SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
August 6, 2017
Column #685

American Mah Jongg (NMJL rules). Is it a rule, a strategy, etiquette? Is it an official rule, a table rule, a tournament rule?

1. Discarder of winning tile pays for everyone
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

2. Don't pass jokers in the Charleston
    a. Rule
    b. Strategy
    c. Etiquette

3. Don't pass flowers in the Charleston
    a. Rule
    b. Strategy
    c. Etiquette

4. Don't call for a discarded joker
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

5. When there's a wall game, everyone puts a coin in the kitty (AKA pot, pishke, or pushke)
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

6. Double dice doubles the payment
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

7. You're dead if you call someone dead and she rightly denies it
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

8. You're dead if you put a taken discard into the concealed hand
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

9. Discarder pays for everyone if she discards the winning tile on the last short wall (Hot Wall)
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

10. Calling a discard for exposure is forbidden on the last short wall (Cold Wall)
    a. Official rule
    b. Tournament rule
    c. Table rule

11. Fifth player bets on who will win
    a. Mandatory rule
    b. Optional rule
    c. Tournament rule

12. Pause a beat before picking from the wall
    a. Rule
    b. Strategy
    c. Etiquette

Answers below. Don't look until you've written down all your own answers...

Answers:
1: c. 2: a. 3: b. 4: a. 5: c. 6: c. 7: b. 8: b. 9: c. 10: c. 11: b. 12: c.

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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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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). And order the card directly from the NMJL so you get the yearly newsletter, and keep the newsletters.

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