Learning American Mah Jongg will be daunting at first, but luckily all the rules are conveniently written on the back of the official National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card, which is THE standard for the game. Some rules may get tweaked from time to time, so it's always a good idea to refer to the most recent card, which is updated annually with the new winning hands.
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Feeling lost?
A great beginner's reference guide to the game can be found here:
https://www.ymimports.com/pages/how-to-play-american-mahjong
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Practice makes...
Once you've gotten a hang of the basics, my pick for practice anytime, anywhere is RealMahJongg.com (APP or desktop version) where are all the shuffling and dealing is done for you! You can join other players online or opt for "invisible mode" (versus computers) for maximum play time...you can find me at "mhinnz" :)
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Retail Therapy
You will want your own set and I have yet to find American Mah Jongg sets sold here in NZ (American version has Jokers, the Chinese version doesn't). So for now, you'll have to purchase from a US-based retailer and wait...and wait...and wait...for it to arrive. For that, my picks are:
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Both sites sell pre-assembled sets, but if you want to build your own, the essentials are:
-American Mah Jongg tiles (includes 8 jokers, and 8 seasons or flowers)
-current NMJL card (new card comes out every April, but often delayed)
-pushers and "helping hands"
-carry bag (soft bag, avoid the hard case as really cumbersome to pack tiles)
Optional: wind indicator, dice (which you can buy here), betting sticks
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