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Thursday, March 29, 2018

The NEWS is out! (SPOILER ALERT: New Card described in detail)


The new card is here and it does not disappoint!
There are some subtle changes and some major ones.
Something for everyone!
Here is a category-by-category description of the changes, so if you haven't gotten your card yet (they will arrive shortly) and you are clamoring for a taste, read along!
(Images of the new card are a no-no, so this is the next best thing.)

2018
There are still four hands in this category.
The first hand is now in ANY three suits, as opposed to two.
The second hand has been moved to the Winds, so instead of kongs of dragons with the year in the middle, it's now kongs of dragons with NEWS in the middle. 
The third hand has been changed so that the kongs can now be 1's, 2's or 8's.  Lots of room for switching, especially since the like numbers hands can also contain kongs of these or any other numbers!
To make up for the moved dragon hand, a four flower hand has been added; kongs of flowers, two's, zero's with a single 1 and a single 8.  ANY one suit, as the zero's are not dragons.  (Experienced players will know this, but many new players will not, even though it is still printed on top of the category in red).
The concealed hand is also a NEWS hand!  pair of 2's, pung of 0's, NEWS pung of 1's, pair of 8's.  Very elegant!

2468
There are still six hands in this category.
A single, interesting change to the first hand.  Instead of four flowers and one 2, it's now three flowers and a pair of 2's.  Three flowers is something new!  Now when a player exposes three flowers you cannot assume they need three more.  Very intriguing!  To add to this intrigue, another three flower hand shows up in the 369 category and also contains a pung of 6's.  Hmmm......
The second hand has been moved down the category and the pattern has changed.  Instead of pung/kong/pung/kong it's now pung/pung/kong/kong.  This changed pattern follows through in consecutive run, odds and 369. 
The third, fourth and fifth hands remain the same, though they have moved one slot down in the category to make room for the "dangling eights" hand - kong of 2's, pair of 4's, kong of 6's in one suit and two pairs of opposite eights.  A 30 cent open hand within 2468, which is a change.
The concealed hand, again at the bottom, is another old favorite and a slight variation - the pair of flowers at the beginning have been switched to a pair of dragons at the end; four pungs and a pair, all one suit.
So no four-flower hand in 2468, which is a departure from prior years.

ANY LIKE NUMBERS
Yes, the word "ANY" now appears in the category, since it caused a lot of consternation among new players as to whether they had to play the hand with all 1's.  Seasoned players knew it was any like number, but now there's no doubt.  And the two hands remain, but a third, closed hand has been added - like numbers with dragons, a welcome addition.  pair of number, pair of matching dragons; pung of number, pung of matching dragon; kong of number.  Simple! Just remember - it's CLOSED.

ADDITION HANDS
"Lucky 13" has been replaced by hands with numbers that add up to 12.  The pattern is the same; four flowers, kong, kong and single one, single two, in one suit or three.  What's interesting is the numbers are 3+9, 4+8 and 5+7. so three categories are represented in this category as well.

QUINTS
Four hands in the quint section.
First hand hasn't changed;  ANY wind, ANY quint, ANY dragon.  (I call this hand the "any" hand).
A new quint hand has been added - pair of flowers, quint of 3's, pair of 6's, quint of 9's.  Now, there is an open hand in 369 with three kongs, but if you should happen to have two jokers and two 6's, voila, you have a quint!
The like number hand in quints is now the old favorite - 1123 with kongs the same as any pair. 
The consecutive run hand in quints is now any one suit, four consecutive numbers:  quint, pair, pair, quint, so it can be 11111 22 33 44444 or 22222 33 44 55555 or 33333 44 55 66666 or... well, you get the idea.  This is great for tiles that don't normally go together; especially 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 4 and 7, 5 and 8.  Don't forget the pairs, though!

CONSECUTIVE RUN
Seven hands in this section.  The two classics, 1-5 and 5-9, have a pattern change - back to pair/pair/pung/kong.  The second classic run, any four consecutive numbers in any two suits also has a pattern change and is now pung/pung/kong/kong.
Flowers with numbers and dragons are still in one suit, changed to a pair of flowers, two consecutive kongs and a kong of matching dragons.  Goes nicely with like numbers, so you can expose a kong of dragons and a kong of a number and be playing either one!
Three consecutive numbers (pair of flowers/kong/kong/kong) can be played in one OR three suits.
Sad news!  1-2-1-2-3 has met its demise.  No more go-to consecutive.  And, <sigh> no more sandwich hand.  (At least not in consecutive run!  The sandwich makes its appearance in the Winds section).
The fourth slot is now filled by a three-pair, 30 cent hand in FIVE consecutive numbers (pair/pair/pair/kong in second suit/kong in third suit).  This one looks challenging!
The sixth slot is what's called a "knitted" hand, meaning the suits alternate. It's three consecutive numbers with matching dragons in a pattern of kong/pung/kong/pung.  The kongs are in one suit and the pungs in another.  The suit of the dragons must match the suit of the middle number.  This pattern is repeated in odds and 369.  Another place to have kongs of 5 and 7 or 7 and 9!
To substitute for the beloved 1-2-1-2-3 hand, the closed hand takes away the kong of threes and makes the two pairs two pungs with a pair of flowers to start.  Got the picture?  You will when you see it!

13579
What would a card be without the odd hands?  The classic first hand is pair/pair/pung/pung/kong, consistent with the first consecutive run hand.  Second classic hand is the choice; 1-3-3-5 or 5-7-7-9 with pattern of pung/pung/kong/kong, consistent with consecutive run again.  The block hand remains unchanged; pair of flowers and three kongs of either 1-3-5 or 5-7-9, all in one suit.
The odds and dragons hand has been inverted to make it consistent with the "knitted" dragon hand consecutive run - kong/pung/kong/pung with the dragons matching the pung of odds.
The sandwich hand in odds is gone, replaced by a hand in three suits, with pairs of 1-3-5 in one suit; 7s in a second suit and 9s in a third suit.  This follows the pattern in the three-pair consecutive run hand.  Very neat because you can be doing kongs of 7s and 9s in two suits in consecutive run  (7-8-9) or in the odds category.
And just when you thought they had disappeared - six flowers in odds - with 1s and 5s or 5s and 9s - same suit, those numbers only.  
The closed hand is also a one-suit hand; pair of flowers, pungs of 1-3-5 or 5-7-9, three matching dragons.

WINDS - DRAGONS
The winds have gotten a real overhaul.  I think I heard more complaints about the wind hands in 2017 than ever before.  Winds were the first tiles thrown, but that will all change for 2018!
There are seven hands in this section.  All the exposed hands use kongs of winds.
The first hand in 2017 has been moved to the third slot in winds.  Same block hand of 4N,4E,4W,2S
The first two slots are four-flower hands; 4N,4S with 2 reds only in the middle, and 4E,4S and 2 greens.  The suit of the dragon is specified in the parenthetical.
Then we have a pair of flowers with two dragon kongs (any dragons) with NEWS in the middle.  Yay, NEWS!  Who doesn't love NEWS?  Probably the most yearned-for combination.
Next two hands are sandwich hands; 4N,4S with any like odd pairs in the middle and 4E,4W with evens.
Closed hand is beautiful - two flowers with a pung of each wind.  Perfect ending for a perfect category.

369
The first hand is traditionally a one-suit dragon hand, and this year's is a little tricky!  It's three flowers (like the first 2468 hand) a pair of 3s, pung of 6s, pair of 9s and kong of dragons.  So the pattern is pung/pair/pung/pair/kong.  Not your typical pattern, but let's see how it plays!
Three hands are unchanged:  The 3-6-6-9 block (pattern now is pung/pung/kong/kong), the pairs of 369 with two kongs in opposite suits, either 3s, 6s or 9s, and the pair of flowers with three kongs is the same, either one suit or three.  This meshes nicely with the 3+9=12 hand if you have the 3s and 9s exposed.
The 3-6-3-6-9 pattern has been retired for now and replaced by the "knitted" hand of 3-6-9-D, with the pung of dragons matching the pung of 6s and the kong of 3s matching the kong of 9s.
Closed hand is a rerun from prior years:  pungs of 3s and 9s with a single 6 in the middle in 2 suits.

Singles And Pairs
Most of the hands in singles and pairs will be familiar to experienced players.  Every category is represented by a hand, so you always have an opportunity to switch out if you go dead.
The winds:  Pairs of winds with any three consecutive numbers.
Evens:  Pair of flowers, pairs of evens with a matching even in the other two suits.
Odds:  Pair of flowers; pairs of 1-3-5 and pairs of 5-7-9 in any two suits.  
Consecutive:  Pair of flowers, pairs of any five consecutive numbers with 2 matching dragons.
369:  Pairs of 369 and pairs of 369 in second suit.
And, what's this?  Our old friend 998-99887-998877 - a real go-to for when you have those 8s and 9s and nothing else!
2018:  Unchanged!  pairs of 2018 with pair of dragons, two suits, Bams and Craks only.  Still 60 cents!  Boo-hoo!  

So there you have it.  Enough of a change to be a challenge, but not so much to be overwhelming.  New players and experienced players alike should find something to love about this card!  

As it states in the 2016 newsletter:
     "Changes on our Mah Jongg card are never arbitrary.  We make changes because we wish to make the game more challenging and interesting.  All new rules and changes are tested and well thought out by a Committee.  We test the new card 3 days a week, 6 hours a day from the end of August thru the first week in November.  Any and all recommendations and suggestions are welcome."

So, you heard it here - send the League a note and let them know what you think or what you might like to see on the next card!  

Happy mahj!



21 comments:

  1. Leave it to you to do a great job on this....and so soon!
    Thank you

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  2. Debbi Ann LayfieldMarch 29, 2018 at 4:17 PM

    Wonderful overview!

    ReplyDelete
  3. When can we "officially" start playing with the 2018 card? (I've been watching for the change on Mahjongg Time, but the iPad app has little information.) Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can begin playing with the new card as soon as you receive it. There is no "official" start times. The online apps usually go live with it on April 1, and most tournaments are scheduled later on in April when it is assumed all have received the new card. But for home games as soon as it comes you can use it - if someone hasn't gotten theirs yet, then be kind and loan them an extra.

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  4. I think the League did a great job putting this card together. It adds a lot of interest and excitement to the game. Kudos to NMJL!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Linda! Many thanks for the nice post!
    I'm looking at the new second hand of 2018.
    It says Kongs 1, 2 or 8. Does that mean that both should be the same number? or can we mix 1s with 2s/8s.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That hand requires like Kongs, so it's two kongs of 1's or 2's or 8's, but not mixed.

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    2. I found this hand very confusing and it should have said "matching or like numbers in different suits". Could easily be interpreted as 1s, 2s or 8s as long as the suits are different.

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    3. That is a good point. There is a similar hand in 369 where kongs can be 3, 6 or 9. It could say "like 3, 6 or 9." These are old hands and it is generally understood that when two kongs appear as different suits, same number, it is like numbered kongs.

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  6. A question about the "any hand" in quints. Can the dragon and quint match? It says any suit, any dragon, but the colors are different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dragons and the quints can match, but they do not have to. It can be any dragon and any number in any suit. If the colors were written to match, people would think they have to match and that is not the case, hence the instructions.

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    2. Thanks! That's what I thought should be the case––nice to be confirmed :)

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  7. Even though it's category is Singles and Pairs on the 2018 card 998 99887 998877 is not singles or pairs so can jokers be used?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It *is* singles and pairs:
      998 is a pair of nines with a single 8
      99887 is a pair of eights, a pair of nines and a single seven
      998877 is a pair each of nines, eights and sevens.

      A pung is three identical tiles, a kong is four identical tiles, a quint is five identical tiles, and a sextet is six identical tiles. You may only use a joker in a pung, kong, quint or sextet. So the "998" hand is properly classified as singles and pairs.

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  8. OK I understand it now Thankyou for the explanation. I'm fairly new to Mahjongg.

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  9. In the Quints 1123 1111 1111 it says pair any number in run.. So can you do 1223 2222 2222 or 1233 3333 3333? And the 1123 are pairs and singles....correct? This question came up at our group tonight
    Thankyou

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is correct. The pair can be anywhere in the run and the group is considered singles and pairs so no joker, and it cannot be called for exposure, only for mahj. (And numbers can be any run, so not limited to 1, 2 and 3.)

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  10. Question on NEWS since there is no space in between these letters on the card are these to be played as 4 tiles all together? I am a new player

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A pung is three identical tiles, a kong is four identical tiles and a quint is five identical tiles. NEWS are four single tiles, and not a kong. You cannot use a joker with NEWS and you cannot call it for exposure. You can only call a N, E, W or S if it is your mahjongg tile.

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  11. We had a new sub play with our group last week. She requested that the player with tiles exposed separate the kongs so the hand was easier to identify. Is that something that is usually done?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to "Mah Jongg Made Easy," published by the National Mah Jongg League and updated for 2018 (page 14, paragraph 1): "It is courteous to leave a space between the exposures."
      So while it is not an "official rule," it is something that is customarily done, especially if requested.

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