PRELIMINARIES MATTER (ARTICLE 200)

The rules of a game define how it is to be played. Preliminaries of the game may seem tedious and unnecessary, but each process has a purpose. Together, they create order, provide structure, and ensure fairness. Also, consider that they come from long-standing traditions, so they honor the game’s origins.

Following are best practices and rules for the preliminaries of American mah jongg.

Mixing the tiles

In mah jongg, the tiles are placed upside down on the table, and the players mix them. Mixing the tiles with your hands is best, especially if you are playing with vintage or designer tiles. As a side benefit, using your hands allows you to exercise fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and visual discrimination.

Some groups use paddles, but using these accessories can damage the tiles.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 8 Formalities)

Building the walls

When playing a card game, the draw pile or deck is placed near the dealer or in the center of the table so players can reach them. Mah Jongg tiles cannot be stacked one on top of the other like cards; instead, the tiles are built into a wall that forms a square 19 wide and two high in front of each player. This becomes the draw pile or deck, but in mah jongg, it’s known as “Yellow Mountain,” “The Great Wall of China,” or simply “the wall.” This is one of the traditions of the game that honors its origins.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 9 Building and Breaking the Wall and Use of Dice)

Breaking the wall

When playing card games, the dealer shuffles the cards, and another player cuts or splits the deck into two stacks by lifting one stack from the top and placing it face down beside the remainder before putting the other stack on top. This way, dealing starts with a random card, which ensures fairness. There is a similar method to ensure fairness when playing American mah jongg. At the beginning of a game, the tiles are built into a wall, two high and 19 tiles wide, in front of each player. To ensure fairness when distributing the tiles for a game, East (i.e., player 1) rolls the dice to determine where to break their wall in a random spot. After breaking the wall, the dice are given to the player on the right of East for the next game (i.e., counterclockwise).

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 9-10 Building and Breaking the Wall and Use of Dicce)

Placement of the broken wall

East (i.e., player 1) rolls two dice to break their wall randomly, and then dealing with the tiles begins with the tiles left of the break and the tiles to the right of the break remaining where they are. After the players take their tiles, some in the East position (i.e., player 1) will move the tiles to the center of their rack or the far left, which can cause problems later in the game. For example, if the tiles are moved from the original place, players may think there are fewer tiles for picking, and they may break up their hands because the continuity of the wall is disturbed.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 10)

Dealing the tiles

“We recommend that each player pick their own tiles and that these tiles be left in stacks as shown above until all of the tiles are picked.” East (i.e., player 1) should not deal the tiles to each player to avoid butterfingered situations. Instead, each player should take their tiles in turn. East is a dealer in name only, aka DINO!

Source:  Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 10-11); back of the NMJL card, panel 1

Pushing Out the Walls

After players have picked all the tiles in a wall, the player to the left pushes out their wall (e.g., curtsy) so other players can reach for their pick comfortably. The wall is pushed at a 30-degree angle, pivoting on the left end, with the right end pointing to the table’s center. This process has nothing to do with a right-handed or left-handed preference, and it’s a preliminary process done in nearly all versions of the game.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 10, image)

The LEAGUE ON HOUSE RULES AND VARIATIONS (Article 50) may be an interesting read because these preliminaries contain some game modifiers.