I haven't gotten my new card yet
But my friend Luisa did, and she let me look! Actually, I snatched the card away and ran to my room to compare it to last year's card. And since I am down with a cold on this sunny Sunday I feel it is my duty to inform those who are patiently waiting of what is in store. Some has changed and some remains the same, so take out your 2012 card and follow along:
2013
The four hands in this section are substantially similar to 2012. The values of the first two hands are x25 as opposed to x30. This may be because instead of
201
2, which requires a pair of 2's,
201
3 are all singles and the probabilities are greater. The first hand changes from four norths and four souths to one north, two easts and three wests. The second hand changes from four ones and four twos to four ones and four threes. The third hand is the same except it's a 13 instead of a 12, so you no longer need the joker in the kong. The value dropped from 35 to 30. The last hand in 2012 is gone (sniff, sniff, I really liked that hand, it was a real challenge) It is replaced by
FFFF DDD 2013 DDD. This hand is easier than the 2012 hand, but it is still closed. You can use jokers like crazy, and it's ANY dragons, which means its inherently swappable with
FFFF DDDD DD DDDD which is still on the card, or
FF DDDD NEWS DDDD. This should be fun.
2468
Second hand down is gone. The third hand down and the fourth hand down are still on the card. The pung/kong pattern of the fourth hand has changed. Instead of
222 444 6666 8888 it is now
222 4444 666 8888, so it has gone from being a pung, pung, kong, kong to a pung/kong, pung/kong. This change was also made in consecutive run (
111 2222 333 4444), odds (1-3-3-5 and 5-7-7-9) and 3-6-9. The first hand is gone, replaced by pair/pung/DDDD/pung/pair. This also shows up in odds, but not 3-6-9. 2s and 8s with dragons is out, and the last hand has switched from a pair of dragons to a pair of flowers, giving us six 2468 hands instead of seven.
LIKE NUMBERS
There are two hands in like numbers. The flowers/numbers pattern has switched, instead of a kong of flowers and a pair of numbers, it's three kongs of numbers and a pair of flowers. The 2011 dragons with like numbers is back - but, oh, no, it's CLOSED. Hang on to those dragons!
Eleven hands have switched to seven hands with a twist - the pair is in the middle instead at the end.
QUINTS
Don't look for the 135 or 579 quints hand - they're out. 1-2-3 remains as does 1223 with quints matching pairs. Flower Dragon Number is now Wind Dragon Number, which I always thought it was until I realized I was holding winds for nothing. The value has gone up from 40 to 45, maybe because there are eight flowers and four winds?
CONSECUTIVE RUN
The pattern has changed on the classic hand back to pair/pung/kong/pung/pair. This change was made in odds as well. (Translation: This means you need a pair of ones and a pair of fives instead of a pair of ones and a pair of twos, etc.) No more 1-2-1-2-3, sorry to say. The last hand doesn't really make up for it;
111 222 111 222 DD, it's closed and worth 30. Hands that are the same: Flowers-1-2-Dragons and Flowers 1-2-3 in three suits. 1-2-3-4 is still there with a changed pattern as mentioned above; pung/kong/pung/kong.
Good news - the "sandwich" hand is back!
1111 22 22 22 3333 - The pairs are "sandwiched" between the kongs in a consecutive run. Thanks, League!
13579
I've always suspected the League favored odd numbers. They certainly give us more odd numbered hands than any other, although that could be because there are five odd numbers. (I favor evens and 369s, so count on me to pass you a seven.) The first two hands are there but with a different pattern (pair of ones and pair of nines; pung/kong/pung/kong) Third hand changes from pair of flowers pair of dragons to four flowers no dragons. There is a pair/pung/DDDD/pung/pair hand, which I like. One and Nines with Dragons is out, replaced by a "sandwich" hand - a kong of ones and a kong of nines with pairs of 3, 5 and 7 in the middle in a second suit. It's a tough hand, worth 30. The five pairs and a kong hands (worth only 30!) remain, but the last hand has reverted back to 1-3-5/1-3-5 in two suits or 5-7-9/5-7-9 in two suits.
WINDS-DRAGONS
First hand the same. The second two "sandwich" hands are out. Hmmm...why did they seem so hard when the consecutive run sandwich hand seems much easier??? They are replaced by the old favorite: Kongs of norths and souths with TWO PUNGS OF ODDS IN ONE SUIT. Remember, folks, YOU NEED TWO JOKERS FOR THIS HAND BUT YOU CAN CALL THE PUNGS SEPARATELY. And of course Kongs of East/West with two pungs of identical evens. The Winds with kong of flowers in the middle has changed to a pair of flowers, kongs of north and south and pairs of east and west. This seems HARD - three pairs, an open hand, worth thirty. So why is a CLOSED HAND WITH FIVE PAIRS (see 1/3/5) also worth thirty????
Must defer to wisdom of the League........
369
Is it me or does it always seem like 3-6-9 hands get short shrift? No matter. First hand same; second hand changes pattern: pung/kong/pung/kong. Third hand -- hey, something new!
333 666 9999 9999. Okay, I'll take that. (I like 9s. My favorite tile is a 9 crak in case you want to know). The third and fourth hand on the 2012 card are the same. The last two hands are gone, replaced by, hey, A CLOSED HAND WITH FIVE PAIRS AND A KONG worth 30, same pattern as the 1-3-5 hand.
SINGLES AND PAIRS
Winds and pairs the same. Seven consecutive pairs changes to pair of flowers, five consecutive pairs with pair of matching dragons. Odd numbered pairs hand is 1/3/5/7/9 pairs followed by pairs of any like odd. We've seen that one before. Even pairs hand is pair of flowers, pairs of evens followed by pairs of any like evens. My all-time favorite, flowers with consecutive numbered pairs (
FF 1122 1122 1122)!! Yay! And, of course, the BIG HAND for 2013.
So there you have it, and if you haven't gotten your card yet, you soon will - hopefully this preview will whet your appetite. Now I have to unlock the door before Luisa bangs it down...
