Questions?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Common Questions

 

Can the "A" tile be a joker?  Yes, the "A" tile can be any tile!

What is the "M" tile?  Take a West and turn it upside down!

Can a Joker be picked up to Mah Jongg when a hand requires a J?  No, a discarded joker may not be picked up (NMJL rules).  A discarded Joker is considered a DEAD TILE.

Jokers may be used in Pungs, Kongs or Quints and may be used as the letter "A" any tile.  They MUST be used as the letter "J".  They may NOT be used for any other singleton tile, or for a Pair ( 5BJ is NOT a pair ).

I know a joker can be used as A, any tile, but does that include a hand requiring a double AA as well?  YES!  AA=JJ or AA=FF or AA=5B5B

 
When a joker is used in a Pung, Kong or Quint, it has magical properties and can substitute for a specific tile.  This is considered all the “bonus” that you get.  When a J is used as the letter J, it is a requirement of the hand and no other substitutions are acceptable.  If this is the only joker used in this hand it is considered joker less, because you have not used a “wild tile”.  When a Joker is used as A any tile, or AA any Pair (JJ) ,it is just any tile, and has lost it’s “magic” and therefore is available for the Jokerless bonus if no other Jokers are used in Pungs, Kongs or Quints.
 
The colors in each hand give you an indication of how many suits may be used and the pattern of the suit use.  The spacing in hands give you the indication if these tiles are Singletons, Pairs, Pungs, Kongs or Quints.  IN the hand
3  B  LLL  IND  MICE, the spacing of the LLL tells you that this is a PUNG of 7's.  If they were Singletons it would be shown as  3  BLLLIND   MICE.
 
Always remember to try and replicate the pattern shown!
 
 
On the 2024 Year of the DRAGON CARD
 
The ATOMIC hand this year must be represented in 2 suits only.  A PAIR is two IDENTICAL TILES.  So 5B5B is a Pair, 5B5C is not.  You may not have two of the same pair ( 5B5B and 5B5B ).  5B5B and 5C5C are two different pairs.
 
 
Under Running SCARED:
 
7th hand:  The suits of these numbers may be mixed or the same.  Remember
Letters and numbers written in BLACK have no specific suit requirement.
 
Under It's No Joke:
 
5th hand:  BBBBB is a Quint of Bams ( 5 identical Bams #'s1-9 )
 
 
 
ON the 2023 Year of the RABBIT CARD
 
Under FlO PPP SIE:
 
6th hand:  The two odd numbers must be different, 1 or 2 suits.  An odd Pung and an odd Pair.  It does not matter the secquence.  So  111  33  or  999  77 is fine.
 
Under Pull this out of your Hat:  
 
3rd HAND:  MJ  365  247  4  LI  FF  E  - the numbers may be ANY suits! Mixed or the same.
So  MJ  3D6B5D  2C4C7D  4B  7C1B  FF  E  is fine.  Remember, numbers written in BLACK have no specific suit requirement.
 
5th HAND:  7 CONSECUTIVE PAIRS, mix or match suits.  REMEMBER these are PAIRS ( 1D1D is a PAIR; 1D1C is NOT ).  You may mix the suits up, but the numbers must be pairs and must be consecutive. So 1-7; 2-8; 3-9.
 
6th HAND:  The numbers may be any suits- so and example is:
MJ 2D     AA  XX  /  XX /  XXXX
MJ 2CG  FF  1C2D / 1D5B / 2D02C3D
You must know today's date !!!!!
 
 
On the 2022 Year of the TIGER CARD:
 
Under Evenly Striped, the last hand:  TONY- the Pung of 2's is the "T".
 
Under Circus Oddity, 3rd hand:  the Pungs of 3's and 5's must be different suits, and the 79,79,79 in 3 suits.
 
Under Circus Oddity, 5th hand:  The 3 odds must be different, 1 or 3 suits, the Kong can be any of the 3 numbers.
 
For the hands that show an "interrupted run", it is important to remember that you must replicate the pattern shown!
 
Under OUT RUN, the 4th hand:  4444  5555  PPP  999.  The added directions say any inter. run, 1 or 3 suits, P any Pung.  The 3 colors  indicate which parts of the hand are suit specific.  The sequence of number shows you 2 consecutive numbers, and interval of 3 numbers, any PUNG, and then the 3rd number in the sequence.  The PUNG is not a part of the run.  (But it does hold a place for the 3 missing numbers ).
 
So you could have 1111   2222  PPP  666;   or 2222   3333  PPP  777 etc.  This can also be done in 1 suit.
 
MJ  17 18 19 20 21 22 -These numbers only, and the suits may be mixed or the same.  These are not pairs.  1B7C or 1B7B is fine.
 
 
 
The same applies to OUT NUMBERED, the 4th hand down.  The interval between numbers is 2 numbers , with the AA in between.  So,   FFFF  1111  AA  4444,    or FFFF  6666  AA  9999.
 
Under It's a Jungle, 2nd hand:  This is the ALPHABET-  LMNOPQRS.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON THE 2021 YEAR OF THE OX CARD:
 
Under Double Harness, the first hand- "any ascending even run". These must be even numbers and ascending in
value, 1 or 3 suits.  So:  2  44  666  or 4  66  888 in 1 or 3 suits are your options.  The lowest number is the singleton, followed by the pair and then the PUNG.
 
Under Oddly Matched, the 3rd hand-  "PUNGS any ascending odd run".  These must be odd numbers and ascending in value, 1 or 3 suits.  So:  111  333  555  or 333  555  777 or  555  777  999 in 1 or 3 suits. The following odd run of 13579 must be in the same suit if the hand is done in 1, or in the lowest PUNG  if done in 3 suits.
 
Under What's your number, the 4th hand-  AA is any pair followed by any 6 consecutive numbered pairs.  The pairs, of course, must match in suits.  The consecutive numbers can be any suits.  
So   FF  3B3B  4C4C  5D5D  6D6D  7C7C  8B8B  or  JJ  4B4B  5B5B  6B6B  7B7B  8B8B  9B9B will also work.
 
Under Running With the Bulls, the last hand- This run of numbers ARE NOT PAIRS.  This hand can be done in mixed suits, or the same suit.  MJ  16 118 19 20 21  or MJ 16 17 18 19 20 2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON THE 2020 Year of the Rat Card
 
Under TWO TIMER and LOW LIFE the 6th hands down:  the paired numbers written in BLACK mean that they can be any suits, same or different, mix or match (example: 28  46  42  68 )
 
IDN 2 CL = Identical
 
Under STRAIGHT - NO CHASER- the 4th hand down:  you must replicate the pattern shown.  There are 2 numeric values between the first and second numbers in the hand.  This is held by the Pung of WInds and the Pung of Dragons.
 
the last hand: the paired numbers written in BLACK mean that they can be any suits same or different, mix or match suits. ( example: 15  16  17  18  19  20 )
 
Under YOU RASCAL!
 
In the longitude and latitude hand, these numbers are all singletons: a Joker may not be used.
 
The last hand:  the numbers following B I N G O can be the same suit or different from each other.
 
There is a rat on the cover, keep looking!
 
 
 
ON THE 2019 Year of the Pig Card:
 
This year the 2019 must be done with the number 2, 1 and 9 in all three suits!  It does not matter which is which, but must contain a Bam, a Crak and a Dot!
 
In the last hands under HUFF and PUFF:
 
2019  246  246  246  8
 
2019  1  357  357  357
 
The singleton 8 and the singleton 1 can be any of the 3 suits!
 
In the STRAIGHT TALK section:
 
2019   333   4444   555  the 3 consecutive numbers can be 1 or 3 suits, they do NOT have to match suits in specific 2019 tiles.
 
MJ  111  222  FFF  666 ( any inter. run, 1 or 3 suits )  The interruped run can be any run, AS LONG as the interruption is 3 numbers between the second number and the third.  So  222, 333 - 777; 333 ,444 - 888 etc. 
 
Under Blow the House Down:
 
B  B  QQQQQ  4 DINNER  it should read (  .......I any 1)
 
 

ON the 2018 Year of the Dog Card:

 

For the SUB ATOMIC hand when it states that  NO PAIRS IN ODDS, this means that the 1 3 5 7 9 in each run may not be the same suit.

       An example could be 1D 2C 3C 4B 5B 6D 7C 8D 9D   1C 3D 5D 7B 9B

Under 3 Dog Night, the first hand A  333  KKK  666  PPP should read K any Kong rather that K and Kong!  SORRY! 

Under Run in the Park, the 6th hand the ZERO should be in BLACK.  AA  01234  5  5  5  6789

Under PUREBREEDS the DO RA MI hand the 1 can be any suit and the 8 can be any suit, same or different.

 

On the 2017 Year of the Rooster card:

 

1.    Can the “A” any tile be a Joker?

 

    Yes, “A any tile” means ANY tile. In MMJ we use the A as a singleton and also as the letter A when spelling a Marvelous word.  The “AA any pair” can be 5B5B, FF or JJ.  Remember 5BJ is NOT a pair.

 

 

2.    When I see a  hand  in the EVEN TONE section that contains a KKKK or a PPP,  must the KKKK or the PPP be evens?

 

      No, they can be ANY 4 like tiles ( KONG) or 3 like tiles ( Pung).

 

 

3.      Under the EVEN TONE section, the hand FFF  LI  PPP  4444  MJ;  the L and I are written in Black.  Must they be the same suit?

 

    Letters and numbers written in BLACK are not suit dependent.  You may use any suit, they may be same suit or different.

 

 

4.    In the ODD COLOR section, the MJ  111  3  5555  9999 hand, in parenthesis it states the M=W.  Does that mean you may use any wind for a letter ‘M”?  

 

    M=West wind only.  Take the “W” and turn it upside down for your “M”.  Please refer to DEFINITIONS on the reverse of the card.

 

 

5.      The ATOMIC Hand says any seven different pairs.  Can you use 5B5B and 5C5C?

 

    Yes, you may.  They are different pairs!  You may not use 5B5B  5B5B.

 

 

6.    Under the GOT YOUR NUMBER section,  the 48.8566 N and 02.3522 E hand, why are there decimal points in this hand?

 

    They are there to help you realize  that this is a LONGITUDE and LATITUDE number only.  We do not have a decimal point!

 

 

7.    In the PECKING ORDER section, the NEWS  13 14 15 16 17 hand, can you start the run at a different number?

 

    No, you must use the numbers given 13-17.

B= any 1-9 Bamboo tile

C= any 1-9 Crak tile

Under Directional Bliss:  24 NEWS C  1111  C L E ( 24 News Cycle ) the Kong ( 4 of same tile ) of ones may contain Jokers.

                                      BLI  NNN  D  PPP  A   SSS: the L and the 1 may be the same or different suits.

Under Triple Threat:  FFFF  36  93  PPP  DDD: the D's are a Pung of any Dragon ( red, white or green )

Under Got Your Number:   111  2  3  OOO RRR  GGG:   the run must start with the lower number.

Under Even Tone:  FFF  LI  PPP  4444  MJ:  the L and the 1 may be the same or different suits.

 

 

ON THE 2016 Year of the MONKEY Card:

Under ON CLOUD NINE: E  111 357  999  FFF  W : any two winds, they can be the same or different

Under 4 Corners of the Globe:  LI  KKKK E  B  A N A N A  S  can the B be a Green Dragon?  No, it must be a BAM 1-9.

In the same section  GGG  OOO  RRR  I  I  L L  A:  The 1's are different as are the 7's, they are NOT PAIRS.

Under 3 RING CIRCUS: 3 L I L   M O N KKKK I E S :  the L's can be any 7's, same or different. The 3 is any suit.

Under the NEW MATH:  the numbers in the first 3 hands DO NOT ADD UP, it is the "new math" !

Under Bigger than Kong:  The LLL in QQQQQ  E  LLL  FEARS is a PUNG of  7's.  They must be the same suit ( or you can use J's).

The LLLL in J  O  N  QQQQQ I  LLLL is a Kong of 7's.  They must be the same suit ( or you can use J's).

Under RUNNING FOR OFFICE:  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 , the pairs of numbers must be in the same suit, you may use any suits ( so it could be 1D0  1C1C  1B2B   1D3D   1D4D...  In reveiwing the NMJL rules, the White Dragon which we use as the ZERO can be used with any suit.  So the 10 can be 1C0, 1D0 or 1B0.  This hand is hard, but it has been done!  ( good luck! )

 

 

 

On the 2015 Year of the Ram card:

On the hand under Even the Score 2222  15  15  15  8888 ( 3 suits ), Must the Kong of 2's be in one suit, the Kong of 8's in the second and the 15's represent all three suits?  Yes!

Under Odds Maker, RAM  333  WWW  555  FF it should read ( A any tile.....

Under Odd's Maker, 3333  15  15  15  7777 ( 3 suits ), the Kong of 3's and the Kong of 7's are in the same suit?  YES!

In the Atomic Hand this year it says any DIFF 7 pairs....that means NO 2 pairs alike  ( i.e.: 5B5B  5B5B )

Under Compass Points:  the longitude latitude hand the decimal point is not a tile! 

Under Running  111  234  5  678  999  F ( 3 suits )  the 234 and 678 are not PUNGS and cannot be picked for exposure.  They are singletons.  Remember PUNGS are 3 like tiles!

Under Mumbo Jumbo:  AA PPP KKKK QQQQQ 1 Joker only; does it have to be one suit?  No it does not.  Numbers and letters written in BLACK mean it they are not suit dependent.  Can you pick up a grouping with 2 jokers and hope someone exchanges a joker to leave you with just one? Tricky,....  but.....YES!  As long as you only MJ with only one joker!

Under Mumbo Jumbo:  FFFFF 'S PPP  LEASE  the S is not a part of the quint of Flowers.

 

On the 2014 Year of the Horse card:

In the hand  F  NEWS  DD 888 4444, it may be played 2 ways.  Three suits represented ( the DD is the 3rd suit ) or F NEWS DD 888 4444, all one suit.  The even numbers must be different numbers ( 2,8: 6,4 )  It does not matter which number is the Pung or Kong.

***

In the fifth hand under " EVENLY MATCHED", does the PPP have to be an even #? In same hand in "AT ODDS WITH", does the PPP have to be an odd #?; in the 3,6,9 hand does the PPP have to be a 3,6,or9?  

All three hands requite a Pung ( 3 like tiles ) and they can be ANY PUNG.  They do not need to match the category.

In the 4th hand under "THEY COME IN 3'S- Do the 999's have to match the 333's or can they be any suit? The Pung of nines must match one of the Pungs of 3's, not the pair of 3's.

***

In the 4th hand under "THEY COME IN 3'S- Do the 999's have to match the 333's or can they be any suit?

The Pung of nines must match one of the Pungs of 3's, not the pair of 3's.

****

What constitutes a jokerless hand on this new card? 

The double bonus for a joker less hand is not applicable to the single and pairs hands located under the WORDS and Actions section that are concealed.  This is the same as on the NMJL card.  The only hand that qualifies for the double bonus is the first hand with the Pung of FFF  2014 ****

In the Quintessential MJ hands a joker is required for all hands that require Quints, EXCEPT the hands were you may use Flowers as your Quint.  If you have  GIRLS  GROW FFFFF,  AA PPP KKKK QQQQQ,  or  QQQQQ  4 ME IN 2013 and no jokers are used, they qualify for the double bonus.  ( This would require the Quint to be FLOWERS only FFFFF )
 
Hands that require an "A" or an "AA" also are considered joker less if Jokers are used only as the "A".  ( Not a wild tile )
 
****
On the hands  FF LOL MJ FRIENDS and I WILL GO ON GREEN, do the L's have to be the same suit?  No, L= ANY 7.
 

On the 2013 Year of the Snake card:

In TWO BY TWO:  In the hand NEWS  FFF   222 4444 ( and diff evens, 1 or 2 suits ) does the pung need to be the lower number?  No, you need a pung and a kong of 2 different even numbers, 1 or 2 suits.

In the ODDLY HE'S RIGHT section:  the first hand 2013  3   555   777  999 ( 1 or 2 suits; any odd run, same suit )  Could the run be  1   555  777 999?  No, the run must be sequential so your options are: 1  333  555  777 or 3  555  777  999.

In RUN HIM RAGGED: the hand MJ   222   222   333   444: can you change the order of the repeated number?  No, the first number in the sequence must be the repeated number.

In the LETTERS FROM HOME section there are 2 hands that require 1's that are used as I's.  It says "I any 1",  do they have to be the same or different suits?   The 1's can be ANY 1, same or different suits.  In "2013" the numbers must ALWAYS be the same suit.

Can the KKKK kong be a Kong of Flowers?  YES!  The KKKK can be ANY Kong ( winds, dragons, numbers, flowers ).  Like all Kong's it may also contain Jokers.

Under RUN HIM RAGGED:  ( first hand  FF 444  EEE  DDD  777 ) does there have to be a 2 number "skip" in the run?  The hand must be played as displayed- a two number interruption in the run.  ( i.e.: 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6 etc ).  The pung of winds and pung of dragons hold those 2 spots!

Under LETTERS  FROM HOME:  line 3,  SOME   1   4   ME IN 2013  can the 1"s in 2013 be different than the 2 and 3?  2013 must ALWAYS be played with the number's 2,1 and 3 in the same suit.  The other I and 1 can be any #1 ( matching or same. )

In the ROOM 13 section : In the hand 222   333   444   444 = 13 can the hand be done in any fashion as long as 3 suits are represented?  NO, the hand must be done as written, with the 222 and 13 in 1 suit, the 333 and 444 in the second, and the 444 in the third suit.

 

On the 2012 Dragon card:

On the hand FFFF  DDD  11  333  55 ( any D; any 3 diff odds, same suit ) - do the numbers need to be in sequence order?  No they do not, they must be the same suit.

In the ATOMIC HAND, can you have 2 pairs that are the same?  Yes, any 7 pairs, excluding Jokers and Flowers.

When picking up and exposing the pung 777 in DDD III AAA LLL MJ, do you need to announce that these are "L"s?  No you do not, you never need to define your exposures for the other players.

In the hand E 666 777 DDD 999 N (any winds, any inter. run; 1 or 3 suits ; any D) can the winds be the same?  Yes,  the two winds can be ANY wind. Can the interruption in the run be after the first numbered pung?  No the interruption in the run must be after the second number in the run.

In a hand that REQUIRES a Joker (i.e. 5555  7777  9999  MJ) if the required "J" is the only joker, does the hand qualify for a joker less bonus?  Yes!

 

If you have a hand that you think is MARVELOUS.....send it to me please!  If I use it in next years card, you will get a FREE one!!! 

For Hand Submissions:  You may submit an unlimited number of hands, however, hands may only submitted by one person, not a group.