Q.  I noticed a rule in the latest publication from the NMJL that differs from a rule you have used at your tournaments. A player discards a tile but miscalls it. However, she has the correctly named tile in her hand. Does she take the tile back and discard the named tile from her hand?

A: No, You do not replace the tile with named tile….miscalled tile is only correctly named.

Q. Will you now use the NMJL rule in your tournaments? 

A. As you know, Mah Jongg Madness tournament games are more stringent with tournament rules. Unfortunately, misnaming a tile can also be used as a devious “strategy” by a player to determine if an opponent needs the misnamed tile for an exposure or Mah Jongg.  The discarder can then say ….”Oops, it was a mistake, I meant to say something else…,” thereby sabotaging (cheating) their opponent out of a legitimate exposure or Mah Jongg.

Our rules are as follows:

MIS-NAMING A TILE: There is NO scoring penalty for mis-naming a tile.  However…
a. If the discarder has the correct tile in their hand, the correct tile must be discarded in place of the incorrect tile. If necessary, contact the Director to ascertain that the correct tile is/is not in the discarder’s hand.  This rule specifically applies to a tile that is claimed for an EXPOSURE.
b. If the discarder does not have the correct tile in their hand, the game proceeds, following the correct naming of the tile.
c. A MIS-NAMED discarded tile may be claimed for MAH JONGG. The discarder is penalized the appropriate amount of points.

Thanks to Gladys Grad, “The Grand Master of American-Style Mah Jongg Tournaments” for this great question and answer and for the wonderful photograph! Visit her site at Mah Jongg Madness