If American Mahjong has a rulebook, this is it. The NMJL Card is a small, densely packed card published every year by the National Mah Jongg League, and it’s the single source of truth for what counts as a winning hand. This guide covers what the card actually is, how often it changes, roughly how it’s organized, and where the rest of our Card-related guides pick up from here.
What the card physically is
The NMJL Card is a compact, laminated, tri-fold sheet — small enough to hold in one hand at the table, but dense with numbers, letters, colors, and symbols once you unfold it. It comes in two sizes: a standard size and a large-print version for players who want bigger text, both covering the exact same hands. As of the current year’s release, the League prices the standard card at $15 and the large-print version at $16, ordered directly from the National Mah Jongg League.
Why it changes every year
Unlike some other Mahjong traditions where the winning hand shapes are fixed indefinitely, American Mahjong is deliberately reinvented every spring. The League retires some hands, introduces new ones, and adjusts point values, typically releasing the new card in April. This keeps the game fresh for veteran players and levels the field somewhat between longtime players and newcomers, since everyone is learning at least some of the current card from scratch each year. It also means a card from a prior year is not valid for current play — if you’re picking the game back up after a break, you need this year’s card, not whatever you last owned.
What we will and won’t reproduce
The specific hands printed on the card are the League’s copyrighted work, and we don’t reproduce them here or anywhere on this site. What we can do — and what the rest of this Card category is built around — is explain how the card is structured, how to read its notation, and how the same category types tend to reappear from year to year even though the specific hands inside them change. For the actual current hands, point values, and footnotes, you’ll need the physical card.
The basic notation, briefly
Every hand on the card is a line of numbers, letters, and colors, followed by a marking of C (concealed) or X (exposed) and a point value. Numbers generally stand for tile ranks in any suit; letters stand for winds, dragons, and flowers; colors indicate which groups of tiles need to be the same suit as each other and which need to be different suits, though the colors themselves aren’t tied to a fixed suit. We cover this notation in full, with the actual logic behind the color system, in our notation guide.
How the card is organized
Rather than one long undifferentiated list, the card groups hands into named categories that tend to persist in some form from year to year — things like hands built around the current year’s digits, hands using only even numbers, hands requiring five of a kind, and a section of hands that specifically forbid jokers. We describe these categories generically, without reproducing any specific year’s actual hand list, in our card categories guide.
Concealed and exposed, at a glance
The C and X markings next to each hand tell you whether it can be completed with called exposures or must be built entirely from your own draws. This distinction affects both strategy and scoring, and it’s a common source of confusion for players used to games where exposing tiles doesn’t carry the same trade-offs. We go into this in detail in concealed versus exposed hands.
Buying and caring for your card
The card is only available, in any authentic form, directly from the National Mah Jongg League or their authorized resellers — and buying an outdated, counterfeit, or unofficial reproduction defeats the purpose, since accuracy is the entire point. We cover pricing, sizing, and how to keep your card intact for the season in how to buy the NMJL Card. For a broader look at using the card once you have it, see the NMJL Card Guide hub.
A quick reference
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Publisher | National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) |
| Release cadence | Annually, typically in April |
| Format | Small laminated tri-fold card |
| Sizes | Standard and large-print, same hands in both |
| Where to buy | Directly from the League’s official site, or authorized resellers |
| Validity | Only the current year’s card is valid for standard play |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use last year’s card if I still have it?
No — standard American Mahjong play uses only the current year’s card. Hands, point values, and footnotes all change annually, so an older card doesn’t reflect valid current play.
Is the card the same as a rulebook?
Not quite. The card lists the specific winning hands, their point values, and a few structural footnotes, but broader game rules — like the Charleston, turn order, and how calling works — are separate from the card itself, even though the card is the ultimate authority on what counts as a finished hand.
Do I need one card per player, or can a table share?
Each player benefits from having their own copy to reference during play, since everyone is scanning it constantly and simultaneously. Many hosts and clubs buy several copies for exactly this reason.
Is the NMJL the only organization that publishes American Mahjong hands?
The NMJL is the dominant and most widely recognized publisher, and its card is the de facto standard most American Mahjong clubs and casual groups use, though a handful of smaller regional or historical variants exist outside its system.
What happens if I show up to a game without the current card?
Most tables expect every player to bring their own, but it’s common for a host or an experienced player to have a spare on hand for guests, especially at community centers or beginner-friendly groups.
A brief history, for context
The National Mah Jongg League has been publishing this annual card for decades, and the tradition of a yearly refresh is part of what gives American Mahjong its distinct identity compared to other Mahjong traditions that keep a fixed set of winning hands. The League functions as the sport’s central governing body in the United States, and its card has become the de facto standard that clubs, community groups, and casual tables alike organize their play around.
How this site uses the card
Every guide in this category is checked against the current year’s card before publication, and we re-verify the current release each time we’re writing anything Card-specific, since the card updates annually and assumptions from a prior year can quietly become wrong. If you ever notice a guide here that seems out of step with your current physical card, let us know through our contact page and we’ll take a look.
Getting comfortable with a new card each year
Even experienced players go through a short adjustment period every spring when the new card arrives — the categories look familiar, but the specific hands inside them are unfamiliar again, and old habits from last year’s card can lead you toward a hand that no longer exists. It’s normal, and expected, to spend the first few sessions of a new season referencing the card more heavily than you did by the end of the previous one. Most regular players find their footing again within a handful of hands.
Where to go from here
If you’re brand new to the game entirely, it’s worth backing up to our beginner’s guide before diving deep into card specifics. If you already know the basics of play and the Charleston, the notation and category guides linked above are the natural next step, followed by concealed versus exposed strategy once you’re comfortable identifying which hands you’re realistically chasing.
The card as a living tradition
It’s easy to think of the card as just a rules document, but for a lot of longtime players, the annual release is genuinely something to look forward to — a small seasonal ritual that resets the game and gives everyone something new to study together. Clubs and community groups often build informal traditions around the new card’s arrival, from casual study sessions to friendly competitions over who spots the most promising new hand first. That social dimension is part of why the yearly refresh has stuck around for as long as it has, rather than being seen as an inconvenience.
