Chapter 9 of 12
All 29 steps of this chapter, written out on one page. The pictures and activities aren’t included: to see them, open a step in the lesson.
Your goal: Play one teaching game from the Charleston to the payment, with draws, calls, an exchange and a win.
East, on your left, holds 14 tiles and plays first. Then it’s your turn.
East sits on your left, so you sit on East’s right. This practice game follows a script and uses one teaching line, shown on the page.
You play the guided game yourself in step 12. The steps around it get you ready and explain the key moments. Your choices there change your rack.
Turns that don’t affect your hand are summarized, so this isn’t a random game. Practice the steps here, then repeat them with real tiles and the card your group agreed on.
Move through the steps with Back and Next, or jump to one from Chapter contents. This browser saves your answers and your place on this device, so you can leave and come back.
In this example, the player on your left is picked to be East. All 152 tiles are mixed face down and built into 4 walls of 19 stacks, each 2 tiles high. East rolls 2 dice to choose where to break the wall.
East rolls 3 + 5 = 8 and saves 8 stacks for last.
Say East rolls 8. East counts 8 stacks from East’s own right end of East’s wall and makes the break just past them. Those 8 saved stacks are used last.
East takes the first 4 tiles. Then each player in turn, to the right, takes 4 tiles, until everyone has 12.
3 rounds of 4 tiles each, starting with East.
In the last round, East takes 2 tiles: the top tile of the next stack and the top tile of the 3rd stack. Every other player takes 1 tile.
The next 3 stacks of the wall, with their 2 layers pulled apart.
Review: Chapter 4, Take the last 5 tiles
East sits on your left, so you are on East’s right. Put the last round of the deal in order.
Of these 13 tiles, 9 are Bams. The other 4 are 5 Crak, 9 Dot, East and Green Dragon. Don’t call them useless in every case; judge them against the target you choose.
The target in step 6 uses only numbered Bams, so none of those 4 tiles has a place in it.
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
How many tiles do you and East hold after a correct deal?
This teaching line needs a kong of 1 Bams, a kong of 2 Bams, a pung of 3 Bams and a pung of 4 Bams. Together, the group sizes make 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 14. X means ordinary exposures are allowed.
The same line, written as a card row
1111
Group 1
2222
Group 2
333
Group 3
444
Group 4
(These Nos. Only) X 30
One ink color means all 4 groups use the same suit; here it is Bams. A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card.
On a real card, find a genuine, valid line and read its notes before you choose it. This simplified example lets you practice the flow.
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
In this chapter, “a tile your target doesn’t use” means a tile with no place in your target line. Those are the tiles you pass and discard.
Pick any 3 of them to pass. This is a practice run: the guided game itself starts at step 12, from the same starting rack.
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
Pick 3 tiles your target doesn’t use, for the First Right pass.
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
0 of 3 selected
Chapter 5 gave each pass a name. The name says which Charleston the pass belongs to and which way the tiles go: right, across or left.
Right and left mean your own right and left as you sit.
In the guided game, everyone agrees to play the optional second Charleston. At a real table, any one player may stop it, as long as nobody has looked at the tiles from its first pass. The courtesy pass is still agreed separately with the player across from you.
Put all 6 passes in order.
In the guided game, you make each pass yourself. After all 6, your rack looks like this. Ordinary play starts from here. Everyone at the table agrees to a courtesy pass of 0 tiles.
You gained a 3rd 4 Bam. The 6 Crak, 7 Crak and 5 Dot are tiles your target doesn’t use.
New from the passes: a 3rd 4 Bam, so your 4 Bam pung is complete.
Not used by your target: 6 Crak, 7 Crak and 5 Dot.
You still hold 3 tiles your target doesn’t use. Passing improves your options; it doesn’t promise a ready-made hand.
Before you reveal the count, try to name which tiles are missing and how many of each.
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
4 × 1 Bam
3 natural + 0 Joker used
Need 1
4 × 2 Bam
2 natural + 0 Joker used
Need 2
3 × 3 Bam
2 natural + 0 Joker used
Need 1
3 × 4 Bam
3 natural + 0 Joker used
Complete
10 of 14 places covered; 4 still missing. This counts useful tiles, not your chance of winning.
You still need one 1 Bam, two 2 Bams and one 3 Bam. The 4 Bam pung is already complete. Being 4 target tiles short is no reason to make an illegal partial call.
3 of 4
2 of 4
2 of 3
3 of 3
The 4 dashed places are still missing: one 1 Bam, two 2 Bams and one 3 Bam. The 6 Crak, 7 Crak and 5 Dot fill none of them.
A normal turn starts with a draw from the wall. Then you hold 14 tiles.
A normal turn: draw 1 tile, 13 + 1 = 14.
On a called turn, the new tile comes from a discard instead, and you don’t draw. Your exposure still counts toward the 14. Later in the guided game, Across discards a 1 Bam, and you call it to make a kong with your three 1 Bams.
A called turn: 4 exposed + 10 on the rack = 14, with no draw.
Either way, you discard 1 tile and count 13, including exposures.
After the discard: 4 exposed + 9 on the rack = 13.
You may exchange for a Joker after your draw or a completed call, and before you discard. If an allowed move completes your winning hand, declare Mah Jongg instead of discarding.
Go through the moves below. No tiles are picked for you. Read the current scene, make your choice and watch your tile count and exposures change.
You can go back to earlier steps without resetting this game. This browser saves the game where you left it, so you can finish it later.
Your target for this game
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
Current scene
Pass 1 of 6: First Right. Send 3 tiles to Right and receive 3 from Left. Select 3 tiles your target doesn’t use, then pass them. Everyone at the table has agreed to play both Charlestons, with a courtesy pass of 0 tiles.
13 tiles in total: 13 concealed + 0 exposed.
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
0 of 3 selected
Moves so far (0)
Opponents’ draws and discards that don’t affect your hand are summarized. This teaching game follows a script; it isn’t a random 4-player game.
In the guided game, Right discarded a 2 Bam while you held two 2 Bams and no Joker.
Your rack when Right discarded the first 2 Bam. Your 2 tiles your target doesn’t use may differ, depending on what you discarded.
Your target needed a kong of 2 Bams. Why did you let the first discarded 2 Bam go?
Next, Across discarded a 1 Bam. It could join your three 1 Bams to complete a kong. Your X line needs that kong, so this call is legal and useful.
Across’s 1 Bam is the newest discard. The first 2 Bam is already an old discard.
Your three 1 Bams and Across’s newest discard, a 1 Bam: together, a kong of 4.
Before you call, check the tile’s face and your whole line. “Wait” only asks for a pause, unless your table has agreed to count it as a claim. Once you know your call is legal, say “Call” clearly and without delay.
After the call, your four 1 Bams lie face up on top of your rack. They still count as part of your hand. You don’t draw: you discard 1 tile.
Before your discard: 4 exposed + 10 concealed = 14.
After your discard: 4 exposed + 9 concealed = 13.
You may switch only to another X line that has room for this kong. You can’t hide it again to go after a C line.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
An X line with a kong of 1 Bams: your exposure fits it.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
C means concealed: no exposures. Your kong can’t be hidden again, so a C line is out.
Make Across the discarder and You the caller, as in the guided game. Find out who plays after your discard. Then try a different pair of seats.
Pick who discarded and who called. Then tap the seat that plays next, after the caller’s own discard.
Across discarded a 1 Bam, and you called it.
Play goes to each player’s right
Later, Left discards North, and Across calls it with a North and a Joker. Play goes on to Across’s right, which is Left. Your turn and Right’s were skipped.
Across calls Left’s North. After Across discards, Left plays next.
Across’s exposure has 3 North places, and the Joker stands for North. So a natural North becomes useful to you: at the right time, you can exchange it for that Joker.
Suppose Across discards a North and Left calls it instead. After Left’s discard, whose ordinary turn is next?
Question 1 of 2
Two claims at the same moment: one valid Mah Jongg and one ordinary exposure. Which has priority?
North has no place in your all-Bam target. But after you draw North on your turn, you can offer it for the Joker in Across’s exposure. Say “Exchange” as you do it.
Your North goes to Across, and Across’s Joker comes to you.
Across’s exposure is still a North pung, now all natural.
You give 1 tile and get 1 tile, so you still hold 14, counting your exposed kong. Across’s pung is still complete, now with 3 natural Norths.
After the exchange: the Joker is on your rack, and you still hold 14.
Next, discard the last tile your target doesn’t use. The Joker can fill the missing 2 Bam place. A Joker on your rack can also move to any other group of 3 or more.
On the next turn, Right draws and discards the last natural 2 Bam. The first 2 Bam is still an old discard, and nobody can claim it now.
The newest 2 Bam comes from Right. The 1st 2 Bam, outlined in gold, is an old discard.
The 1st 2 Bam, an old discard, lying with the others.
Your 2 Bam, 2 Bam and Joker, and Right’s newest discard, a 2 Bam.
Your 13 tiles: the 1 Bam kong, then 2 Bam, 2 Bam, Joker, the 3 Bam pung and the 4 Bam pung.
You hold the 1 Bam kong, the 3 Bam and 4 Bam pungs, and 2 Bam, 2 Bam, Joker. Right discards a 2 Bam. What do you announce?
Before anyone pays, check the whole hand against the printed line, group by group. The first 2 Bam is still an old discard and can’t be used; the later natural copy is the winning one. Leave everyone’s tiles as they are while you check.
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 1 Bam
4 × 2 Bam
3 × 3 Bam
3 × 4 Bam
The same line, written as a card row
1111
Group 1
2222
Group 2
333
Group 3
444
Group 4
(These Nos. Only) X 30
One ink color means all 4 groups use the same suit; in your hand it is Bams. Each printed group matches the group with the same number below. A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card.
Group 1 · printed 1111: 4 × 1 Bam, a kong
Already exposed on top of your rack. It still counts in your 14.
Group 2 · printed 2222: 4 × 2 Bam, a kong
Concealed until the win. The Joker counts as the fourth 2 Bam in this kong; one natural 2 Bam is the discard you claimed.
Group 3 · printed 333: 3 × 3 Bam, a pung
Concealed until the win.
Group 4 · printed 444: 3 × 4 Bam, a pung
Concealed until the win.
4 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 14 tiles, and every tile sits in exactly one group. Having a Joker in the kong is legal.
Then check the rest of the line: it is marked X, so your exposed kong is allowed. Its value, 30 points in this teaching example, is used for the payment, not for checking the match.
Groups 1, 2 and 4 are the same as above.
Now suppose one of your 3 Bams were a 3 Crak instead. You would still hold 14 tiles. Which group fails, and why?
Your winning hand, laid out. Right discarded the 2 Bam you claimed.
Question 1 of 3
The printed value is 30, and you won on Right’s discard. How much does Right, the discarder, pay before any bonus?
The guided game ended in a 30-point win on Right’s discard, with a Joker in the hand. Try a different ending to see how the payments would change. Then set the calculator back to what actually happened.
Right discarded your winning tile, and your hand had a Joker.
Left
30
1 × 30
Across
30
1 × 30
Right
discarder
60
2 × 30
You collect 120
Right, the discarder, pays 2 × 30 = 60. Left and Across pay 30 each. You collect 30 + 30 + 60 = 120 points.
Change any setting to see a different ending. Your guided game above stays as it was.
Left
30
1 × 30
Across
30
1 × 30
Right
discarder
60
2 × 30
You collect 120
Right, the discarder, pays 2 × 30 = 60. Left and Across pay 30 each. You collect 30 + 30 + 60 = 120 points.
Your guided win came from a discard and had a Joker. Who pays double the printed value?
Not every game ends in a win. Near the end, a player draws the last tile of the wall and discards.
The last tile of the wall.
The last discard: everyone gets a fair chance to claim it for Mah Jongg.
If nobody has a valid win by then, it is a wall game, and there is no win payment.
A wall game: nobody won.
The game ends there. East passes to the player on East’s right, which is you in this game. Then the tiles are mixed and dealt again.
The next game: you become East.
A wall game isn’t a failed test, and it doesn’t prove that every player made a mistake.
This game is new: different tiles, a different teaching card and a different ending. You make every decision, and nothing is selected for you.
Each scene records your first choice before it explains anything. Ask for a hint only if you want one.
Teaching card for this game (4 lines)
Fictional lines for practice, not from an NMJL card.
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
3 × 2 Dot
3 × 4 Dot
3 × 6 Dot
3 × 8 Dot
2 × White Dragon
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
2 × Flower
3 × 2 Dot
3 × 4 Dot
3 × 6 Dot
3 × 8 Dot
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
3 × 1 Crak
3 × 3 Crak
3 × 5 Crak
3 × 7 Crak
2 × 9 Crak
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. C means concealed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × 2 Dot
4 × 4 Dot
2 × 6 Dot
2 × 8 Dot
2 × White Dragon
Scene 1 of 11: Choose your target Your strategy
East sits on your left again, so you are on East’s right. The deal is done, and you hold 13 tiles. The teaching card above is the one your table is using for this game. Before the Charleston, decide which line to lead with.
Concealed: 13 Exposed: 0 Total: 13
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
Which plan should lead?
Hint: For each line, count the places your tiles fill now. Then check which lines allow calls (X) and which need natural pairs.
Moves so far (0)
Other players’ turns that don’t affect your decisions are summarized. This game follows a script; it isn’t a random 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 8
Across discarded. You called it, exposed your group and then discarded. Whose ordinary turn is next?
2 practice games and a target check, all on one card: Practice Card P (fictional lines, not from an NMJL card). Game 1 ends in a win and a payment; Game 2 ends in a wall game.
Help fades: only the first scenes of Game 1 offer hints. The target check gives you a new rack and no hints. Your record keeps rule checks, strategy choices, hints and first attempts apart.
This practice follows a script, so it can’t show how you play with people who make their own choices. With real tiles, the tabletop rehearsal sheet is the next step.
Open the tabletop rehearsal sheet
Play one whole game on Practice Card P, from choosing a target to settling the payment. It starts with a target check: pick a line, place each tile in one of its groups and count. Then find what only natural tiles can finish, and give your reason. Nothing is marked until you check. Hints are offered only in the first scenes; after that you decide alone.
Practice Card P (4 lines)
Fictional lines for practice, not from an NMJL card.
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
2 × Flower
4 × 5 Bam
4 × 5 Crak
4 × 5 Dot
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
3 × 1 Dot
3 × 2 Dot
4 × 3 Dot
4 × 4 Dot
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. C means concealed. You need all 14 tiles.
4 × North Wind
3 × East Wind
3 × West Wind
4 × South Wind
A teaching example, not a line from the current NMJL card. X means exposures are allowed. You need all 14 tiles.
2 × 2 Dot
3 × 4 Dot
3 × 6 Dot
3 × 8 Dot
3 × White Dragon
Scene 1 of 13: Choose your target Your strategy
East sits on your left, so you are on East’s right. The deal is done and you hold 13 tiles. Practice Card P is the card your table uses for this game. Choose the line to lead with before the Charleston.
Concealed: 13 Exposed: 0 Total: 13
Your 13 tiles · shown in rows to fit the screen
Which line should lead, and why?
1. Which line should lead?
Moves so far (0)
Other players’ turns that don’t affect your decisions are summarized. This game follows a script; it isn’t a random game.
Go back to the guided game and predict each move before you read why. If you haven’t yet, try the new game in step 26, and the 2 practice games and the target check in step 28.
Then practice with real tiles. The tabletop rehearsal sheet walks you through one whole game and keeps a log of what you checked. At a table with the agreed card, find the next player, track counts, name tiles out loud, check a complete win and settle it.
Open the tabletop rehearsal sheet
Open the table reference in a new tab
Chapter 10 covers table manners and how to recover from common mistakes. Chapters 11 and 12 add strategy, defense and advanced decisions. None of them replaces practice at a real table.
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.
Chapter 8 · Scoring & Payouts
Start Chapter 10 · At the Table: Etiquette, Mistakes & Recovery