CONSECUTIVE RUN
Values
FF 1111 2222 3333(Any 3 Suits, Any 3 Consecutive Nos.)
FF is a flower pair. The three colored number groups are kongs of 1, 2, and 3; because the colors change, they can be three different suits.
Lesson 6 of 13
How to Read the NMJL Card
Read the card literally: groups, colors, letters, and simple example lines before you try to memorize whole sections.
Think of the card as your menu
The card tells you which hands are legal for the year. The NMJL Card is the most common version used in American Mah Jongg, but once you sit down you mostly think of it simply as the card. Read each line literally instead of treating it like a hint.
Read the groups, colors, notes, and value
Start by counting the chunks on the line, then read the color, the parenthetical note, and the value. Printed color is a suit-relationship clue, not a fixed suit name: same color usually stays in the same suit, while a new color means the line is changing suits. The note tells you what numbers, suits, winds, or dragons are allowed. The value tells you whether the hand may be exposed or must stay concealed.
- Read the hand left to right, group by group.
- Use color to track suit changes, then choose the actual suits at the table.
- Read the parentheses before you decide whether your tiles fit.
- X means exposed is allowed; C means concealed.
NMJL-style teaching lines
These are teaching examples made to look and read like a card line. They are for learning the format, not official NMJL card lines.
Teaching card sample
Values
X 25
CONSECUTIVE RUN
Values
FF 1111 22 3333 44(Any 1 Suit, Any 4 Consecutive Nos.)
All of the number groups are printed in one color, so keep the numbers in one suit: kong 1s, pair 2s, kong 3s, and pair 4s.
LIKE NUMBERS
Values
FF 1111 DD 1111 DD(Any 2 Suits, Matching Dragons)
Each color ties a number kong to its matching dragon pair. In this example, bams use Green Dragon and cracks use Red Dragon.
WINDS - DRAGONS
Values
NN EE WWW SSSS 111(Winds and Any 1 Suit)
The wind letters are literal wind groups, and C means the hand must stay concealed. The last number group can be one suit.
Take the quiz when you're ready.
Finish the teaching first, then open a short one-question-at-a-time quiz. You need 6 or more correct answers to complete this lesson.
10 questions