What Is the NMJL Card and How Do You Read It?

The NMJL card is the annual hand guide published by the National Mah Jongg League that lists every winning hand combination for American Mahjong. A new card is released each year — players must own the current year's card to play. Here's how to read it.

What Is the NMJL Card?

The NMJL card is a small laminated sheet — about the size of a bookmark — that lists every valid winning hand for the current year of American Mahjong. If your tiles don't match one of the hands on this card, you can't declare Mah Jongg.

Unlike other mahjong variants where winning combinations are fixed forever, American Mahjong reinvents itself every spring. The NMJL publishes a brand-new card each April, and the entire community shifts to the new hands. Veterans and beginners start on equal footing — everyone is learning the same card at the same time.

A Brief History

The National Mah Jongg League was founded in 1937, growing out of the mahjong craze that swept the United States in the 1920s. The NMJL standardized American Mahjong rules — including the addition of Jokers, the Charleston, and the annual card system. They've published a new card every year for nearly nine decades.

How to Get One

Order the current year's card directly from the National Mah Jongg League website. A standard-size card is $15 and a large-print version is $16. Many clubs place group orders to save on shipping.

The card ships in early April. Most clubs spend the first few sessions studying it together — a wonderful time to join a group, since everyone is figuring things out at the same pace. If you're starting a new club, remind members to order their cards in March.

Reading the Notation

The card is covered in numbers, letters, and colored text — and none of it is explained on the card itself. But the system is consistent, and once you learn it, you can read any hand on any year's card.

Suits and Colors

American Mahjong has three suits, and the card uses colors to distinguish them:

• Red text = Craks (the character suit)
• Green text = Bams (the bamboo suit)
• Blue text = Dots (the circle suit)

A red "1" means the 1 of Craks, a green "5" means the 5 of Bams, and so on. Some hands specify exact suits. Others use a generic color to indicate "any suit" — you choose, but you must stay consistent within that grouping.

Groupings: Pairs, Pungs, Kongs, and Quints

Each hand shows tile groupings separated by spaces:

• Two of a kind = a pair
• Three of a kind = a pung
• Four of a kind = a kong
• Five of a kind = a quint (only possible with Jokers)

When you see "111" in red, that's a pung of 1 Craks. "1111" is a kong. "11" is a pair.

Concealed vs. Exposed

Two letters you'll see throughout:

• C = Concealed — You must draw every tile yourself. No calling discards (except to win with Mah Jongg on the final tile). Harder to complete but worth more points.
• X = Exposed — You can call tiles that other players discard. More flexibility during the game.

If a hand doesn't have a C or X marking, check the top of the category — there's usually a default for the entire section.

Point Values

Each hand has a point value on the right side — typically 25, 30, 35, or 50. Concealed hands and harder combinations are worth more.

Card Categories

The card is organized into categories that group hands by theme. The specific hands change every year, but the category structure stays relatively stable:

• Year hands (2026) — Hands incorporating the digits of the current year. Unique to each card and often creative.
• Quints — Hands requiring five of the same tile. Since sets only have four of each, you need at least one Joker.
• Consecutive Run — Sequential numbers like 1-2-3 or 5-6-7, across one or more suits.
• 13579 — Odd-numbered tiles only. A favorite for players who like strong, clear patterns.
• Winds and Dragons — Honor tiles: North, South, East, West, and the three Dragons.
• 369 — Tiles divisible by three. Clean and structured.
• Like Numbers — The same number across multiple suits, like 3 Craks, 3 Bams, and 3 Dots.
• Addition — Tile values that add up to a target number. A bit of mental math involved.
• Singles and Pairs — Single tiles and pairs only, often with no Jokers allowed — the purest test of luck and patience.

Each category has its own personality. As you play more, you'll develop favorites.

How Categories Work in Practice

After the deal, scan the card for hands that match what you're holding. The categories narrow your search — lots of odd tiles? Start with 13579. Winds and a Dragon? Check Winds and Dragons. Sequential numbers in one suit? Consecutive Run.

The key insight: don't commit too early. Identify two or three possible hands, then let the game guide you toward one. For more on this, see our strategy guide on Charleston and hand selection.

Tips for New Players

• Study one category at a time. Don't try to absorb the whole card in one sitting.
• Use a card holder. Propping the card up alongside your tiles helps enormously while you're learning.
• Read the card between games. Five minutes a day builds familiarity faster than you'd think. Focus on patterns within each category, not memorizing individual hands.
• Study with your club. When the new card comes out, host a study session before your first game.
• Check the card mid-game. Even experienced players do this. It's part of American Mahjong.

New to the game entirely? Our complete beginner's guide covers everything from setup to scoring.

How Apps Handle the Card

Apps are making the card more accessible than ever.

Eight Bam builds the current NMJL card directly into the app — you can see which hands match your tiles as you play.

Mahjic Play takes a different approach with its hand suggestions panel. As you play, the app analyzes your tiles and highlights which card hands you're closest to completing, showing how many tiles away you are from each possibility. For newer players, that real-time feedback accelerates card learning dramatically.

Neither replaces the physical card for in-person play, but both are excellent for building fluency between game nights. See our full app roundup for more options.

The Card Ties It All Together

The NMJL card is what makes American Mahjong uniquely challenging and uniquely social — the shared puzzle every player at the table is working from, refreshed each year so the game never gets stale.

Give yourself grace. The notation becomes second nature, and every experienced player at your table once sat where you're sitting, squinting at a small laminated sheet and wondering what it all meant. For a deeper notation reference, see our NMJL card notation guide.

Ready to practice? Find a club near you or start your own — the table is waiting.