SKILL BUILDERS (ARTICLE 171)

Studying the card is one way to get comfortable with the hands on the American Mah Jongg card. If you have a set of tiles at home, take your study to a higher level by doing skill builders that are designed to:

• Optimize retention
• Develop problem-solving
• Improve decision-making
• Gain confidence

Category Modeling

Place all the tiles face-side up on the table. Then, create every hand on the card, category by category, to familiarize yourself with the shapes and patterns. Read the text in the parentheses for flexibility or limitations.  

Video demonstration

Random Pulls

Place all the tiles face down on the table. Take 13 random tiles, then organize them in your rack. Look at the tiles to identify the strength of the hand and choose the best category for those tiles. If you have multiples, choose a category that will use most of the tiles that can be used with the multiples. If you don’t have multiples, choose a category that will use the tiles for the predominant pattern (e.g., evens, odds, like numbers).

After the exercise, put the tiles in the middle to mix them well, then repeat.

The following drills focus on hand development during the Charleston. To do these drills, you will need to stage a mock Charleston. It’s called a mock Charleston because it is not meant to be an exact representation. This process simulates the experience of receiving passed tiles from other players so that you can practice making decisions during this phase of the game.

Charleston Modeling

The purpose of this skill builder is to practice identifying the strength of the hand to build your confidence in hand development during the Charleston.

Take 13 random tiles, then create a mock Charleston by lining up six rows of three tiles each to build your hand during the Charleston.

After the exercise, put the tiles in the middle to mix them well, then repeat.

Video Demonstration

Charleston Chain Reaction

The purpose of this exercise is to test your instincts.

• The setup for this exercise is the same as “Charleston Modeling,” but this time, get your camera so you can take pictures of your random tiles and each incoming pass.
• Identify the strength of the hand and choose a category for Plan A and Plan B.
• Go through the Charleston for Plan A and note the result (i.e., category, hand, number of discards).
• Recreate the random tiles using the photos. Then, repeat the exercise for Plan B.
• Compare the results.

After the exercise, put the tiles in the middle to mix them well, then repeat.

Video demonstration

Charleston Force

The purpose of this exercise is to practice intentional decision-making by playing hands in preselected categories.

• The setup is the same as “Charleston Modeling,” but this time, create a strip of paper for each category on the card.
• Mix up the strips, then pick three random categories.
• Go through the Charleston Modeling exercise three times and force yourself to make hands in the pre-selected categories (i.e., families, sections).

After the exercise, put the tiles in the middle to mix them well, then repeat.

Video demonstration

Charleston Sprints

The purpose of this exercise is to practice quick decision-making.

• The setup is the same as “Charleston Modeling,” but this time, use a stopwatch to time your decision-making through the Charleston.
• Go through three sprints and take an average of your time.
  • For novice players, your average should be under four minutes.
  • For intermediate players, your average should be under three minutes.
  • For advanced players, your average should be under two minutes.
• Push yourself to make decisions in two minutes or less. Experienced players will appreciate this, and it’s required if you play online!

After the exercise, put the tiles in the middle to mix them well, then repeat. Take an average of your time to see how you did and how you improve over time.

Video demonstration

Measuring results

• If there are more than four discards, a player is likely an underdog. Full game application: It’s best to take a low-risk approach while continuing hand development. If you are an underdog, take heart because you can come up from behind.
• If there are four discards, a player is likely a contender. Full game application: It’s best to take a moderate-risk approach while expediting hand development.
• If there are less than four discards, a player is likely a frontrunner! Full game application: Regardless of risk, expedite hand development.

Gamification

Pacemaker: Fast Focus. Fearless Play.

Pacemaker is a lighthearted training tool that helps players build speed without pressure. Each student starts with a few tokens to “buy time” during tough decisions—but with every game, those tokens decrease. It’s a playful yet powerful way to sharpen focus, reduce delays, and prepare for the pace of experienced players, online timers, and competitive play.

Purpose:
This activity helps new players develop the ability to make timely decisions during play. Whether playing online with an 8–10 second timer or in tournaments with 50–55 minutes for four games, learning to play at pace is essential.

Setup:
Each player receives three tokens (such as a bead, button, or game markers).
Set a decision time limit for each turn (suggested: 20, 10, or 8 seconds depending on experience).
Use a timer or app to track decision time; if no device is available, players count in their heads.
Goal: Strengthen fast, confident decision-making under time pressure.

How It Works:
Players may “spend” a token if they need a few extra seconds to think beyond the set time limit. Once their tokens are gone, they must make all decisions within the time limit.

The number of available tokens decreases each game:
Game 1: Start with 3 tokens
Game 2: Start with 2 tokens
Game 3: Start with 1 token
Game 4: No tokens—use the timer only!

Guidelines:
Each player places 3 tokens on their rack (use buttons, beads, or game markers).
Establish a time limit (suggested: 20, 10, or 8 seconds).
A token may be spent by removing it from the rack before the time limit to buy extra time for that turn.
Once spent, tokens are not replenished between games.
The goal is not perfection but progress. Encourage players to reflect after each game on what slowed them down (e.g., scanning hands, recalling rules, indecision) and adjust.
Tokens are not replenished between games. Once a player is out of tokens, the timer is their guide.

Tip: Invite players to reflect after each game: How did it feel? What slowed you down? What improved?

Variation for Group Play:
Make it a friendly challenge: players who finish all four games without using a token earn a bonus point, sticker, or small reward.

Pivot Myth Buster: Reveal the Truth in Real Time

Pivot Myth Buster is a hands-on training tool that helps players see why pre-selecting a backup hand before it’s time doesn’t work and provides timing queues. Each player tracks their Plan B tiles with colored chips, creating a live visual of how quickly a supposed backup hand dies as discards and exposures accumulate. It’s an eye-opening, highly interactive way to build situational awareness, improve table-reading, and strengthen judgment about when a pivot is actually possible.

Purpose:

This activity teaches players to rely on the evolving table—not the card—when making pivot decisions. By visually tracking lost tiles, players learn how dependencies, feasibility, and timing shift as the game unfolds. The exercise reinforces the idea that pivoting is responsive, not pre-planned.

Setup:

• Each player receives colored bingo chips for their Plan B.
• Players draw a dealt hand, arrange it, and identify the initial strength of the hand.
• Players choose a category, then when at the hand-level, they select a hand for Plan A and Plan B (the “backup hand,” used here intentionally to test the myth).

Goal: Build real-time awareness of pivot viability and see clearly why pre-selecting a backup hand fails in live play. The goal isn’t to prove Plan B wrong—the tiles will do that for them.

How It Works:

1. After choosing hands for Plan A and Plan B, players begin play as usual.
2. Players continue developing Plan A while observing feasibility in real time—identifying when their primary hand weakens or when a pivot might become necessary.
3. Each time a tile appears in discards or exposures that is needed for Plan B, the player places a chip on that tile.
4. As the game progresses, the accumulation of chips forms a visual trail showing how quickly the pivot potential is for the pre-selected Plan B hand.
5. Pause briefly at the Pivot Sweet Spot (70 tiles remaining) to evaluate potential for their Plan A hand.

Reflection:

• Which Plan B tiles disappeared first?
  When did Plan A weaken, and what did the table reveal about pivot timing?
  How did this change your instinct about choosing backup hands early?

Tip: Use this after a live demonstration of switching hands. Players will immediately connect the chips to situational awareness, time push-fold timing, and pace.

Red Light–Green Light

A quick-play awareness game for teaching risk recognition and defensive decision-making

This gamified activity helps players visualize how risky decisions accumulate over the course of a game. Each impulsive or unsafe choice earns a “risk marker”—a simple, color-coded cue that reveals how fast danger can build. It’s not about punishing mistakes but about helping players see their patterns and develop sharper judgment under pressure.

Purpose:
To help players:

• Recognize how repeated risky decisions affect gameplay
• Visualize escalating risk and its consequences
• Strengthen awareness of defensive patterns and safer options

Goal:
To “stay green” by making thoughtful, lower-risk decisions throughout the game.

Setup:
Each player receives three flat-bottom glass beads in traffic light colors:

• 🟢 Green – All clear
• 🟡 Yellow – Caution
• 🔴 Red – Final warning

Place all three beads near the upper right of each player’s rack or on the table in front of them.

Start each player with their green bead on the top left of the flat part of their rack.

You’ll also need tickets (raffle tickets, tally marks, or tokens) to track when players “run the red light.”

How It Works:
As risky decisions occur, players change out their beads:

1. Green → Yellow
   If a player discards a tile that another player uses to declare mah jongg, they swap the green bead for a Yellow one.
2. Yellow → Red
   If the same player discards another winning tile, they replace the yellow bead with red.
3. Red → Ticket
   If they discard yet another winning tile while the red bead is showing, they’ve “run the red light.”
   • They receive a ticket (use a tally, token, or raffle ticket).
   • Then they reset their beads by returning to Green.

This system repeats throughout the session. You can choose whether to track only mah jongg-causing discards or expand to include other risky behaviors (see below).

Define What Counts as Risk:
Agree on the rules before play begins and customize the risk triggers based on your focus. Some examples:

• Giving away a clearly risky pass during the Charleston
• Discarding a white dragon or flower in the end game
• Making an obvious error
  • Peeking at a blind pass
  • Racking a claimed discard
  • Picking from the wrong end of the wall
  • Pushing out the wrong wall

End of Session:

• The player with the fewest tickets is the winner.
• The player with the most tickets receives a lighthearted boobie prize (or simply the honor of having the most “learning moments”).

Debrief & Reflection:
After the game, discuss:

• Which decisions felt tempting in the moment?
• When did risk pay off—and when did it backfire?
• What signs or cues might’ve helped you avoid a ticket?
• How can you use what you noticed today to improve your defensive play?

Remind players that each ticket is not a failure—it’s a decision point they can learn from.

Instructor Insight:
Keep the tone light, curious, and reflective. This metaphor works best when framed as a tool for awareness, not shame. It’s especially effective as a warm-up or “Apply” activity in lesson themes like Playing on the Edge or Discarding Safely. Use it when players need to see risk in action—not just hear about it.