I wanted to have something to do during the cold Michigan winters. A friend taught me to play. I’ve joined two groups and play weekly. My best tip is to study the card and play online. Online play gives you a chance to get comfortable with decision making and the rules. Communities often offer classes through colleges and senior centers.
I play online at: realmahjongg.com. They offer a free trial and when it expires, there is a charge. I’ve heard there are other sites that offer a number of free games per day. Realmahjongg.com allows you to use a “prompt” for advice on what mah jongg hands to save depending on the tiles in your wall. This tool gave me an opportunity to become familiar with the mah jongg hands and see what tiles I might use to put a hand together. It also applied the rules of the game and there is a feature that prompts you to consider calling a discarded tile based on your hand. In other words, it was like I had someone looking over my shoulder. It looks like AARP might have something as well but I’m new to AARP and have not explored their mah jongg offerings.
Back in the ‘90s when the internet was getting popular and people were getting personal computers, my mother discovered online Mahjongg games and got me started. Since then, I play various games daily. It’s a good mental workout. I wish I could learn the secret of those that get way up in the six-figure scores. All of the AARP games have high-end winners and I wonder if they have an app or something. What happened to the games newsletter?
