FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What style of Mahjongg do you teach?
A: I teach American Mahjongg which follows the hands of the National Mah Jongg League (see link below).
Q: How is American mahjongg similar to Chinese mahjongg?
A: The Mahjongg game originated in China and was popularized in the United States in the early 20th century. American and Chinese mahjongg are played with a similar tile set, although the American set adds 8 jokers to the 146-tile Chinese set for a total of 152 tiles.
American Mahjongg differs from other styles in the following ways:
- American mahjongg uses a card of standard hands that lists all the possible winning combinations; these cards are changed annually. The National Mah Jongg League issues the standard card, but other modern variations have also been developed to create more variety.
- American mahjongg uses more tiles, notably adding 8 Joker tiles. There are other local variants that have adopted "house rules" for other "special tiles" such as blanks but these are not standard.
- The game is started with the "Charleston," a ritual of passing unwanted tiles from one player to another.
Q: How long does it take to learn mahjongg?
A: You can be up and playing with a couple of well focused lessons. Mahjongg can be a life-long journey. The more you play, the more flexibility and strategy you will acquire. And then there's the evolving challenge of new winning hands when the new NMJL card comes out each spring.