RULES NOT IN MAH JONGG MADE EASY (Article 00)

Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024) is the official guide booklet of the National Mah Jongg League. Between each publication, the league receives inquiries from players that describe complex scenarios, and some of the replies from the league include new rulings or clarifications of existing rules.

Following are 31 rules (including omissions) that are not in MJME:

Wiki Articles

• ARRANGING A DECLARED MAH JONGG (Article 8)
• BEGINNING OF A PLAYER’S TURN (Article 153)
• BETTOR FORGOT TO BET (Article 139)
• CHARLESTON UNDERWAY AND MUST BE COMPLETED (Article 193)
• COMMITMENT TO A JOKER EXCHANGE (Article 19)
• COMMITMENT TO CLAIMING A DISCARD WITHOUT RACKING OR EXPOSING TILES (Article 21)
• DISCARDED TILE BEFORE A PICK CAN NOT BE CALLED (Article 9)
• DISCARDS CANNOT BE CALLED TO COMPLETE A PAIR (Article 125)
• EAST’S FIRST DISCARD IS A JOKER (Article 35)
• EXPOSURE COMPLETED WITH ANOTHER EXPOSURE MADE BY MISTAKE (Article 7)
• HAND LIMITATIONS AND FLEXIBILITY (Article 65)
• INTERRUPTED PICK GOES BACK IN ITS SPOT (Article 59)
• JOKER EXCHANGE WHEN PLAYING CONCEALED (Article 77)
• MAH JONGG IN ERROR FOR TWO PLAYERS AND ANOTHER TOSSED IN THEIR HAND (Article 56)
• MAKING AN EXPOSURE THEN EXCHANGING A JOKER (Article 17)
• NAMING A REPEAT DISCARD (Article 242)
• NEXT PLAYER AFTER PLAYER PICKED OUT OF TURN (Article 209)
• NEXT PLAYER AFTER MAH JONGG IN ERROR (Article 216)
• PENALTY FOR USING THE WRONG DISCARD FOR AN EXPOSURE (Article 90)
• PLAYING WITH A PIE AKA PY (Article 145)
• SIMULTANEOUS CALL AND PICK-RACK (Article 91)
• TWO PLAYERS DECLARE MAH JONGG, ONE WITH A PICK FROM THE WALL AND ONE FOR THE LAST DISCARD (Article 223)

Omissions That Still Apply

Preliminaries

All tiles must be turned face down and thoroughly mixed before the game starts (MJME 2020 page 18 #1).
No looking ahead. Players are not permitted to pick the fourteenth tile from the wall before the player to the left discards a tile (MJME 2020 page 18 #2).

During play, after East’s wall has been depleted, the player to the left pushes out their wall. Picking from the Walls goes to the left. PLAY TO THE RIGHT, PICK FROM THE LEFT (MJME 2020 page 11).

Using Jokers

Regardless of what the discarded Joker is called, it may not be taken/called for any reason whatsoever (MJME 2020 page 23 #12).

No Jokers exposed before a concealed hand being declared “dead” are redeemable, since they were part of an incorrect exposure (MJME 2020 page 24 #21).

Disqualification

If a player discards a tile that was claimed for mah jongg, but went out of turn, the game stops. The discarder pays 4x’s the value of the hand to the winner. If claimed for an exposure the call is honored and the game continues (MJME 2020 page 21 #16).

If a player calls Mah Jongg in error and exposes part or all of the hand and all other hands are intact, the game continues but the declarer’s hand is “dead,” and all tiles are returned to the rack. The same penalty applies for calling a discard and making an incorrect exposure (MJME 3020 page 16 #3[a] first sentence included for context).

If an incorrect exposure is made, the hand may be declared “dead” by any of the other three players. The bettor must remain silent. If the exposure goes unnoticed, the erring player should not announce it and continue to play. Of course, Mah Jongg cannot be made (MJME page 20 #14).

Playing with a Bettor

The bettor should not make any corrections until Mah Jongg has been declared, verified, and paid by all players. (MJME 2020 page 25).

Download: Printable Insert

New Rules Incorporated in the Current Edition

• A PLAYER THINKING THEY ARE EAST DISCARDS (Article 161; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 14 bullet 9)
• WHEN THE CHARLESTON CAN BE STOPPED (Article 179)
• CHARLESTON MISTAKE RESULTS IN A RESTART (Article 83; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 14 bullet 1)
• COMMITMENT TO CLAIMING A DISCARD WITH EXPOSURES (Article 177; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 18 #13)
  COMMITMENT TO PICKING A TILE FROM THE WALL (Article 20); Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 18 #12)
• DISCARDED TILE CAN NOT BE USED FOR A JOKER EXCHANGE (Article 127; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 23 #3)
• EAST DOES NOT DEAL THE TILES (Article 194; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 10 paragraph 2)
• JOKER EXCHANGE RESULTING IN MAH JONGG (Article 45; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 23 #7; page 30 paragraph 3))
• PLACEMENT OF A CALLED TILE (Article 5; Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 15 paragraph 2)
• PLACEMENT OF THE BROKEN WALL (Article 11; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 9)
• TILES IN THE WALL TIPPED AND SEEN (Article 147; Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 page 31 paragraph 9)

Dig Deeper: Hoptoi’s Release Notes on Mah Jongg Made Easy 2024 (including omissions)