Saddle Up then Gallop into the 2026 Mah Jongg Game
- majbydaron
- Apr 21
- 8 min read
The 2026 card spurs us to grow as players, with a light grip on the reins, leaning into the pounding rhythyms and trusting our Maj instincts. This year, we will continue to make bold and creative choices and to pivot when necessary. Interpreting the present, altering your path, and occasionally gambling on a slightly uncomfortable hand are what the 2026 card encourages us to do as Mah Jongg players.
The year of the Horse is fast-moving, favors momentum over hesitation, and rewards those who take risks. The 2026 "fire horse" is characterized by rapid progress, prioritizing action over delay, and utilizing timing to enhance strategy. Mah Jongg players can opt to be bold, adapting and altering their strategies while staying aware of opponents' vulnerabilities...and always remaining focused on opponents' exposures and discards.
With 72 hands as written on this card and approximately 1,077 playable hand variations, how can this year's ride not be exhilirating??
Some Observations of the 2026 Playing Card:
There are six carryover hands from the 2025 playing card which include 2468 hand #5, 13579 hand 7b, both hands of line #1 in Winds & Dragons and line #8 of Winds & Dragons as a concealed hand this year with changes to the order of tiles, and, lastly, Singles & Pairs line #6 known as the "BIG Hand" made in three suits with our current year.
Pay extra attention to the THREE closed hands in the 13579 category. In this odd category, line #8 (both hands) and #9 are concealed (C) hands. Exposures during game play are not permitted as concealed hands are played quietly inside your rack. You may only CALL for your final and last tile for the declaration of Mah Jongg!
SEXTETS of Flowers??????
It's as if Mah Jongg players can win the triple crown with a magnificent floral wreath! Two hands require a sextet of flowers. You can use zero to six Joker tiles in the flower sextet, but you cannot divide the sextet into two pungs for exposures. When playing a hand with a sextet of flowers, this tile meld of your hand must consist of all six flowers or a mix of flowers and jokers. If you call for a flower and reveal your sextet of flowers, opponents will be guided by the clear hint that you are either playing Any Like Numbers hand #1 or Consecutive Run hand #6.
PUNGS of flowers appear on the 2026 card, as well as two hands with double pungs of flowers.
The 2026 card does not have any hands with a Single, Kong, nor Quint of Flowers.
During the Charleston, avoid passing Flowers if you can. If not using Flowers in your hand, keep the extra Flowers! Try to use the flower as joker bait during game play, but do not wait until end game to discard flower tiles as an opponent may be champing at the bit to CALL for a discarded Flower to complete the pair, pung or sextet flower tile grouping for Mah Jongg!
Descriptions of a few hands:
Pictured below are three variations of Winds & Dragons hand #2. The first consecutive run is built with any tiles of four numbers all in one suit. The first pung of dragons, second pung of dragons, and final kong of dragons can be made in ANY order ("Any 3 dragons"). The last Kong of dragons does NOT need to match the suit of the consecutive run. Players must use all three dragons, but the order of suits is your choice.
You may Call for a tile in any Dragon grouping of this hand for an exposure during game play. You may NOT call for a number in your four-tile consecutive run during game play as these are each single tiles. You may only call for one of the single consecutive number tiles for your final tile for Mah Jongg.
Below are examples of this hand beginning on different numbers and suits and using various orders of dragon tiles.
WHOA....we have seen this pattern
before..... the BIG 2026 hand:
(Crisloid "Walk with Me" Mah Jong set)
~ The BIG Hand is the last concealed (c) Hand in the Singles & Pairs section with a value of .75. Please remember NO Jokers may be used in a 2026 grouping of tiles...NOT even for Mah Jongg.
~ Tiles of Twos and Sixes in Bams, Craks, and Dots as well as Soaps (white dragon) create the tile grouping of 2026. These tiles will be required to create the four hands with their variations in the 2026 category, the last concealed hand in Winds & Dragons section as well as the BIG hand in Singles & Pairs category. Careful passing during the Charleston will include avoiding passing TWOs, SIXs and Soaps together in any one pass. A player may inadvertently help their opponent toward a 2026 hand or a hand requiring the number 2 and 6 tiles.
SIX tiles trot into approximately 40% of the hands on the 2026 card!! Don't give a leg up to your opponents by passing twos and sixes together during the Charleston if you can avoid doing so.
~ SINGLE TILES: Please note that there are a spirited number of hands requiring single tiles!
There are no Single tiles in the Quints category, however, Single tiles of Dragons, numbers, and runs of single number tiles canter into every other section. There are no single Flowers on the 2026 playing card.
Single tiles are treated like PAIRS as you may NOT CALL for a single tile except for your final tile for Mah Jongg! For example, the National Mah Jongg League writes the single tiles "2468" as one tile unit without spacing and these are each a single tile. The tile grouping in 2468 hand #6 is NOT a Kong. A Kong is comprised of four identical tiles, for example 4444 in all Dots, or 8888 in all in Bams.
Discarding single tiles near end game can be chancy. Competent players read their opponents' exposures as well as the discards and steer clear of throwing a risky tile or a tile that has not yet been discarded.
~ Always verify the winning Mah Jongg hand!
Players should refrain from throwing all their tiles in to begin a new game until the winner's Mah Jongg Hand is placed in Hand order on their rack and is verified as correct!
When playing a concealed (c) hand, a player may NOT call for any tiles during game play, and may call for their last tile ONLY for their final tile for Mah Jongg. If players can deduce from an opponents' exposures that their blocks of tiles can only be part of a concealed hand, they may call that player's hand "not viable."
PATTERNS that prance toward victory on the 2026 Playing Card:
Both horseshoes and hand patterns on playing cards emphasize shape, structure, and a touch of luck for winning a hand! Players must adjust to new, unique patterns and become comfortable with the evolving structures and rhythms of hands. The card introduces an abundance of new hand patterns, while individual tiles further integrate into the designs.
Pattern recognition helps to remind us of what blocks of tiles comprise each Hand. Players can think more clearly about what groupings of tiles must be finished to complete their hand by relating to the rhythm of the Hand (ie. Pung Pung Kong Kong).
When exposing tiles, take just a few moments to triple check what meld you mean to expose. You may change your exposure as long as you have not discarded a tile to end your turn.
Prevalent patterns on the 2026 card:
PUNG PUNG KONG KONG PUNG PAIR PAIR PUNG KONG
PAIR PUNG PAIR PUNG KONG
Winds & Dragons hand #6 is pictured above. What a FUN, literal hand.... and a unique, easy-to- remember pattern!
This hand MUST be made in ONE suit with "These Nos. Only." There will be only three playable options for this hand using a single one, two, three, and four tile created in one suit only. The number tiles 1,2,3 and 4 will be in all Bams, all Craks (as shown), or all Dots. You may not rearrange the wind tiles. The hand must consist of one North tile, a pair of East tiles, a pung of West tiles and and a kong of South tiles.
Jokers may NEVER be used in the single numbers or North tile, nor in the pair of East, not even for Mah Jongg! If you are waiting for only one of the single number tiles or the one North tile, or one of the tiles in the pair of East to finish your hand for Mah Jongg, you are permitted to CALL for the final tile to complete your hand and declare Mah Jongg.
Players...go ahead and harness the energy of the fire horse in your gameplay! Let's keep making bold, creative decisions!
HOW CAN I GET TO KNOW THE 2026 CARD?
The 2026 worksheet card packet is available on my SHOP page...click on the link below:
Each April, I create a worksheet packet for players of ALL skill levels with questions to answer that will help to familiarize them with the current National Mah Jongg League playing card.
Click on this link for the packet:
Examples of the questions I have included on the worksheets are:
~ List the TWO hands that have a Sextet of Flowers?
~ List the hands with a "PUNG PUNG KONG KONG" pattern?
~ Find the Error - using your NMJL playing card, determine the hand error(s)I have intentionally made in three different hands.
I provide a downloadable and printable worksheet packet that includes:
2026 card overview
2026 patterns overview
worksheet on the playing card
worksheet on the patterns of hands
"find the error" in 3 hands
answer keys & explanations
The worksheets help players of all playing levels see the 2026 NMJL card from various
perspectives. The worksheets are intended for ALL players, from Beginner to Advanced!
Familiarity with the hands on the card as well as an understanding of the patterns and rhythms of the hands leads to creativity of play. Learning and playing Hands from all of the categories on the card will render you a stronger, more flexible & strategic player. Completing the 2026 worksheet packet should promote a sense of confidence, proficiency and preparedness to tackle playing Mah Jongg with the new card in the year 2026!!
Please click on the link below if you would like to purchase the 2026 Mah Jongg Worksheet Packet! Once purchased, you can download and print the worksheet packet which includes the 2026 card overview, worksheet pages, and answer keys.
You will need your own 2026 National Mah Jongg League playing card to complete the worksheets. The 2026 NMJL playing card is NOT included with the worksheet packet.
I hope you learn from and enjoy these worksheets as much as I take pride and joy in creating them!!
May the tiles be Ever in your Favor!
***Thank you to ILoveMahj.com , Barney Gellasio, Michele Frizzell, Debbie Barnett, and Bubbe Fischer for your insights on the 2026 card.
Please register with promo code DARON for a free 3 week trial at Ilovemahj.com. Click on the link below where you can register and practice game play. The "exercise room" is an invaluable part of this website where you can practice specific aspects of game play.
(I will receive a small commission if you continue with a paid membership after your trial. There is no additional charge to you. Monies from my affiliation will help offset the cost of maintaining my website)
Purchase the downloadable, printable 2026 Mah Jongg Worksheet Packet NOW! Click on the link below:
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