PICKING THE WRONG TILE FROM THE WALL (ARTICLE 295)

A tile remains on the bottom tier of the wall but is overlooked, perhaps because nearby discards obscure it. The next player mistakenly picks the top tile immediately beyond it. The player has picked from the correct end of the wall but skipped the next tile.

The NMJL has a specific rule for picking from the wrong end of the wall. If a player does so, they can be disqualified; the incorrectly picked tile remains with the hand, and play continues from the proper end with the player on their right. If more than one player has picked from the wrong end, the game ends, and the tiles are thrown in. If the player discards after the incorrect pick and that discard is claimed for mah jongg, the player who picked incorrectly pays for the table.

However, picking the wrong tile from the correct end is not specifically addressed in Mah Jongg Made Easy, the NMJL official guidebook. Although the player has picked a tile they were not entitled to take, the written rule addresses picking from the wrong end of the wall. It does not state that the same consequence applies to every incorrect pick from elsewhere in the wall.

A player recently contacted the NMJL by phone about this specific situation and was told that picking the wrong tile from the correct end of the wall also results in disqualification. The explanation given was that the same principle applies: the player picked a tile they were not entitled to pick.

This clarification is helpful, but it has not yet been confirmed in writing. The player has requested a written ruling from the League, and this article will be updated when that response is received.

Until then, this is an example of why it is important to distinguish between a documented NMJL rule and an informal clarification. The written rule establishes the consequence for picking from the wrong end of the wall; the telephone response indicates that the League applies the same consequence to picking the wrong tile from the correct end.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024, p. 20, #17); NMJL Bulletin Q&A (2018, 2019).