Mahjong Tales

By Philippe and Julie, ilovemahj.com It’s that time of year again when we all get to start over! The NMJL 2023 cards are arriving in mailboxes all over the country, and there’s a sense of excitement and anticipation in the Mah Jongg community. No matter how many years you’ve been playing, or your level of experience, learning the new card each year can be tough and somewhat intimidating. That’s where we step in… Our aim is to make getting to grips with the new card as easy and as fast as possible! Plus, all this learning is absolutely fabulous for...

Written by: Yvonne Wolf, Chinese Intercultural Consultant Lunar New Year is a traditional holiday celebrated by almost 20% of the Earth’s global population. It is a non-religious holiday based on an ancient, lunar-based calendar that originated in China. This lunar-based calendar has been used in many parts of East Asia for several millennia. The first day of the first month was known as the new year’s day. By the second half of the 20th century, the lunar calendar ran concurrently with the Gregorian calendar that most of the world follows. Each year was linked with one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals,...

Presented by Debbie Barnett, Director of Administration at MahjCon Jokers oh jokers…   One might think there is no strategy when it comes to Jokers; if this is your thinking, read on. Jokers in mah jongg are much like wild cards when playing card games. In card games, you might be limited to the number of jokers you can add to a meld but in mah jongg, when using jokers in a pung, kong, or quint, there is no limit. When we begin to rack our dealt tiles, we are hoping to see 1, 2, or more of the 8 joker...