EXPOSURES MUST BEGIN WITH A CLAIMED DISCARD (ARTICLE 280)

Questions come up about whether a player can expose tiles without first claiming a discard. This confusion has shown up in two forms: exposing after drawing a tile from the wall, and exposing after completing a joker exchange. Both fall outside the standards of play in American mah jongg.

The object of the game is to use tiles to complete an approved hand on the annual card issued by the National Mah Jongg League. Players obtain tiles in four ways:

• Receiving passes during the Charleston
• Picking a tile from the wall and placing it in the sloped part of the rack
• Claiming a discard to complete an exposure
• Requesting a joker exchange and either discarding it or placing it in the sloped part of the rack

In Mah Jongg Made Easy, the procedure for making an exposure is explicit. After the Charleston, play proceeds with a discard, and any exposure must be created by verbally claiming that discarded tile to complete a Pung, Kong, Quint, or Sextet (MJME 2024, pages 14–15). This establishes the standard: exposures are created by claimed discards—not by picks from the wall or joker exchanges.

While there is no documented penalty for exposing after a pick from the wall or after obtaining a joker in exchange for a symbol tile, doing so deviates from the official procedure and disrupts the game’s natural flow.

Exposures do not come from a pick from the wall or after doing a joker exchange. They come from claimed discards. Anything else is a house rule or a misunderstanding—not a standard.