The 2025 Siamese Mah Jongg card 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 familiar with the notation. For this reason, we clarify particular hands and card notation below.


All the clarifications below have been verified by Gladys Grad, the creator of Siamese Mah Jongg.


Open vs Concealed

All hands, except those in the "1 or 2 Cats Stayed in the House" section, and other hands that only include singles and pairs (2025/3, MB/1 and 369/2), can be played open or concealed. If they are played concealed the player will receive a 10-point bonus. 


Even Cats Do it (2468)

  • Line 4: The pair is shown as 4s but can be any of the even numbers, the others in that grouping being singles (eg: 22 4 6 8 or 2 44 6 8 or 2 4 66 8 or 2 4 6 88).  


Cats are Quint-essential (Quints)

  • Line 1: the numbers in each group can be any even numbers and multiple groupings can potentially use the same number. The pair matches the suit of the Dragons.
  • Line 4: The quint is shown as Easts but can be any of the winds, the others being singles (e.g.: NNNNN E W S or N EEEEE W S or N E WWWWW S or N E W SSSSS).  


Kitty Runs are Always Consecutive and Straight (Consecutive Runs)

  • Lines 2 & 5: these hands can be any run of consecutive numbers, even though there is not a note to that effect.
  • Line 3: 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 777 88 NEWS 99 111, 888 99 NEWS 11 222 and 999 11 FF 22 333 are also valid hands.
  • Line 4:  the numbers need to be consecutive but in descending order (e.g.: 9-8-7, 8-7-6, etc).


Odd Cat's Out (13579)

  • Line 2: The 5s and 7s can to be any suit, but they must both be in the same suit. Since there are only 3 suits, they'll match a suit used in another grouping.
  • Line 6: The numbers in each kong can be any odd number and, potentially, the same odd number.


Ride in The Wind (Winds-Dragons)

  • Line 5: Even though the hand is printed in one color, the note makes it clear the groupings of numbers can also be in different suits. Also note that you can use East and West instead of North and South.


Cats have 3, 6 or 9 lives (369)

  • Line 3: The pair is shown as 6s but can be 3s, 6s or 9s, the others groupings being kongs (e.g.: 33 6666 9999 or 3333 66 9999 or 3333 6666 99).  


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

  • Line 1: Although this hand is printed in 3 colors and specifies the use of a red dragon for the "R" in "friends," any two suits can be used for the "1" and "2025" parts of the hand. 


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.


(*) notation

Some hands are marked with a (*). As this notation only applies to Royale (3 or 4-player games) and not to the 2-player Siamese game, Siamese players can ignore this notation. The notation and bonus points for Royale players is explained below.

For in-person Royale players: When playing with 2 sets, there are 4 more of each suited tile. Therefore, 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 succeed in using only natural tiles they earn +25 Bonus Points (changed from +45 bonus points previously).