| American Mah Jongg | Overview | Gameplay | Scoring |
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The NMJL publishes a new scoring card each year.
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Table of Contents
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Initial Points
The scoring card, which contains the eligible hands for mahjong, vary from year to year so there is no standard scoring rubric. The values of the hands were developed in such a way that if you wanted to gamble a single point equates to a penny (25 point hand would be a quarter). Because American mahjong is also a gambling game, no initial points are specified.
Criteria
After the winning tile has been self-drawn or claimed the player must announce that he has won the following hand (by declaring ‘mahjongg,’ or ‘maj,’ etc.). The hand must be displayed and arranged according to the score card and thereafter the points are scored.
Outline
The payout to the winner are as follows:
- Win by Self-Draw: Each player pays double the value on the score card.
- Win by Discard: Each player plays the value on the score card and the discard pay double the amount.
If the winning hand contains no joker and is not under the category of a Singles and Pairs hand (which implies a jokerless hand) each non-winner pays double what they would have.
Scoring Table
This section will provide examples of how the scoring card is read. The following is a typical example:
111 222 333 444 55 (Any 3 Suits, Any Consecutive Nos) … X 25
The hands marked on the scoring card are in different colors, meaning different suits have to be used. The colors are not specific to any one suit. Flowers and zeros do not count as a suit (these will always be colored blue). If the hand consists of two colors then two suits must be used to complete the hand. Following the colored numbers and letters, maybe supplemented by instructions in parentheses. These instructions provide details on what the hand is asking for. Next is either a C or X, meaning concealed or exposed, respectively. A concealed hand may not have any elements exposed at all, except for at mahjong. An exposed hand, is the opposite.
Example Card
| Flowers | NEWS - Dragons | Text | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | NN EE WWW SSS DDDD | (Kong any Dragon) | c 30 |
| 4 | FFFF NNNN RR SSSS | (Red Dragon Only) | x 25 |
| 4 | FFFF EEEE GG WWWW | (Green Dragon Only) | x 25 |
| 0 | NNNN 11 11 11 SSSS | (Any like odds) | x 25 |
| 0 | EEEE 22 22 22 WWWW | (Any like evens) | x 25 |
| 2 | FF NNNN EE WW SSSS | x 25 | |
| 2 | FF DDDD DDDD DDDD | x 25 |
D — Dragon
c — Concealed
x — Exposed
0 — White dragon
G — Green dragon
R — Red Dragon
F — Flower
Categories
The scoring card has a list of hands that are categorized:
This Year: Patterns that represent the year such as 2008.
Evens: Patterns that require even-numbered tiles.
Change-up: This section varies.
Quints: Patterns that require at least one quint.
Consecutive Runs: Patterns that have consecutive numbers.
Odds: Patterns that require odd-numbered tiles.
Wind-Dragons: Patterns that require winds and dragon tiles.
3-6-9: Patterns using tiles numbered 3, 6, or 9.
Singles and Pairs: Patterns with single tiles.
Additional Notes
Dragons are considered part of the three suits: green dragon is a bamboo, red dragon a character, and white dragon a dot.
East and West tiles are considered even. North and South are considered odd.
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