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NOT YOUR MA’S JONG
GETTING TO KNOW NOT YOUR MA’S JONG
Welcome to Not Your Ma’s Jong, a cool card game that takes inspiration from the classic game of Mahjong. In this game, we try to collect sets of cards and pairs to build an amazing hand. Oh, and don’t forget, you can also steal discarded cards from other players if you can use them. But watch out, because stealing cards might cause some players to miss their turns! And here’s a fun twist: the player who goes out first gets paid in coin tokens at the end of each round. The player with the most tokens at the end of the game is the big winner!
WHAT’S INSIDE THE BOX
The game we’re talking about here is played with a deck of 75 cards. The deck is made up of five suits – Red, Blue, Green, Seasons, and Emotions. In each suit, you’ll find three copies of every card.
There are also 4 reminder cards that you can use as helpful guides while playing, along with one Ma card. The Ma card is special because it determines who starts the round.
Once the round starts, you’ll see that the 40 tokens come in handy. These tokens are used for payments at the end of each round. The winner of the round will receive tokens based on how well they performed.
Getting Set Up
Before we begin, make sure each player has 10 tokens and a reminder card. Any extra cards and tokens go back in the box for safekeeping.
Now, let’s talk about who goes first. The oldest player will be given the Ma card, which gives them the honor of starting the game. Ma shuffles the deck and deals 10 cards to each player. Ma gets 11 cards for an extra boost.
Okay, here’s what we gotta do. I’ve got a bunch of cards, and so do you. We’ll put the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the table as our draw pile. Now, I can look at my cards, but I can’t let you see them. Same goes for you – don’t let me catch a peek at your cards!
Welcome to The Play
So, here’s how we get started. I’m Ma, and I’ll kick things off by selecting one of our 11 cards and placing it in the discard pile. And hey, don’t forget to announce the name of the card when you discard it. Let’s keep things clear, right? For example, I might say “4 Green” or “Summer” as I lay down my card.
Okay, now it’s your turn! The play goes clockwise, so the next player to go is the one on the right. They’ll draw a card from the deck and then end their turn by discarding one card from their hand. And remember, say the name of the card you’re discarding. It’s all about keeping things on the up and up.
We keep playing like this until someone has three sets of three cards and one pair. Once that happens, the round is over and we can see who emerged victorious!
Let’s Talk About Sets
Now, there are two ways to make a set in this game. We’ve got Identical Sets, which are made up of three cards that are exactly the same. That means three of the same color and number, like three blue 5’s or three love cards. And then there are Sequential Sets, which consist of three cards of the same suit that are in sequential order. Pretty cool, right?
Don’t Forget About Pairs
In a game of pairs, there are two identical cards that make up a pair.
STEALING
When a card is discarded, any player can steal it. To steal a card, you have to say “steal” right after the card is discarded, but before the next player draws a card.
If you steal a card, it must either be the last card you need to win the round or it must complete a set right away. If it completes a set, you have to place that set face up on the table in front of you. You can’t change those cards; they’re locked in. To make up for stealing the card, you have to discard one card from your hand, so you have 10 cards again. The game then continues with the player to your right. This means it’s possible for players to be skipped.
If more than one player says “steal,” priority is given to the player who needs it to win the game right away. If the card won’t help anyone win, then the player who said “steal” first gets the card.
If a player says “steal” by mistake, they don’t get the card, and their next turn is skipped.
Ending the Round
After drawing, you can choose to end the round if you have three sets of three and one pair. Show everyone your entire hand.
If you steal a card and end up with three sets of three and one pair, you must immediately show everyone your entire hand.
The person who ends the round is the winner, and the losers have to make payments.
Let’s Keep Playing
Once the payments are settled, I pass the Ma card to the player on my right. That player now becomes the dealer. We keep going until someone runs out of tokens or we reach a specific number of rounds. If there are 4 of us playing, we go for a maximum of 8 rounds. If we’re only 3, we stretch it to 9 rounds.
Let’s Talk About Scoring
The player who wins the round earns tokens based on how they won and who they beat.
If I win by stealing, each of you owes me 2 tokens. But if I draw a card and still win, I get 4 tokens from each of you.
If someone else wins by stealing, I pay them 2 tokens, and each of you pays them 1 token. And if someone other than me wins after drawing a card, I pay them 4 tokens, and each of you pays them 2 tokens.