NMJL Card
The official annual card published by the National Mah Jongg League listing all valid winning hand patterns for the year. A new card is released each April and is required to play American Mahjong.
What Is the NMJL Card?
The NMJL card (also simply called "the card") is the official reference sheet published annually by the National Mah Jongg League. It lists every valid winning hand pattern for the year.
In American Mahjong, you must match one of the hands on the current card to win. There are no other valid winning combinations. This makes the card the single most important document in the game, every player needs one at the table.
Card Structure
The NMJL card organizes winning hands into categories such as:
- 2468, Hands using even-numbered tiles
- Like Numbers, Hands with matching numbers across suits
- Quints, Hands featuring five-of-a-kind groups
- Consecutive Run, Hands with sequential tile numbers
- 13579, Hands using odd-numbered tiles
- Winds/Dragons, Hands built around honor tiles
- Singles & Pairs, Hands using only singles and pairs
Each hand shows the required tile pattern, point value (25, 30, 35, 50, or 100), and whether it must be played concealed or can use exposures.
Reading the Card
The card uses a shorthand notation:
- F = Flower
- N, E, S, W = Wind tiles (North, East, South, West)
- R, G, 0 = Dragon tiles (Red, Green, White/Soap)
- Numbers = Tile values in the indicated suit
- C = Concealed only (no exposures allowed)
- X = Any number or any suit (context-dependent)
Colors on the card indicate suits: typically blue for one suit, red for another, and green for the third. Understanding this notation is essential for identifying which hand you're building.