Chapter 7 of 12 · Section 3 of 3
All 10 steps of this section, written out on one page. The pictures and activities aren’t included: to see them, open a step in the lesson.
You’ve learned calls, Jokers and the Joker exchange. This section puts a called turn together, then shows how a game ends.
You can claim the newest discard for an ordinary group by saying “Call” while the claim window is still open. The tile must complete a group of 3 or more that your X line needs.
Across discards a 5 Bam and says “5 Bam.” If nobody calls, Left plays next.
Put the complete group face up on the flat top of your rack. Don’t draw a tile from the wall too.
You call the 5 Bam and put it face up with your 5 Bam and a Joker. Now 11 tiles on the rack plus 3 on top make 14.
Make any Joker exchange that is allowed. If the called tile or an exchange completes your hand, declare Mah Jongg, with no discard. Otherwise, discard 1 tile you don’t want and say its name.
You discard a 2 Crak and say “2 Crak.” Left was skipped, so Right plays next.
Pick who discarded and who called. Then tap the seat that plays next, after the caller’s own discard.
Across discarded a 5 Bam, and you called it.
Play goes to each player’s right
Pay attention as you play, and give others a fair chance to call. Pausing before you rack your draw is a courtesy, not a fixed number of seconds that everyone uses. Agree on a pace that beginners find comfortable.
A player who only lifts the wall tile hasn’t racked it. The claim window for the previous discard closes when that player racks the tile: stands it on the sloping face of their rack. Discarding, declaring Mah Jongg or starting a Joker exchange also closes it.
Say “Call” to claim a tile. “Wait” only asks for a pause, unless your table has agreed to count it as a claim.
Section 2 showed 3 pictures of Right’s rack. Now read one without labels.
Right’s rack and wall, seen from the middle of the table. The gold outline marks the newest tile.
You discarded, and Right is the next player. What happened in this picture, and can someone still claim your discard?
Right’s rack and wall, seen from the middle of the table.
Right has lifted the next wall tile, as in the picture, and done nothing else. Can a valid claim still interrupt?
1. Mah Jongg. A player completes a winning hand with a tile from the wall, a claimed discard or a Joker exchange. They declare Mah Jongg, and play stops so the hand can be checked.
Across declares Mah Jongg and lays all 14 tiles face up. Everyone else keeps their hands off their own tiles and the wall.
2. A wall game. The wall runs out and nobody has won. With no winner, there is no win payment. Here is how the end of the wall goes.
1. The last tile. Only 1 tile is left in the wall. Right draws it, so nobody can draw after this turn.
The last discard can still be claimed if it completes the claimer’s winning hand, as with any discard. There is no fixed number of seconds: pause as a courtesy, so every player has a fair chance to claim it for Mah Jongg.
2. The last discard. Right discards a 9 Crak and names it. Everyone gets a fair chance to claim it for Mah Jongg.
3. Nobody claims it. The game ends as a wall game, with no winner. Then the tiles are mixed for the next game.
Not settled: calling the last discard for a group
The sources we checked don’t settle whether the last discard can be called for an ordinary exposure. They also don’t settle whether a Joker exchange could follow such a call. Before that comes up, check the rule reference your group agreed on.
If your reference doesn’t answer it, agree as a group, before you play, how you will handle it. That is a table agreement, not a settled rule.
The player declaring Mah Jongg shows all 14 tiles, including any exposures from earlier. Check each group against the chosen line: count, suit, numbers, special tiles and where the Jokers are. Also check the line’s X or C mark against any exposures.
Across’s 14 tiles, laid out in groups
3 × 1 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 5 Bam
3 × 7 Bam
2 × 9 Bam
Every group matches, and the Joker is in a pung.
Across’s hand, checked group by group against the line.
Until the result is settled, everyone else leaves their own tiles and the wall alone. If the declaration is wrong, play may need to go on with those tiles exactly as they were. If you show or throw in your own tiles before the hand is checked, your hand can become dead too.
Practice that check now on 3 hands. For each one, decide whether it is Mah Jongg and, if not, which group fails.
Question 1 of 3
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
3 × 1 Bam
3 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
2 × 5 Bam
The 14 tiles, laid out in groups
Hand 1: is it Mah Jongg? If not, which group fails?
Declared Mah Jongg by mistake? Say so at once, and don’t quietly change your tiles. If you haven’t shown any tiles, and nobody has moved their tiles or the wall, take it back with no penalty.
Nothing shown yet: take it back, with no penalty.
Claimed a discard and showed only the tiles for that one group? You may turn the claim into an ordinary call, if you could have made that call anyway. The group stays face up; discard as usual and play goes on.
Only the group for the claimed 5 Bam shown: it becomes an ordinary call, and you discard as usual.
Otherwise, once you have shown part or all of your hand, it is dead. You can’t draw, discard, call or win, but you still pay whoever wins. The others play on; Chapter 10, Section 2: A false Mah Jongg sums up these cases.
Whole hand shown, and 1 group is wrong: the 7 Bam pung holds a 7 Crak. The hand is dead, and you still pay the winner.
After the hand is checked, settle the score using the value on the agreed card. Chapter 8 sets out exactly who pays what. After every game, win or wall game, the player on East’s right becomes the new East.
Left was East, so you, the player on Left’s right, become the new East.
Mix all the tiles face down, rebuild the 4 walls, then break the wall and deal again. Don’t hold on to any tile from the last game.
All the tiles go face down in the middle to be mixed for the next game.
Answer without looking back at the examples first. Each answer comes with an explanation, and you can revisit a lesson or practice the questions you missed.
Question 1 of 5
After you discard and nobody calls, who draws?
Start with 13 tiles: take one, say “14,” choose a discard, name it and count 13 again. Explain how a call would change these steps. Then explain when you would stop instead of discarding.
Compare your answer with a model answer
An ordinary turn: take the next wall tile and say “14.” Choose a tile your line doesn’t need, put it face up in the middle, name it and count 13.
Take 1 tile from the wall: 13 tiles become 14.
Discard 1 tile and name it: “6 Crak.” 14 tiles become 13.
A called turn: say “Call,” put the whole group face up on the flat top and don’t draw. Your concealed tiles and your exposure make 14. Then discard 1 tile and name it, which makes 13.
After the call: 11 concealed tiles plus 3 exposed make 14, with no draw from the wall.
Discard 1 tile and name it: “2 Crak.” Now 10 concealed tiles plus 3 exposed make 13.
When you stop: if your draw, a called tile or a Joker exchange completes your hand, say “Mah Jongg,” show all 14 tiles and don’t discard.
After a call, a Joker exchange completes this hand: “Mah Jongg,” with no discard.
Chapter 9: Your First Game puts these moves together in whole games. You play a guided game, then a new game on your own, then 2 practice games and a target check. To practice with real tiles, use the tabletop rehearsal sheet.
Opening this recap doesn’t complete exercises you haven’t tried. A quiz score is feedback on your practice, not proof that you’re ready for a real table.
Section 2 · Calling & Jokers
Start Chapter 8 · Scoring & Payouts