TOP 10 CONFUSING AND COMPLEX RULES DEMYSTIFIED (Article 189)

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10. Multiple players want to pass blind

When multiple players pass blind, someone must issue an “IOU” to the receiving player. When the player receives incoming tiles, they can fulfill the IOU. Shout-out to Tom Sloper, who recommended this to the league.

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9. Mistakes during the Charleston

A game does not officially begin until East discards their 14th tile. Therefore, if there is an issue during the Charleston that affects the integrity of the game, all the tiles should be thrown in, and the game should be restarted.

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8. Modifying an exposure

When a player calls a discard to make an exposure, they must use the discard if they placed it on the flat part of the rack or if they exposed tiles from their hand. If they have not done a joker exchange or discarded, they can change the current exposure (i.e., number of tiles, joker usage, suits).

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7. Joker exchange resulting in mah jongg

A player who discards a tile that makes another player’s hand ready to win does not incur an additional penalty when the player exchanges a joker, resulting in mah jongg. This is considered a self-picked win, and the winner receives double the value from all the other players.

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6. Jokers eligible for exchange

When a player has a hand that is no longer viable or is invalid, it should be declared dead. If a joker in the exposure caused the hand to be declared dead, it is not available for exchange. Sometimes, a player may choose to delay the dead-hand declaration as a strategy to exchange jokers in the exposure that caused the hand to become dead.

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5. Reasons to declare another player’s hand dead

A player’s hand can be declared dead if they:

• Exposed a concealed hand
• Exposed a hand, not on the card
• Hand impossible to complete
• Joker exchange before the turn begins
• Wrong number of tiles
• Picked out of turn
• Picked and racked from the wrong wall
• Picked and racked from the wrong end of a wall

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4. Ramifications for a misnamed discard

Mah Jongg is a complex game, so often, a player deep in thought may misname a discard. Here are the ramifications for three scenarios:

• If a player misnames a discarded tile and someone mentions it, the discarder must name it correctly, and there is no penalty.
• If a player misnames a discarded tile and another player claims it and makes an incorrect exposure, their hand should be declared dead by another player.
• If a player misnames a discarded tile and another player declares mah jongg, the discarder must pay the winner four times the value of the hand.
• If a player misnames a discarded tile and two players declare mah jongg, one on the misnamed tile and one on the actual tile, the player who needs the actual tile gets it.

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3. Window of opportunity for the last discard

Any player can claim the last discard until the player next in line picks and racks or discards. Sometimes, players pick a tile from the wall that can be used to exchange a joker, and they don’t rack it. In this case, asking for an exchange will close the window of opportunity.

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2. Mah jongg in error next steps

If a player declares mah jongg in error and no one has exposed tiles, the game continues as usual.

If a player declares mah jongg in error and exposes any of their tiles, their hand is dead, and the newly exposed tiles should be returned to the sloped part of the rack. If anyone else throws in their hand, their hand is also dead.

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1. Simultaneous situations and next steps

If a player picks a tile from the wall and racks simultaneously as another player calls for the last discard, the player who picked the tile from the wall must defer to the caller. The tile they picked goes back into the wall just as before, even if the tile was seen.

Rules 5 and 6 on the back of the NMJL card refer to a situation when multiple players are interested in the same discarded tile for the same reason. The player next in turn has the first right of refusal. The other player(s) must wait for that player to decide what they want to do. The exception described on the back of the card and in MJME (page 18 #10[b], [c]) applies when the player next in turn is not paying attention, and another player racks the called discard or exposed tiles from their hand. At that point, it’s too late for the player next in turn, and they must defer to the other player. These rules have nothing to do with previous exposures.

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