The lessons · lesson 5 of 11

Reading a Mah Jongg card, part 2

Dragons, the White Dragon, winds, runs that start on any number, and what a hand pays. You build each one.

1. D is a dragon

   On the card, D means a dragon. Each dragon goes with a suit. The Red Dragon goes with Craks. The Green Dragon goes with Bams. And the White Dragon goes with Dots. When D is the same colour as the numbers, it is the dragon of their suit. In another colour, it is the dragon of another suit.

   A 25-second video, with captions.

2. Finish the dragons

   Here DDD is printed in a different colour from the numbers, so the dragons go with a different suit from the numbers. This time the numbers are Craks. Finish the hand.

   You try it. You build this from a tray of tiles, and a wrong tile tells you why.

3. 0 is the White Dragon

   In the year hands, the card writes 0 for the White Dragon. Players call it the Soap. So 2 0 2 6 is a 2, the White Dragon, another 2, and a 6.

   A 14-second video, with captions.

4. Finish the second 2026

   This line is 2026 twice, in two colours, and six flowers. Finish the second 2026.

   You try it. You build this from a tray of tiles, and a wrong tile tells you why.

5. N, E, W and S are the winds

   The card writes the winds by their first letters. N for North, E for East, W for West, and S for South. So N N N N is four North winds.

   A 13-second video, with captions.

6. Finish the winds

   Finish the West and South groups.

   You try it. You build this from a tray of tiles, and a wrong tile tells you why.

7. Some hands start on any number

   Some lines can start on any number. This line is printed with a note: any 3 numbers in a row. So 1, 2, 3 makes it. And so does 5, 6, 7. Only the numbers change.

   A 16-second video, with captions.

8. Build 4, 5, 6

   This time the hand starts at 4. The 4s and 5s are Dots. Finish it.

   You try it. You build this from a tray of tiles, and a wrong tile tells you why.

9. What a hand pays, and C for concealed

   The number at the end of a line is what the hand pays. A C means concealed. No group goes face up before you win. You may take a thrown tile only if it is the last one, the tile that wins.

   A 16-second video, with captions.

10. Taking a thrown tile

    Someone throws a 6 Bam. You need it, but it is not your last tile.

    For which line can you take it and lay the group face up? Yes. This line has no C, so you may take a thrown tile and lay the group face up.

11. Which hand is this?

    At a real table you look at your tiles and find the line they make.

    Which line do these tiles make? Yes. 4, 5 and 6 are three numbers in a row, the 4s and 5s share a suit, and the 6s are another.