In this lesson
- Know when you may call another player’s discard
- Expose a group correctly
- Use Jokers, and exchange for them
- Avoid the calling mistakes that kill hands
Calling a discard
You do not have to wait for the wall. When another player discards a tile you need, you may call it, if you do it in time and for the right reason:
- In time: say “call” out loud before the next player racks the tile they drew, or discards. After that, the discard is gone.
- For the right reason: only to complete a pung, kong, quint or sextet, or to take the final tile that completes your Mahjong. You may never call a discard for a pair otherwise.
- Priority: a call for Mahjong beats a call for an exposure. If two players call the same tile for an exposure, the player next in turn after the discarder gets it, unless the other has already started exposing.
Exposures
When you call a tile, place the whole group face up on top of your rack, then discard. That exposed group commits you: it must fit a line on the card, and you can no longer change to a hand that does not use it. Hands marked C on the card are concealed, so you may not call for them at all, except for the very last tile.
Jokers
- A Joker can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more: a pung, kong, quint or sextet.
- Never in a pair or a single. Those must be natural tiles.
- A set has only four of most tiles, so quints and sextets need Jokers. Flowers are the exception, with eight.
- A discarded Joker is dead: nobody can call it for anything.
Joker exchanges
If a Joker sits in someone’s exposure and you hold the tile it stands for, you may swap: hand the natural tile to the Joker’s owner and take the Joker. You may only do this on your own turn, after you have drawn or made an exposure and before you discard. See all the Joker rules.
Try it
Play the Solo Practice Hand and aim for a line with pungs and kongs. Try declaring Mahjong with a Joker in a pair: the game will tell you why it does not count.
Check yourself
Answer in your head, then open each one to check.
Can you call a discard to make a pair?
Only if it is the final tile that completes your Mahjong.
When does the chance to call a discard end?
When the next player racks the tile they drew, or discards.
Can a discarded Joker be called?
No. A discarded Joker is dead.
When may you exchange for a Joker?
On your own turn, after drawing or exposing and before you discard.
Two players call the same tile, one for Mahjong and one for a pung. Who gets it?
The player calling for Mahjong.