Joker

Definition

A Joker is a wild tile used in American Mahjong. A standard American set has eight Jokers. A Joker can stand in for any tile within a group of three or more matching tiles: a pung, kong, quint, or sextet. Jokers cannot be used for a single or a pair, so they cannot be used at all in Singles and Pairs hands.

How It Works in Gameplay

Jokers are among the most valuable tiles you can hold because they let you complete groups without waiting for specific tiles.

If any exposure on the table, including your own, has a Joker standing in for a tile you hold, you may swap your natural tile for that Joker. This is called a Joker exchange. You can only do it on your turn, after you have drawn from the wall or called a discard, and you may make more than one exchange in a turn. The natural tile has to come from your hand: you can't pick up a discard to make the swap.

A few more Joker rules:

• Jokers may never be passed during the Charleston.
• A discarded Joker is dead. No one may claim it.
• A hand with no Jokers in it is worth double, except Singles and Pairs hands, which never use Jokers, and Quints hands, where the League does not apply the bonus.

Example

You need a kong of 4 Craks (four 4 Craks) but only have two. You also hold two Jokers, so your two natural 4 Craks and two Jokers make the kong. If you expose it, any player who holds a 4 Crak can swap it into your kong on their turn and take one of your Jokers for their own hand.

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