SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
June 11, 2024
Column #809

American Mah Jongg (2024 NMJL card). Various computer game quandaries, from recent Facebook posts or the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board.

1. Call the hand dead. No such hand on the 2024 card.

2. Is her hand dead because she's working Evens #2? Hint: think the most powerful hand on the card, Consec #7. A main reason I call it "powerful" is that it can often be confused for another hand, misleading opponents. You mustn't call her dead. And don't discard 5C 7C 7B 9B.

3. This is a case of misreading the card. The eights matching the dragons must be pairs, not pungs.

4. There's no hand like that on the 2024 card. That looks like a 2023 hand. You didn't tell the app to use the 2023 card. Or you accidentally picked up the wrong card to play from.

5. Jokers can NEVER be used in a pair or single. Turns out the player thought "2024" was the only place jokers could not be used. Well, "99887" is not a joker-legal grouping, either, because it's "singles and pairs."

6. It's a three-suit hand and you have only two suits.

7. The number pungs are supposed to be the same number.

8. You'd have to discard a joker. Yes, you'd be jokerless, and yes, there are 2 hands you could be making, but with your two exposures, the chances of someone discarding your 2C are very very poor.

9. The Facebook poster said she was playing Consec #2, before her morning coffee. She didn't notice she needed to use two suits. But when she declared mahj, the computer awarded her Consec #5.

Are any of these examples yours? If you originated one of these puzzles and you want to be credited by name here, email me. Tell me which Facebook group you posted in, and the date if you can.

麻雀

COMMENTS
Email . Hit me with your best shot!

Column #809

On Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 08:01:42 AM EDT, Donna L wrote:
Subject: Column 809 Q# 1
2024 Hand Winds-Dragons #6 has 2 Dragon Kongs.
Sent from my iPad

囧 Yes, it does, Donna. But quandary #1 in column #809 shows kongs of 1B and 4B, so I don't follow. What am I missing?
Play safe out there. And may the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
Rochester, New York, USA
June 13, 2024
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind"
Donations appreciated

Column #809, part 2

On Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 10:06:53 AM EDT, Donna L wrote:
Subject: Re: Column 809 Q# 1
Sorry. I didn’t have my morning [coffee emoji] yet.
Donna
Sent from my iPad

[laughter emoji]
Tom

Questions about the 2024 NMJL card? See FAQ 16

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! You'll thank me later.

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).

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