MAH JONGG OOPS PROTOCOLS (Article 207)

Commentary: After a player discards, any player can either call the discard to declare mah jongg or make an exposure. When two players call the same discard, one to declare mah jongg and the player next in line to make an exposure. The player next in line has to defer to the player who declares mah jongg. If the player who declares mah jongg realizes they made a mistake and they just have an exposure, they keep the tile and then discard to end their turn.

To some players, this seems to contradict another mah jongg in error ruling, “If a player calls mah jongg in error and the mistake is rectified immediately, before the hand is exposed or before other players expose or disturb their hands, the game continues without penalty (MJME 2020 pg 16 #2).” Also, “If a player declares Mah Jongg in error and exposes part or all of their hand and all other hands are intact, the game continues, but the declarer’s hand is dead (MJME 2020 pg 17 4[a]).”

Shout out to Kathleen DeMarco for sharing the scenario and to Jan Egri for contacting the league for a ruling and sharing the results with the community. Mah Jongg That’s It Facebook post 07/15/2023

Question from a Player: A player discards an 8 crak. The player next in line calls for an exposure and another player calls for mah jongg saying, The player next in line says, “I have priority because I am next in line” and the other player says, “I want it for Mah Jongg so I have priority.” The player next in line concedes. After the other player makes an exposure, they realize they do not have mah jongg and they discard. Is this fair?

Answer from the NMJL:  The person that called the tile for mah jongg that kept next in line from getting the tile for an exposure, keeps the tile. If you call a tile for mah jongg, and you only make an exposure with the discard and you do not expose other tiles from your hand, you can say, “It’s not for mah jongg, it’s just an exposure,” you keep that tile that is now on your rack and it does NOT go to the next in line.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2020 page 16 #2, 17 4[a]); National Mah Jongg League Bulletin (2020)