Oy, with the Jokers already!
Apologies to Gilmore Girls lovers everywhere. But, the rules concerning Jokers are crazy. The National Mah Jongg League has their entire complex set of rules and you and your besties may have your table rules. In between, are a wacky set of made up or misunderstood rules that make Lorelai Gilmore sound logical.
NMJL rules fall into two categories; those that are Hard And Fast Except For When They're Not and those that are actually Hard and Fast - All. The. Time. If I haven't lost you, let's talk about the bendy ones. These include things like 'All play goes to the right'. Dealing the tiles? To your right. Taking your turn? To the right. Taking the next turn after picking up a discarded tile? Also to the right. But that rule goes out the window when we push out walls. Those go out to the left around the table. Yikes!
Or how about this one; 'You can never pick up a discarded tile to make any part of a single, group of singles, or a pair'? Except when the discarded tile is your winning tile, you can. Yikes again!
Ready for the rules, real and imagined, concerning jokers? Let's review. Jokers may be used in any amount to make a pung (three identical tiles), a kong (four identical tiles), or a quint (five identical tiles). Yup! Any amount, including the entire pung, kong, or quint! But you can never ever ever under any circumstances use a joker as a single, or any part of a group of singles, or a pair. Not to win. Not if you really really want to. Not even if you say, "Pretty please with sugar on top". Just no.
If you miss the chance to exchange a tile for an exposed joker and discard it by mistake, bummer! Take heart, no one else can claim the tile to make the exchange either. Insert unanimous groan here. Anyone can call the discarded tile to make a new exposure, but not to trade for the joker.
And if that's not enough, when a joker is discarded no one can call it (pick it up). Full stop. Can't do it. Not allowed. See above screed about really really wanting to.
There are some simple explanations on the back of the NMJL card that can be very helpful. Psst- flip it over- there's a boatload of good info there! The League is attempting to cram a whole mess of info onto the card, so it's easy to misunderstand the shorthand explanations. And as humans, we tend to fill in the blanks with what seems to make sense. Even when we're totally bats in the belfry wrong.
So what do you do when Aunt Bessie swears that you can use a joker in a pair? You can consult Mah Jongg Made Easy, the official guide book of the League. Or you can ask a qualified instructor. (Ooh! That's me!)
Sometimes Aunt Bessie genuinely doesn't know the rule and will thank you for the clarification. Sometimes she simply doesn't want to hear it. The League actually agrees- her table, her rules. The beauty of knowing the official NMJL rules is that you can play with anyone, anywhere. Let's just remember not to judge other group's table rules. Even when they make Lorelai sound logical.
**You can find the tiles Lorelai and Rory are dreaming about on our Resources Page.