American mahjong
The 1937 card
How the National Mah Jongg League, founded in 1937, shaped the American game and the yearly card it plays to.
What it means
The American game is played to a card: a printed sheet of the hands that count this year, changed every spring. The card is why American sets treat all eight flowers alike, carry eight jokers, and use the soap as a zero.
The card comes from the National Mah Jongg League, founded in 1937 in New York by a group of Jewish-American women who wanted one agreed way to play. The League standardized the American game and has issued the yearly card since. Bring your own League card to play.
The card information page identifies the supported League edition. Keep your own matching printed card beside you; JONGG does not provide a full digital copy.
The tiles, one by one
Screen 9 of 9 in What's on the tile.
A historian's review of the history on these screens is pending.