The 2023 NMJL Card

FAQ 16. Frequently-Asked Questions about the 2023 National Mah Jongg League card*

* At the bottom of this page, you can link to old cards going back to 2001.

Interested in Strategy Tips for the 2023 card? Check out my Strategy Columns, starting out with my analysis of the 2023 card in column #785!

Did You Know? 2023 and NEWS are not kongs! (That means no jokers, and no exposure prior to mah-jongg.)
This principle also applies to "357" (Singles & Pairs #1), a grouping of three singles. Jokers may only be used in groups of 3 or more Like tiles, and only groups of 3 or more Like tiles (pungs, kongs, quints, sextets) may be exposed prior to mah-jongg.

This year the 2023 card dropped the "Jokers cannot be used in a 2022 grouping." Does that mean... [something, anything]?
I imagine that line of text may have been removed for 2 reasons: (1) it's unnecessary, and (2) the space was needed. That text's removal has no significance in the meaning of the card. (Of course, it should go without saying that a "2023" grouping is not a kong. A "2023" is a grouping of two twos, a three, and a soap - it's not four identical tiles, so it's not a kong.)

Can I use a joker in a 2023 since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No. 2023 is not a kong. A kong is four like tiles. 2023 is not four like tiles, so you are not allowed to use jokers. Read FAQ 19E (click here) and read the back of your NMJL card. Look for the word "NEVER" (in ALL CAPS, bold).

If a 2023 is not a kong, why aren't there spaces between the digits?
Don't you think it looks more natural without the spaces? Accept that a 2023 is not a kong, and move on.

Can I claim a discarded tile to expose a 2023?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19-E (click here).

Can I use a joker in a NEWS since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No. NEWS is not a kong, same as a 2023 is not a kong (as explained above). NEWS is four single tiles. Not a kong.

If a NEWS is not a kong, why aren't there spaces between the digits?
Don't you think it looks more natural without the spaces? Accept that a NEWS is not a kong, and move on.

Can I claim a discarded tile to expose a NEWS?
Not unless it's for mah-jongg. Read FAQ 19-E (click here).

What about 357 (as in S&P #1)?
That's not a pung. A pung is 3 like tiles. Read FAQ 19-E (click here).

222 0000 222 3333 (Any 2 Suits)
(2023 #1)

The parenthetical says "Any 2 Suits," but the hand is shown in three colors. So the first pung of twos has to be dots? But it's green!
Zeroes are "suitless." The first pung of twos can be any suit. The second pung of twos and the kong of threes can be any second suit.

FF 2023 2222 3333 (Any 3 Suits)
(2023 #2)

Does the 2023 have to be in bams, since it's green?
No. Read the parenthetical. It says "Any 3 Suits." That's the League's way of saying that the 2023 can be from any suit, and the kongs of twos and threes have to be made from the other two suits.

Does the 2023 have to be made in the suit of dots, to go with the soap?
No. Read the card: zeroes are suitless. The 2023 can be any suit, and the two kongs have to be made from the other two suits. Also read FAQ 19AE (click here).

Does that all-green 2023 mean I can use a green dragon as zero?
No. Read the card. Zero is white dragon ("soap"), always.

FFFF DDD 2023 DDD (2023 Any Suit, Pungs Any Dragons)
(2023 #3)

It says "Pungs Any Dragons," so does that mean I can use a pung of soaps?
Yes.

But the hand is printed in three colors!
The parenthetical says the 2023 can be "Any Suit," so the 2023 can be the same suit as one of your dragon pungs. You can make the hand in two or three suits. The parenthetical overrides the color-coding. You can use dots in the 2023, but you don't have to. You can use a pung of soaps, but you don't have to.

This image illustrates four of the several ways 2023 #3 can be made in three suits (top) or two suits (bottom):

Can my dragon pungs be the same dragon? Like three greens, and a green with two jokers?
No. The dragon pungs have to be two different dragons.

22 000 NEWS 222 33 (Any 2 Suits - Pair of 2s May Be in Any Suit)
(2023 #4)

Can the pair of twos be the same suit as the 222 33?
No. The parenthetical says it's a 2-suit hand, and zeroes and NEWS are suitless.

The numbered tiles (2s & 3s) are written in 2 colors and the first part of the parenthetical says "Any 2 suits," but then the second part of the parenthetical says, "Pair of 2s may be in any suit." If the pair of 2s could be in ANY suit, this would be a 1- OR 2-suit hand. The rule of thumb is that the parenthetical takes precedence over the written hand, but this one has me stumped.
Don't read too much into it.
The pair of 2s can be any suit.
Then the red pung and pair can be any other suit.
The point is that the pair of 2s does not have to be dots.

Doesn't the pair of of twos have to be Dots, to go with the soaps?
No. It can be any suit. Read the parenthetical.

If the pair of 2's can be any suit (as it says in the ()'s), and if I use dots for the 222 and 33, can I also use dots for the pair of 2's?
No. You can only use dots for the 222 and 33 if you do NOT use dots for the pair of twos. It's a 2-suit hand, like it says in the parenthetical.

The parenthetical says "Any 2 Suits," but the hand is shown in 3 colors. Doesn't 3 colors mean 3 suits?
It would, if the 000 NEWS included any suit tiles, but it doesn't. Zeroes are suitless, as are winds. Suitless tiles are always shown in blue.

Can I use a joker in a NEWS since the tiles are bunched together like a kong?
No. This is explained above.

Can I claim a discarded tile to expose a NEWS?
No, for two reasons. Firstly, this is a Concealed (Closed) hand. Secondly, you can never expose NEWS all by itself, as explained above.

ADDITION HANDS

What is the + and = signs and how are they that played or are they ignored?
That section of the card is called "Addition Hands." The + and = signs are there to illustrate the logic behind the pattern in this section. "One plus one equals two," "Two plus two equals four," etc. You can ignore the + and = signs as you build the hand.

CONSECUTIVE RUN

Can I use zeroes in Consecutive Runs? Like 000 1111 222 3333 or 777 8888 999 0000?
No. The only place on the card where you are permitted to use zero is where the card shows a numeral "0". Read FAQ 19-BH.

11 222 3333 444 55 -or- 55 66 777 888 9999 (These Nos. Only)
(Consecutive Run #1)

Can I make this hand with different numbers, like 4-5-6-7-8?
No. Read the parenthetical: "These Nos. Only."

FF 1111 2222 3333 -or- FF 1111 2222 3333 (Any 1 or 3 Suits)
(Consecutive Run #5)

Can I use any consecutive numbers, or does that have to be those numbers only?
Any 3 consecutive numbers. The only hand in Consecutive Runs that has to be specific numbers is the top one. You can see plainly that there wasn't enough space to write any more in the parenthetical. Last year, the parenthetical on that hand said "Any Run," and people kept asking "Does 'Any Run' mean I can use different numbers?"

FFFF 11 333 555 555 -or- FFFF 55 777 999 999 (These Nos. Only)
(13579 #6)

The parenthetical doesn't say the hand has to be three suits, so can it be two suits?
Ignoring the flowers (suitless symbols are always shown in blue), see that the hand is three colors. It says on the back of the card that three colors on the card means three suits must be used. Nothing in the parenthetical overrides the color-coding. See FAQ 19-J and combine that with FAQ 19-AJ.3: "When there is no overriding parenthetical... you have to make the hand indicated by the numbers, letters, and colors shown on the card. This ought to go without saying."

3 66 999 3333 3333 (Kongs 3, 6, or 9)
(369 #5)

Can I use kongs of different numbers, like 3333 6666 or 3333 9999? Can my kongs be the same suit?
No. The kongs must be the same number, different suits. It's a 3-suit hand with kongs of like numbers.

The parenthetical doesn't say the hand has to be three suits, so can it be two suits?
It says on the back of the card that three colors on the card means three suits must be used. Nothing in the parenthetical overrides the color-coding. See FAQ 19-J and combine that with FAQ 19-AJ.3: "When there is no overriding parenthetical... you have to make the hand indicated by the numbers, letters, and colors shown on the card. This ought to go without saying."

FF 11 22 11 22 11 22 (Any 3 Suits, Any 2 Consec. Nos.)
(S&P #2)

Can I make this with numbers other than 1 and 2? Like for instance 88 99 88 99 88 99?
Sure. The parenthetical says "any".

Can it be 22 33 55 66 44 55?
No. Wherever you see ones in that hand, you must use the same number (all "ones" must be the same number, any number from 1 to 8). Wherever you see twos in that hand, you must use your first number plus one (it can only be a number from 2 to 9). You will have 3 pairs (3 suits) of one number, and 3 pairs of the next sequential number.

Then how about 12 12 12 12 12 12?
Well... That's pretty much the same thing it shows on the card (you have two of each number in each suit). But your playing companions might insist you arrange them in proper pairs. (By the way: "12" is not a pair.)

Can I use zeroes, like for instance: 00 11 00 11 00 11?
You must be a programmer (only programmers think numerical sequences should begin with zero). The answer is no. Anyway, have you tried? It's impossible, since only soaps can be used for zeroes and you can't use jokers in Singles & Pairs.

FF 2023 2023 2023 (Any 3 Suits)
(S&P #6)

If I make this hand without jokers, can I earn double?
No. It's clearly impossible to use jokers, so there's no bonus. The points are already built into the hand's score.

Didn't find what you were looking for in this FAQ? Check these links...

Commonly Misunderstood Rules of American Mah-Jongg - FAQ 19 (click here).
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Every year, the League issues rule clarifications in its newsletter. Every person who buys the card
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FAQ 16. Frequently-Asked Questions about the 2023* National Mah Jongg League card

FAQ 16. Frequently-Asked Questions about the 2023 National Mah Jongg League card*