Read more columns
Full-screen
See more Sloperama

SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
March 29, 2024
Column #799

American Mah Jongg (2024 NMJL card). The 2024 card is here! The first thing I always look at is how many of the hands are repeats, variations, or brand new. Mind you, what I call a "variation" might be regarded as "new" to someone else. So there is some subjectivity involved with that analysis. Interestingly, there are only two hands that are the same as last year (Consec #3 and Winds-Dragons #1), and only one biannual alternate (Consec #7, the traditional "most powerful hand on the card"

The usual biannual alternates are Consec #1 and Odds #1, but the League changed those up this year. These alternating hands are usually either pair-pung-kong-pung-pair, or pair-pair-pung-pung-kong. But this year we have a new shape: pung-pair-kong-pair-pung! I always thought of the pair-pung-kong-pung-pair shape as a "pyramid" shape, so I think of this new arrangement as sort of a "W" shape (high-low-higher-low-high).

A lot of the hands are from previous years (21 hands, which make up 38% of the hands on the card). Those hands come from cards 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017-2022.

But a whopping 29% of the hands on this card are new, never seen before on a previous card (note: I only checked back to 2000). That's a lot of innovation right there.

After I do my new/old analysis, then I like to look at how flowers and dragons are used on a new card.

There are no flower pungs this year. There are two flower quints: one in Quints, and one in Consec.

In past years, dragon pungs could be a telltale as to what hand an opponent was making. This year there are several hands with exposable dragon pungs other than soaps, so no dead giveaways.

There are Addition hands this year; "Lucky Sevens" are an echo of 2017's "Lucky 13" hands. A couple of years ago (2019, actually) I thought there would be an imbalance because of all the fives in that year's Addition hands. I was wrong, so I'm not making such a prediction this time about sevens.

More analysis next week!

麻雀

QUESTIONS about the 2024 NMJL card? See FAQ 16.

COMMENTS
Email . Hit me with your best shot!

  • Where to order the yearly NMJL card: Read FAQ 7i. But you're missing a bet if you don't order your NMJL card directly from the National Mah Jongg League!
  • Need rules for American mah-jongg? Tom Sloper's book, The Red Dragon & The West Wind, is the most comprehensive book about the American game, a good supplement to the League's official rulebook. Note that every owner of the book also needs the errata, which are updated ongoing, as needed. AND see FAQ 19 for fine points of the American rules (and commonly misunderstood rules). AND every player should have a copy of Mah Jongg Made Easy, the official rulebook of the National Mah Jongg League (see FAQ 3 for info on mah-jongg books).
  • There is no Sloperama newsletter. There is no mailing list to join. You won't get any notifications. Just come on back, y'all, whenever you want.

    If you appreciate the free information on this site, your donation would be gratefully accepted, and would help keep this site running as a free service. Thank you!
    DONATE!
    Not tax-deductible

    © 2024 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without express written permission.