WEEKLY MAH JONGG

By Tom Sloper
4th of July, 2010
Column #458

American Mah Jongg (NMJL rules). As I wrote on the Q&A bulletin board this week, the Window of Opportunity rule is probably the single most important rule in American mah jongg. The moment when a player is claiming a discard for exposure is a moment of excitement; taking the tile is a forward step towards the goal: making mah jongg. Even more exciting is the moment in which one obtains the tile that completes the hand, triumphantly taking the player over the mah jongg finish line.

If something happens at these moments of excitement to thwart either the step closer to victory, or the step over that finish line, it frequently happens that the player snaps; thwarted elation can often turn to anger. So it's very important that the rules governing this crucial window of time are clearly understood by all players. The unfortunate fact is that most players have never even seen the complete actual rule in writing. Most players learned what they know about the rule by word of mouth, and usually what they heard was incomplete or incorrect.

When a discard goes down (when the tile either touches the table or is named completely), the window opens. While the window of opportunity is open, any of the other three players can claim the live discard. The window doesn't close until one of the following three things occurs:

1. The next player picks and racks;
2. The next player picks and discards;
3. The next player picks and declares mah jongg.

The window of opportunity doesn’t close, then, when the player next in order lifts the next tile from the wall (or slides it, which is essentially the same thing), or when she looks at the tile (as many people seem to think); it doesn't close until she racks or discards or declares mah jongg. Once any of those three things happens, no player can call the most recent discard, because that discarded tile is now dead.

If a player wants to claim the live discard within the window of opportunity, she may do so. When a claim is spoken, if the next player in line was holding a picked tile, or looking at it, or moving it towards her rack, she has to put it back on the wall. It sometimes comes down to a judgment call; was the first syllable of the claim audible before the click of the tile on the rack, or not? If the call and the click were concurrent, I consider the length of the interval between discard and claim. If the claimant had been slow to make the claim, then the picker keeps her tile; if the picker had moved rapidly (making it difficult for another player to make a claim), then the claimant gets the discard.

Where this gets tricky is when the picked wall tile is the picker's maj tile. A claim for maj trumps a claim for exposure. Similarly, if someone voices a claim for the live discard while the picker sees that the tile she's taken is her maj tile, then she doesn't have to put that tile back on the wall; she gets to declare maj. Mah jongg trumps everything. It's only right.

Don't stop reading here! Some readers wrote in with follow-up questions in 2014 and 2016 (below). And this topic was discussed again in column 639 in July, 2015.

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

Does the Window of Opportunity rule apply to this?

> From: Donna
> Sent: Sunday, February 2, 2014 7:46 PM
> Subject: Window of Opportunity or Simultaneous Occurrence?
> Hi Tom,
> A player discards a tile, the next player picks her tile from the wall and sees that she can exchange it for a joker and begins to reach for the tile, but doesn’t physically touch it yet. A third player calls for the discarded tile. Is this a case of the Window of Opportunity" still open because the player who picked the tile didn’t rack it? It was decided to let the player who called the tile take it and the other player put the tile back.
> Thanks,
> Donna
> P.S. I reviewed your column on "Window of Opportunity" (which I know in my sleep as I teach from it) and apologize if you’ve answered it somewhere else that I overlooked. Just moved and can’t put my hands on your book to further check.

Hi, Donna.
Okay, so you rely on column 458 (I had to search the columns to find it). Interesting. I just always go to FAQ 19C (which has a link to FAQ 19AT, which goes into further detail about the rule). But okay, let's stay with the column. The column says:

The window doesn't close until one of the following three things occurs:
1. The next player picks and racks;
2. The next player picks and discards;
3. The next player picks and declares mah jongg.

So, ask yourself:
Has the player racked? No.
Has the player discarded? No.
Has the player declared mah-jongg? No.
The answer to all three was "no," therefore the window of opportunity was still open for anyone else to claim the live discard.

However, your question does show that there is a fourth possibility (which is mentioned in FAQ 19C):
4. The next player might redeem a joker (actually make an exchange).
Per the 2014 NMJL bulletin, once a player has redeemed a joker, she has committed to that exchange and may not change her mind about redeeming the joker. It is reasonable to extend that reasoning -- making a joker exchange would also close the window of opportunity.
But in the story you told, your player had not made the exchange (she was only reaching). So even with this fourth way to close the window, the window had not yet been closed.

I think I'll append this Q&A to column 458.

May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper

Creator of the weekly Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
Groundhog Day, 2014

P.S. I just checked, and this is also mentioned in the errata, which may be downloaded from the RDWW page.

MJ trumps all, right?

>From: Sam A
>Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 5:48 PM
>Subject: Window of opportunity
>A 3 bam was discarded. My turn next and I picked a 7 dot. I was doing the like hand with 7s. I was holding the tile and checking to see if I had all the right tiles for mj. Before I could call mj another player called the 3 bam. We had a discussion but no one really seemed to know the rule that mj trumps all. In other words I get to keep the tile for mj. Am I right? Thanks for your help.

Sam, it sounds to me like you were too slow, and the other person gets the tile. But I wasn't there. You were sitting there holding the tile, in other words holding the window open for somebody to shut it on you, and then when the other person spoke, what did you do? What I would have done is either racked the tile while thinking, or as soon as the other person started to speak, I'd talk over her and say "Mah-jongg." Or if she spoke too quickly, I might speak over her last syllable and say, "No, it's mah-jongg," and show the tile, then show my hand quickly, before she can pick up the live discard. It isn't always a race, but sometimes you have to be quick.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆斯洛珀
Creator of the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
June 21, 2016

MJ trumps all, right? (Part 2)

>From: Sam A
>Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 9:20 PM
>Subject: RE: Window of opportunity
>Thank you for your quick response. Before contacting you originally I read your q and a board and discussion on 458. I thought my situation fit what you wrote in the last paragraph. And I was just confirming that but now I'm totally confused. I did say it was my mj tile after she called the tile. I seem to be misunderstanding what you wrote. If possible could you clarify. Thank you again. I want to get this right.

>From: Sam A
>Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 10:07 PM
>Subject: PS
>She called the 3 bam but did not pick it up because I said I had my mj tile. Official tournament rules say if you pick your mj tile from the wall you MAY rack it. It doesn't say you must. That confuses the situation more.

Sam, that's right. You did not violate any rules by keeping the window of opportunity open for someone else to try to shut it on you. The problem is that you left the window of opportunity open for someone else to try to climb right on through it, and someone did!
I'm sorry you're still confused. You say there's a contradiction between my answer of yesterday and something else I wrote. If you tell me exactly what I said that's contradictory, I'll try to resolve it.
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆斯洛珀
Creator of the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
June 22, 2016

MJ trumps all, right? (Part 3)

>From: Sam A
>Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2016 6:51 AM
>Subject: Sloper on Mah-Jongg - The Window of Opportunity, v1.0
>http://www.sloperama.com/mahjongg/column458a.htm
>This is what I read. The last paragraph of the article states pretty much what happened in my case. Once again thank you for your time. Here is a quote from the article. "If someone voices a claim for the live discard while the picker sees that the tile she's taken is her mj tile,, then she doesn't have to put that tile back on the wall and she gets to declare mj." This is the last paragraph of the column 458.

Hi, Sam. Okay, I see now. Let's consider some different scenarios.

Player A is waiting for mah-jongg. She knows she can win on 7D or 7C or F or Joker, let's say. She watches player D to see if one of her maj tiles is thrown. Player D discards 3B. Not a maj tile for player A, so player A reaches for the wall, takes a tile, and looks at it (holding it in the air, unracked), and instantly observes that it is indeed one of her maj tiles, but before she can say "maj" player C says "I want that." Before player C can expose tiles from her hand, player A says "no, this is mah-jongg," and exposes her hand.

Player D discards 3B. Player A reaches for the wall, takes a tile, and looks at it (holding it in the air, unracked), and thinks about whether or not that tile is something she wants.
And thinks.
And thinks.
Player C says, "I want that." Then a discussion ensues, and disharmony prevails.

What I wrote in column 458 describes scenario 1. What you wrote me sounded to me like scenario 2, which is why I replied the way I did yesterday. Be sure ahead of time (before you pick a tile and hold it unracked in the air) that one or more certain tiles will definitely complete your hand, and act decisively. It's better for everyone, and more conducive to harmonious play.

Hope that clarifies?
May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper

Creator of the weekly Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
June 22, 2016

MJ trumps all, right? (Part 4)

After some thought, another scenario:

Player A is pretty sure she's close to mah-jongg. She watches player D discard 3B. Not a tile player A wants, so player A reaches for the wall, takes a tile, and racks it. The window of opportunity is now closed on the 3B, and whatever happens next is not likely to be controversial.

May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper

Creator of the weekly Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
June 22, 2016

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/.