rack. The player who drew now discards a tile, always ending their play with 13 tiles (unless they complete a Mah Jongg with the 14th tile) Page 1

11 Handout 6 Play after the Charleston Calling a Tile Calling a tile. If at any time (when you are not playing a concealed hand) a player discards a tile which you need to complete a grouping of three or more tiles in your hand you may call (pick up) that tile. On the right side of your card, note the X or the C, meaning exposed or concealed. When you call a tile you must place it on your rack face up so it is visible to other players. DO NOT PLACE IT WITH YOUR OTHER TILES FACING YOU. Place the remaining tiles in the group that the called tile completed face up next to it visible to the rest of the players. If jokers are used in the group, they should be placed between other tiles in the group if possible. This is called exposing the tiles. Page 2

12 Handout 6 Play after the Charleston Calling a Tile The player who called the tile now discards a tile (unless the tile they called completed a Mah Jongg) and play now proceeds counter clockwise from them. Some players may miss turns drawing in this case Remember you cannot call a tile for a single or a pair unless it is for Mah Jongg. Cannot call to complete, for example: 2017 (all singles) EE FF The only time you can call a tile for a concealed hand is when it completes a Mah Jongg. Page 3

13 Handout 6 Play after the Charleston More on Jokers!!! If someone calls a tile and uses a joker to complete that set, any player including the one who exposed the joker, can exchange for that joker. When it is your turn, draw a tile. Then, if you have a tile which can replace the joker in an exposed group, hand that player your tile and say exchange The player will then put your tile in place of the joker and hand you the joker. Please, as a courtesy, let them do this. Don't mess with their tiles! If this completed your Mah Jongg you are done, otherwise discard as normal since you have already drawn a tile. Don't forget!! If you have a joker exposed and draw the needed tile, you, too, can do an exchange for the joker. Page 4

14 Handout 6 Play after the Charleston Page 5 Defensive Play A very important part of Mah Jongg play is defensive play. The first part of defensive play is to be aware of what tiles have already been discarded and have not been called by another player. Odds are in your favor that it will not be picked up by another player, making it relatively safe for you to discard that same tile. Once another player exposes some tiles because they called a tile that was discarded, the other players should start trying to figure out what hand the player(s) with exposed tiles is (are) playing. Once you are pretty sure you know what hand an opponent is playing you should avoid discarding a tile that the opponent may need. If a player that has 2 wind exposures that should alert you that it is unwise to discard another wind. Throwing away tiles you need to make your own hand to avoid giving mah jongg to another player is often a heart wrenching task for newer players. To help you decide to "throw your hand" is to look at how many tiles still are yet to be played and look at how many tiles you need to make your own hand. If you need only one tile to make Mah Jongg and there are at least tiles left to pick, you may take a chance and discard that wind with hopes the exposed player can't pick it up. However, if you need 3 tiles to make your hand and there are only 20 tiles left to pick, it is advisable to throw your hand. Defensive play includes throwing away jokers. No one can pick up a joker, so it is always a safe discard to insure you do not help someone else complete their hand. When nobody wins it is called a Wall Game. Wall games are not a bad thing. If you are playing for money, throwing your hand at the right time can save you some money and in a tournament can give you a few points rather than giving your opponent many more points and you none. Obtaining Supplies for Mah Jongg There are many vendors on line where you can obtain Mah Jongg sets and supplies. I mention the National Mah Jongg League as a place to get your cards mostly because that is the place where they are generated. If you do obtain a card somewhere else, make sure it is a National Mah Jongg League card, as there are other, different cards around. I often recommend the following vendor as a good place to get American Mah Jongg sets and they can also supply you with cards. Wherethewindsblow.com The phone number for Where The Winds Blow is: They are located in Houston, TX