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The 2024 Siamese Mah Jongg card, created by Gladys Grad, is a fantastic option for playing Siamese with a friend or online. However, the card is quite different from the National Mah Jongg League's version, and these differences can cause confusion for players who are not used to the notation. For this reason, we clarify particular hands and card notation below.

Open vs Concealed

The notation is "O" for open hands and "X" for concealed hands. This has confused some players who are used to "X" meaning open (exposed) on the NMJL card. Also, note that some hands can be played either way, concealed or open (winning a different number of points).

11's = Prosperity in Siam (Addition Hands)

• All hands are "these numbers only" even though only the last hand has a note to that effect
• Line 4: the parenthetical representation could lead one to think that 2s are pungs. However Gladys has clarified the all numbers should be treated as singles and pairs. 

All Cats Look Alike (Any Like Numbers)

The first hand only allows odd numbers and must be used with North and South. The second hand only allows even numbers and must be used with East and West. Any like numbers can be used for the last hand. 

Cats are Quint-essential (Quints)

• Line 1: Any even number can be used in each grouping and players can use the same number in several groupings. Note that the dragon must match the suit used for the pair
• Line 2: The dragons and the quint must be in the same suit, the run in a different suit. The number used for the quint must be one of the numbers used in the run
• Line 5: the quints can be 3s, 6s or 9s but they both need to be the same number

Kitty Runs are Always Consecutive and Straight (Consecutive Runs)

• All hands in this section can be any set of consecutive numbers, even though only the first line has a note to that effect
• Line 2: this hand can be played as a normal consecutive run, but can also be played as a "wrap-around" hand (numbers still need to be consecutive). So 77 88 FF 9999 1111, 88 99 FF 1111 2222 and 99 11 FF 2222 3333 are also valid hands
• Line 5: this hand requires a pair and a pung of flowers. It's not a quint, so you cannot expose a quint of flowers
• Line 6: this hand is a set of 4 pungs and a pair, using any consecutive numbers. The pair can be placed anywhere within the grouping (for instance, 222 333 44 555 666 or 55 666 777 888 999)

Odd Cat's Out (1 3 5 7 9)

• Line 2: the pungs can be any odd number and potentially the same number. If the same number is used, at least 2 jokers will be required in 2-player Siamese
• Line 6: the 2 kongs can be any odd numbers, but must be different numbers

Dragons Ride in The Wind (Winds-Dragons)

• Line 1: any dragon can be used in any combination of groupings (from singles to quints). So, this is a very flexible hand. Note that standard exposure rules apply (i.e., singles and pairs can be used, but these can't be pre-exposed; they can only be exposed when Mah Jongg has been declared)

Cats have 3, 6 or 9 lives (3 6 9)

• Line 6: even though the card shows single 3s and 6s and pairs of 9s, the pair can be any of these numbers. So, this could be played as 33 6 9 or 3 66 9 or 3 6 99. But, whichever number is chosen for the pair must also be the number used for the kong

1 or 2 Cats Stayed in the House (Singles & Pairs)

• Line 1: this hand requires a flower, one of each dragon, a wind and all 9 numbers in any suit combination. Please note that even though certain numbers are shown in the same color, it does not mean their suit needs to match. Suits can be mixed and matched in any way you wish. This is a very flexible hand, with a large number of variations
• Line 3: besides NEWS and a dragon, this hand requires all 9 numbers to be represented. However, in each set of 3 numbers (1-3, 4-6, 7-9), all 3 suits need to be represented. Note that the suits don't need to match between groupings (for instance, 1-3 could be craks-bams-dots, 4-6 dots-bams-craks and 7-9 could be bams-craks-dots)

Colors

The Siamese card uses red, green and blue, and some players have expressed confusion distinguishing between the blue and green, especially when reading the card under poor lighting conditions. So, be sure to light the card well, especially if you have slight blue/green color blindness.

All the above clarifications have been checked by Gladys Grad, the creator of Siamese Mah Jongg.

(*) notation

Some hands are marked with a (*). This notation only applies to Royale (3 or 4-player games) and not to the 2-player Siamese game. So, Siamese players can ignore this notation.
For Royale players: When playing with 2 sets, there are 4 more of each suited tile. Players are invited to up their game by utilizing these additional suited tiles (instead of Jokers) whenever a hand is marked with a (*). This creates a more challenging game and if players are successful they earn +45 Bonus Points.