I just returned from a NMJL tournament and was very surprised to learn that the way my group plays the cold wall is different from what is considered "standard." We play that when you get down to the last wall, you can only call a tile for mahjong, not for an exposure. However, I learned that others play you can not call any tile at all, you must pick mahjong for yourself. Then I also learned that others play it as a hot wall where you can call any tile that you need. I was wondering which is more prevalent. I was also wondering if there are still a lot of people out there who play with a future.
On 17 Mar 1998 04:24:53 GMT, actsearch@aol.com
(ACTSEARCH) wrote:
>Hi Linda,
>I'm interested in learning more about some of the terms you used. I hope you
>can elucidate?
>You wrote:
>> . . . the way my group plays the cold wall is different from what is
>considered
>"standard." We play that when you get down to the last wall, you can only
>call a tile for mahjong, not for an exposure.
>
>*** By "cold wall" and "last wall" you mean the 4th wall? Play
rarely starts
>precisely at one end of a wall, so this last leg of the game is usually played
>with only a few remaining stacks, right?
>And when you say " you can only call a tile for mahjong, not for an
exposure"
>you mean that discards are no longer up for grabs at this point? Interesting.
>That is definitely not the way I learned NMJL (I was taught that the discards
>are up for grabs right up to the very last tile).
I think she means that in that part of the late game, you can only claim a discard if you're going out (/ron/), not to merely complete an exposed set (/chi/ or /pon/).
> [re-ordered]
> (I should explain to players of
>Chinese and Japanese that NMJL does not leave the last 7 stacks, but rather
>plays all the way down to zero tiles.)
There are a few locals who play that way, but some who don't would tend to consider that style of play "barbaric".
>> However, I learned that others play you can not call any tile at all, you
>must pick mahjong for
>yourself.
>
>*** Um, still trying to understand. So once you're down to the last few stacks
>in the Wall, you're not allowed to take discards? I thought that's what you
>said in the preceding sentence. I must be misunderstanding something.
Here she means that you cannot even claim a discard for going out.
>> Then I also learned that others play it as a hot wall where you can call
any
>tile that you need. I was wondering which is more prevalent.
>
>*** I guess "hot wall" means you can use any tiles picked from the last part
of
>the wall any way you want?
I think she might be refering to that you can claim a discard to complete an exposed
sequence (/chi) from any player, not just your upper seat.
Though I'm not familiar with NMJL mahjong, my word is that mahjong had some fine balance
built in its system that are not immediately apparent to the average player. Modifying
basic mechanisms (such as the rules for claiming discards) might disrupt that balance, and
is not advisible.
>> I was also wondering if there are still a lot of people out there who play
>with a future.
>
>*** We didn't learn this term. What's a "future"? Inquiring minds want to
>know!!
Me too. Maybe she meant "fortune"? There are locals here who lose a fortune on mahjong, but I believe that is the minority.
"Live life with Heart."
Alan Kwan / tarot@notme.netvigator.com
http://home.netvigator.com/~tarot
(hard-core game reviews)
(remove anti-spam section "notme." from mailing address)
In NMJL Tournament play, you can call right up to the last discarded tile for EITHER
Mahj OR exposure. See:
However, many local conventions at our weekly "friendly" games--these vary from
group to group.
Lynn in CT
> *** By "cold wall" and "last wall" you mean the 4th wall?
Play rarely starts
> precisely at one end of a wall, so this last leg of the game is usually played
> with only a few remaining stacks, right? (I should explain to players of
> Chinese and Japanese that NMJL does not leave the last 7 stacks, but rather
> plays all the way down to zero tiles.)
> And when you say " you can only call a tile for mahjong, not for an
exposure"
> you mean that discards are no longer up for grabs at this point? Interesting.
> That is definitely not the way I learned NMJL (I was taught that the discards
> are up for grabs right up to the very last tile).
Well, let's see - when we start playing in NMJL east throws dice and counts off his/her wall and retains the number of stacks indicated on the dice for the end. When the play gets down to these stacks, the wall becomes "cold," i.e., you cannot claim any tile thrown out by another player. Our group plays that you can claim a discard only for going out, but I just learned that some people play that you need to pick your own mahjong tile. As was mentioned, though, in tournament play, everything is up for grabs (hot) until the end. The "official" NMJL rules are silent on the hot/cold wall, so I assume that officially everything is hot, and someone came up with the cold wall to make the play more challenging.
> *** We didn't learn this term. What's a "future"? Inquiring minds
want to
> know!!
When my aunt taught me to play in the '60s, the 14th tile was picked ahead and you kept it on your rack until it was your turn, then you would discard and pick again. If someone claimed a discard, you had to give your "future" tile to the person on your right. It sounds complicated but once you learned it you got used to it. Playing without it is much easier though. I don't know if it was in the rulebook that way and then changed.