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SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
January 12, 2014
No. 591

American Mah Jongg (2013 NMJL card). Quiz inspired by the 2014 bulletin from the League, just out this week. If you don't receive the bulletin, you're out of the loop!

1. True or false: When there are 3 players, tiles are dealt to all 4 sides of the table.

2. Which of these can never be passed in the Charleston: a) Jokers. b) Flowers. c) Neither may be passed.

3. Yes or no: When a player has spoken the name of the tile she's discarding but has not yet put it down, can she change her mind and keep it?

4. True or false: When a "2013" is printed in green, green dragon is used as zero.

5. Yes or no: When a player has gone dead with jokers atop the rack, may any jokers be redeemed?

6. True or false: When there are 3 players, the Charleston is omitted.

7. Yes or no: When a player has touched her discard to the table but has not yet said its name, can she change her mind and keep it?

8. True or false: When a redeemable tile is mistakenly discarded, another player may claim it and redeem it.

9. When two players in a row discard the same tile, and someone declares mahj on the second one, which player pays double? a) The 1st one. b) The 2nd one.

10. In which circumstances is a hand considered dead? a) Incorrect exposure. b) Hand not on current card. c) Too many tiles in hand. d) Too few tiles in hand. e) Mahj in error. f) Exposures show that the hand cannot be completed. g) All of the above. h) None of the above.

Answers:
1-false. 2-a. 3-no. 4-false. 5-yes, if the jokers were exposed before the hand went dead. 6-true. 7-no. 8-false. 9-b. 10-g.

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Question or comment about this column? I often, um... intentionally... "miss" something; maybe you'll be the first one to spot it! Email and the discussion will be posted on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board.

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Where to order the yearly NMJL card: Read FAQ 7i.

Need rules for American mah-jongg? Tom Sloper's book, The Red Dragon & The West Wind, is the most comprehensive book in existence about the American game. AND see FAQ 19 for fine points of the American rules (and commonly misunderstood rules). AND get the official rulebook from the NMJL (see FAQ 3). Linda Fisher's website is the only website that describes American rules: http://sites.google.com/site/mahjrules/.