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CHAPTER 1

What Is Mah Jongg? Introduction to the Game

“Two-Crak, Flower, nine-Dot, Red, Take.” No, it’s not some coded message from outer space. It’s mah jongg, the game my mom, and maybe yours, played, lo, these many years ago. I can still hear the clatter and click of the tiles, somebody calling “Mah Jongg!” and the “Ooohs” and “Aaahs” that followed, the buzz and the laughter. And I have fond memories of raiding the fridge the next day to enjoy the leftover goodies. Today, it’s still the same. People are playing mah jongg, buzzing and laughing and having fun!

I am always amused to hear people pooh-poohing mah jongg with the stereotypical phrase that it’s “an old lady’s game.” One of my students was a typical example. “My mom used to play mah jongg two or three times a week. She played for 30 years with the same friends and I could never understand why.” That is, until she took her first lesson. She realized mah jongg is definitely not “an old lady’s game,” but what an interesting and challenging game it is.

Why do so many people love the game? The answer, primarily, is it’s fun! It’s simple and at the same time complex. It’s competitive: you play against three other people. It’s sociable: people play for hours, they eat, they talk, and they laugh. There are groups of players that have been together for decades. It takes thinking: figuring out the best plan for your individual hand, deciding how to keep others from winning, and using appropriate strategies. It’s not called “The Game of a Thousand Intelligences” for nothing. It’s relaxing: it allows people to focus on something completely unrelated to everyday concerns. And it’s thrilling: there’s nothing more exciting than when, with your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping and your palms sweating, you call “Mah Jongg!”

And on top of that, it’s non-fattening and it’s legal!

Families, friends, kids, clubs, parties, church groups, associations, on cruise ships, in tournaments, at vacation spas—folks play mah jongg like crazy, in almost every country you can think of, from China, Japan, and the Philippines, to Australia, Germany, Russia, and South Africa. Even though many countries have their own versions, including America, suffice it to say, the appeal of the game is undeniable and universal.

The popularity of mah jongg during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s was legendary. People from all walks of life and all parts of the country played it. With the demographic shift from city life to suburban life, the introduction of bridge, and the return to the work force by women, the popularity of mah jongg gradually faded. But today, the game of American mah jongg is making a huge comeback. Once you learn the fundamentals of the game and begin to play, you will understand why so many people love it.

So let me introduce you to mah jongg. Mah jongg originally came from China, and uses small rectangular tiles stamped with symbols and characters. The object of the game is to be the first to assemble combinations of these tiles into specific patterns that make up a hand. You assemble these combinations by picking and discarding tiles. That’s the game.

But, of course, actually playing the game is not that simple. Players of American mah jongg need a card of hands. You can see what a card looks like on page 21. Without one, you can’t learn or play the game, because in order to win, a player’s hand must match a hand selected from the card. For learning purposes, we’ll be using a card published by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL). The NMJL is the organization that standardized the procedures and rules of the American game and this book is based upon those procedures and rules. Everyone who plays American mah jongg follows them.

Besides the NMJL, there are other mah jongg groups that publish their own cards, such as the American Mah-Jongg Association (AMJA). Once you understand the basic elements of a card and you learn to read it, you will be able to play with a card published by any other mah jongg association; they all use the same system. For further information about the NMJL or AMJA see the Appendix.

Unfortunately, you cannot learn to play mah jongg in an hour or two. It takes awhile. There are many new ideas and concepts, a lot of things you need to remember, particularly when you first begin, and a host of do’s and don’ts. But as you learn the game and begin to play, things that may have seemed difficult soon become easy. That’s part of the fun of mah jongg.

Because learning to play the game requires a little time and a little patience, this guide is written in an easy, conversational style. It has lots of pictures, examples, hints, tips, summaries of important information, and relevant do’s and don’ts, all designed to make your learning experience easy and fun. Absorb one or two parts of the game at a time, and take as much time as you need. For beginners, reading the book a second time may clear up many ideas that, at the first reading, were challenging. You may want to read through the entire book to get a feel for the game, then go back to the beginning and start the process of learning it.

The Symbols of the Set

Part of the fascination of mah jongg lies in the mah jongg set and the images engraved on the tiles. It is no surprise that the mah jongg tiles, coming from China, are rife with symbolism. Each tile in the set reflects some universal aspect of human nature, seen through the prism of Chinese life and culture. Let’s examine a few.

In mah jongg, there are groups of tiles called Suits. In American mah jongg, one of the Suits is called Bams, representing the bamboo plant. The tiles are stamped with little bamboo twigs. Bamboo is the most versatile plant in China, used for building, food, writing implements, clothing, furniture, and a myriad of other things, including mah jongg tiles. Because bamboo is so important in Chinese life and culture, it’s represented in the set and is symbolic of strength, service, versatility, and usefulness.

Interestingly, the first tile of the Bam Suit is stamped with an image not of a bamboo twig, but of a bird, usually a peacock. In some older sets, the birds are sometimes shown soaring; there are also “sparrow” sets, in which the bird is perched on a bamboo stalk. These “sparrow” sets can be seen as a reference to the name mah jongg, sometimes interpreted as “The Game of Sparrows.”

Birds are emblems of beauty and grace, but to some, the image of the peacock is seen as preening. Therefore, the peacock tile has been interpreted to mean vanity, or a love of one’s own image.

Another Suit in American mah jongg is called Crak. In Chinese, this Suit is called Wan, which literally means “the 10,000s.” In Chinese, when you refer to wan, it’s like saying something is universal, that it’s everywhere. The universal character values of truth, kindness, loyalty, fidelity, honor, etc., existing in all societies, are so highly esteemed in the Chinese culture that they have been symbolically put into the mah jongg set. In English, the Crak Suit has come to be known as the Character Suit, paying homage to the values of wan.

A third Suit in American mah jongg is called Dot; in the Chinese game it is called Circles. These tiles are stamped to look like balls or dots and they are associated with coins or money. The first tile of this Suit is interpreted to be a precious and valuable pearl. So the Dot Suit symbolizes wealth and luxury, and because of its connection to coins or money, it is also symbolic of business or commerce.

The set also contains tiles called Flowers. They depict images of a plum blossom, an orchid, a chrysanthemum and of course, bamboo—plants that are symbolic of death, life, fertility, heaven and earth, and so on. In Chinese mah jongg, the Flower tiles are also associated with the seasons—the delicate plum blossom with spring, the exotic orchid with summer, the beautiful chrysanthemum with fall and the sturdy, hardy bamboo with winter. In some very old sets the Flower tiles are stamped with pictures of mandarins, symbolic of the elite class. More modern sets have images of simple, ordinary people who are engaged in ordinary tasks—teachers, farmers, fishermen, scribes, etc. Though “ordinary,” these people are honored via tiles in Chinese mah jongg. These tiles are worth more in scoring—perhaps a metaphor for a belief in the high worth and value due to every one of us, regardless of our station in life.

Every tile in the mah jongg set has its own symbolism, reflecting the culture, ideals, and spiritual values of a world in which we all participate. These few examples give you an idea of the serious matters the tiles represent. So when you play mah jongg, remember, you are not just playing with arbitrary tiles, but with many symbolic metaphors of life.

Now, a big warm welcome! We’re off to a challenging, exciting adventure in the world of American mah jongg!

Let’s turn our attention to these “metaphors of life,” the first stop on our voyage.