A note from our Mah Jongg Club Chair

The Good and Bad of the Popularization of Mah Jongg

The very best news is that Mah Jongg has become a very popular game during the past year. So many young people have been drawn to the game we love, and this is great! Many beautiful new MJ sets and accessories have also become readily available.

The bad news is that many new practices have caused confusion among players of all skill levels. There are now at least three different 2026 cards, The National Mah Jongg League, The Big Card (note: this is not the large version of NMJL, but a totally different card), and American Mah Jongg League; and there may be even more, including fake cards available from on-line vendors. Many new beautiful high end sets have tiles that may be difficult for some to identify. Additionally, some new players are taught “alternative” rules or ways to play the game.

Our HOM MJ group plays by the rules and uses the card of the National Mah Jongg League. Because we all come from different parts of the country and may have been taught different “tables” rules, we have abandoned those practices so that we are all “on the same page.” We do play by one and only one “table rule.” The NMJL rules do not allow for the “Charleston” when there are fewer than four players. Because our group all enjoys the Charleston, we have determined a consistent manner to play this fun part of the game with three players. Each summer, we have experimented with various methods which we then employ in our game. In this way, we all play the same way.

I hope you will all understand that we need to be consistent in how we play our Wednesday morning game. Alternatives may have a place, but not in our HOM game.

Respectfully,

Bernadette